A Step By Step Guide To Creating A Logo

So it’s time to make a logo for yourself or a client, but you have no idea how to get started. Don’t worry! This article will break down the phases of conceptualizing and designing a logo from start to finish. While it’s helpful to have some design skills, that won’t be necessary for this article. We won’t be designing a specific logo, but rather we’ll be outlining what you should do when it’s time to design your next logo.

Every logo should start with research. You’ll need to know as much about the company as possible. You’ll have an initial consultation with your client prior to starting the project where you can ask them some questions and get to know the company on a deeper level. Here are some questions to ask yourself during the research phase of the logo design process.

–       What type of company is this?

–       What does this company specialize in?

–       What makes this company unique compared to other companies that perform that same tasks and specialize in the same things?

–       What message needs to be conveyed through the design of the logo?

–       Who are the direct competitors of this company?

–       What types of colours or themes are these competitors using?

–       How can I improve upon the themes and branding used by the competitors

–       What is the current theme and branding style of the company?

By researching the above questions, you’ll have a better understanding of the company and what the logo design needs to achieve. You can’t start designing any portion of the logo until you have a clear picture of the company and you know exactly what your goals are for this logo design. So many designers make the mistake of not researching the company or learning anything about the industry. You don’t have to be an expert in the industry you’re designing for, but you do need to know what the current standards are and what is considered “good design” for that industry.

After you’ve done your research, it’s time for you to start your first round of sketches. These sketches are very rough, and they only serve as a place to get all of your ideas on to paper. Your first round of sketches should not be beautiful pieces of artwork. These sketches should be done in rapid succession to give you an idea of what works and what doesn’t. By sketching your logo ideas, you can start to get a real sense of direction and start to rule out design concepts that will never work for a proper logo design.

Once your first round of sketches is complete it’s time to have another meeting with the client. You’ll go over your concepts for logo design and get some valuable input from the client. Now is a great time to review the goals for the logo to ensure that you are on the same page with the client. Constant communication about the logo design project is key to a successful design. If possible, have multiple people from the company take a look at your initial sketches to make sure that you’re on the right track. You can also create a few sketches with the clients so you both have a visual representation of what the finished project might look like. In addition to the initial sketches, you’ll want to discuss colour schemes and other components of the design with the client. Although logos are initially created in black and white, knowing the colour scheme in advance will ensure that you’re creating a logo that works with the companies colour choices.

The next step in the process is taking what you learned from the client and creating the first draft of the final logo. This won’t be the finished product, but it should be pretty close. Ideally, if you’ve been working closely with your client there won’t be many changes to make when it’s time to finalize the logo. The point of creating multiple sketches and working with the client saves you from spending hours in your design program; only to found out that you didn’t create what the client wanted.

Once you’ve finished designing the first draft of the logo, you’ll share that file with the client and ask for their feedback. Depending on what changes are required, you might need to sit down with the client again for a meeting. This last client meeting will be to finalize the logo and provide any last feedback they have for the logo.