Unit #2—How to make a Logo
1. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/71902
watch the video!!!
Your logo is a visual representation of everything your company stands
for. Think of McDonald's golden arches or the Nike swoosh-these two
impressive logos embody these companies well. But many companies
still skimp on developing this key identity piece.
Ideally, your company logo enhances potential customers and partners'
crucial first impression of your business. A good logo can build loyalty
between your business and your customers, establish a brand identity,
and provide the professional look of an established enterprise.
Consider Allstate's "good hands" logo. It immediately generates a warm
feeling for the company, symbolizing care and trust. With a little thought
and creativity, your logo can quickly and graphically express many
positive attributes of your business, too.
Logo Types
There are basically three kinds of logos. Font-based logos consist
primarily of a type treatment. The logos of IBM, Microsoft and Sony, for
instance, use type treatments with a twist that makes them distinctive.
Then there are logos that literally illustrate what a company does, such
as when a house-painting company uses an illustration of a brush in its
logo. And finally, there are abstract graphic symbols-such as Nike's
swoosh-that become linked to a company's brand.
"Such a symbol is meaningless until your company can communicate to
consumers what its underlying associations are," says Americus Reed II,
a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton
School, who's conducted research on the triggers that lead consumers to
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
identify with and become loyal to a brand. But building that mental bridge
takes time and money. The Nike swoosh has no inherent meaning
outside of what's been created over the years through savvy marketing
efforts that have transformed the logo into an "identity cue" for an athletic
lifestyle.
Growing businesses can rarely afford the millions of dollars and years of
effort required to create these associations, so a logo that clearly
illustrates what your company stands for or does may be a better choice.
Even a type treatment of your company's name may be too generic,
says Placitas, New Mexico, logo designer Gary Priester, principal of
gwpriester.com, the Web arm of design firm The Black Point Group.
Priester believes customers should be able to tell what you do just by
looking at your logo.
Getting Started
Before you begin sketching or learning how to design a logo, first
articulate the message you want your logo to convey. Try writing a onesentence image and mission statement to help focus your efforts. Stay
true to this statement while creating your logo.
But that may not be enough to get you started. Here are some additional
tactics and considerations that will help you create an appropriate
company logo:

Look at the logos of other businesses in your industry. Do your
competitors use solid, conservative images, or flashy graphics and type?
Think about how you want to differentiate your logo from those of your
competition.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo

Focus on your message. Decide what you want to communicate about
your company. Does it have a distinct personality-serious or
lighthearted? What makes it unique in relation to your competition?
What's the nature of your current target audience? These elements
should play an important role in the overall design or redesign.

Make it clean and functional. Your logo should work as well on a
business card as on the side of a truck. A good logo should be scalable,
easy to reproduce, memorable and distinctive. Icons are better than
photographs, which may be indecipherable if enlarged or reduced
significantly. And be sure to create a logo that can be reproduced in
black and white so that it can be faxed, photocopied or used in a blackand-white ad as effectively as in color.

Your business name will affect your logo design. If your business
name is "D.C. Jewelers," you may wish to use a classy, serif font to
accent the letters (especially if your name features initials). For a
company called "Lightning Bolt Printing," the logo might feature some
creative implementation of-you guessed it-a lightning bolt.

Use your logo to illustrate your business's key benefit. The best
logos make an immediate statement with a picture or illustration, not
words. The "Lightning Bolt Printing" logo, for example, may need to
convey the business benefit of "ultra-fast, guaranteed printing services."
The lightning bolt image could be manipulated to suggest speed and
assurance.

Don't use clip art. However tempting it may be, clip art can be copied
too easily. Not only will original art make a more impressive statement
about your company, but it'll set your business apart from others.

Avoid trendy looks. If you're redesigning your old logo, you run the risk
of confusing customers-or worse, alienating them. One option is to make
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
gradual logo changes. According to Priester, Quaker Oats modified the
Quaker man on its package over a 10-year period to avoid undermining
customer confidence. But don't plan to make multiple logo changes.
Instead, choose a logo that will stay current for 10 to 20 years, perhaps
longer. That's the mark of a good design. In fact, when Priester designs
a logo, he expects never to see that client again.
Watch Your Colors
One thing you need to be careful of as you explore color options is cost.
Your five-color logo may be gorgeous, but once it comes time to produce
it on stationery, the price won't be so attractive. Nor will it work in
mediums that only allow one or two colors. Try not to exceed three
colors unless you decide it's absolutely necessary.
Your logo can appear on a variety of media: signage, advertising,
stationery, delivery vehicles and packaging, to name just a few.
Remember that some of those applications have production limitations.
Make sure you do a color study. Look at your logo in one-, two- and
three-color versions.
Hire a Designer
While brainstorming logo ideas by yourself is a crucial step in creating
your business image, trying to create a logo completely on your own is a
mistake. It may seem like the best way to avoid the high costs of going
to a professional design firm, which will charge anywhere from $4,000 to
$15,000 for a logo design. Be aware, however, that there are thousands
of independent designers around who charge much less. According to
Stan Evenson, founder of Evenson Design Group, entrepreneurs on a
tight budget should shop around for a designer. "There are a lot of
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
[freelance] designers who charge rates ranging from $15 to $150 per
hour, based on their experience," he says.
But don't hire someone just because of their bargain price. Find a
designer who's familiar with your field . . . and with your competition. If
the cost still seems exorbitant, Evenson says, "remember that a good
logo should last at least 10 years. If you look at the amortization of that
cost over a 10-year period, it doesn't seem so bad."
Even if you have a good eye for color and a sense of what you want your
logo to look like, you should still consult a professional designer. Why?
They know whether or not a logo design will transfer easily into print or
onto a sign, while you might come up with a beautiful design that can't
be transferred or would cost too much money to be printed. Your logo is
the foundation of all your promotional materials, so this is one area
where spending a little more now can really pay off later.
Using and Protecting Your Logo
Once you've produced a logo that embodies your company's mission at
a glance, make sure you trademark it to protect it from use by other
companies. You can apply for a trademark at the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office Web site.
Then, once it's protected, use it everywhere you can-on business cards,
stationery, letterhead, brochures, ads, your Web site and any other place
where you mention your company name. This will help build your image,
raise your company's visibility and, ideally, lead to more business.
Creating a logo sounds easy, doesn't it? It can be. Just remember to
keep your customers and the nature of your business in mind when you
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
put it all together. In time, you'll have succeeded in building equity in
your trademark, and it will become a positive and recognizable symbol of
your product or service.
Compiled from articles written by David Cotriss, Kim T. Gordon and
Steve Nubie previously published on Entrepreneur.com, and from
excerpts from Start Your Own Business .
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
2. http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/06/12-essential-rules-to-follow-when-designing-alogo/
The logo is the face of any brand — the very first impression — so its design is
extremely important.
When executed correctly, a logo is a powerful asset to your client’s brand.
However, creating an effective visual representation of a brand requires
much more than just graphic design.
Like any line of work that involves a set of specific skills, logo design requires
plenty of practice and experience for it to be successful; knowledge is definitely
power for any graphic designer.
For this reason, we have outlined 12 essential rules to follow in order to design
an effective logo.
1. PRELIMINARY WORK IS A MUST
Preliminary sketches are an important first step in designing an effective logo.
These can be as simple as paper and pen drawings or drafts made using a
vector program, such as Illustrator.
The bottom line is that you compromise the final result if you rush, or skip, this
step.
Start with 20 to 30 sketches or ideas and then branch out to create variations of
the original ideas.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
If nothing seems to work, start over and begin sketching new ideas.
An effective graphic designer will spend more time on this preliminary
work than any other step in the design process.
2. CREATE BALANCE
Balance is important in logo design because our minds naturally perceive a
balanced design as being pleasing and appealing.
Keep your logo balanced by keeping the “weight” of the graphics, colors, and
size equal on each side.
Though the rule of balance can occasionally be broken, remember that your logo
will be viewed by the masses, not just those with an eye for great art, so a
balanced design is the safest approach.
3. SIZE MATTERS
When it comes to logo design, size does matter. A logo has to look good and be
legible at all sizes.
A logo is not effective if it loses too much definition when scaled down for
letterheads, envelopes, and small promotional items. The logo also has to look
good when used for larger formats, such as posters, billboards, and electronic
formats such as TV and the Web.
The most reliable way to determine if a logo works at all sizes is to actually test it
yourself.
Note that the smallest scale is usually the hardest to get right, so start by
printing the logo on a letterhead or envelope and see if it is still legible.
You can also test for large-scale rendering by printing a poster-sized version at a
print shop.
4. CLEVER USE OF COLOR
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Color theory is complex, but designers who understand the basics are able to
use color to their advantage.
The basic rules to keep in mind are:

Use colors near to each other on the color wheel (e.g. for a “warm” palette,
use red, orange, and yellow hues).

Don’t use colors that are so bright that they are hard on the eyes.

The logo must also look good in black and white, grayscale, and two
colors.

Breaking the rules sometimes is okay; just make sure you have a good
reason to!
Knowing how colors evoke feelings and moods is also important. For example,
red can evoke feelings of aggression, love, passion, and strength.
Keep this in mind as you try out different color combinations, and try to match
the color to the overall tone and feel of the brand.
Playing around with individual colors on their own is another good idea. Some
brands are recognizable solely by their distinct color.
For example, when you think of John Deere, you think of the “John Deere green”
color, and this sets this brand apart from its competitors and, more importantly,
makes the brand all the more recognizable.
5. DESIGN STYLE SHOULD SUIT THE COMPANY
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
You can use various design styles when creating a logo, and to pick the right
one, you should have some background information about the client and the
brand.
A recent trend in logo design is the Web 2.0 style of 3D-looking logos, with
“bubbly” graphics, gradients, and drop shadows.
This style may work well for a Web 2.0 website or tech company, but may not be
effective for other kinds of brands.
Research your client and its audience before you begin your preliminary work.
This will help you determine the best design style from the start and save you
from having to return repeatedly to the drawing board.
6. TYPOGRAPHY MATTERS… A LOT!
Choosing the right font type and size is much more difficult than many beginner
designers realize.
If your logo design includes text, either as part of the logo or in the tagline, you
will need to spend time sorting through various font types — often, dozens of
them — and testing them in your design before making a final decision.
Try both serif fonts and sans-serif fonts as well as script, italics, bold, and custom
fonts.
Consider three main points when choosing a font to accompany your logo
design:

Avoid the most commonly used fonts, such as Comic Sans, or else your
design may come off as amateurish.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo

Make sure the font is legible when scaled down, especially with script
fonts.

One font is ideal, and avoid more than two.
Strongly consider a custom font for your design. The more original the font, the
more it will distinguish the brand. Examples of successful logos that have a
custom font are Yahoo!, Twitter, and Coca Cola.
7. THE GOAL IS RECOGNITION
The whole point of creating a logo is to build brand recognition. So, how do you
go about doing this?
Well, it varies from case to case, but the goal with the logo is for the average
person to instantly call the brand to mind.
A few examples of this are the logos for Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s, and
Nike.
Just a glimpse of any of these logos is all you need to recognize the brands.
The key to making a popular and recognizable logo is to combine all of the
elements discussed in this article: size, style, color, typography, and
originality.
Overlooking any of these during the design process will impair the quality of your
final design. Examine your own logo design and see whether it meets all of these
criteria.
A quick test to determine if your logo is recognizable enough is to invert it using
any graphic design software and see if you can still recognize the brand.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Additionally, you should mirror the logo and see if it’s easily recognizable in this
state.
Keep in mind that logos aren’t always seen head-on in real world
situations, for example, on the side of a bus or a billboard that you drive by.
Therefore, you should make sure to view your logo design from all angles and
ensure that it’s recognizable from any direction before submitting it to your client.
8. DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
To stand out from the competition, you must distinguish yourself as a designer
with a distinct style. Rather than copy another design or style, be innovative and
stand out from the crowd.
So, how can you be different? Try breaking the rules of design and taking
risks.
Try a variety of styles to find the one that works best for your client. Try different
color combinations until you find one that makes your design truly original.
Have fun with the design program you use, and keep tweaking the design until
you feel you’ve got it right.
9. K.I.S.S. (KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID)
The simpler the logo, the more recognizable it will be.
For example, the Nike swoosh is an extremely simple logo and is also one of the
most recognizable in the world.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Follow the K.I.S.S. rule right from the start of the design process, when you
are brainstorming ideas and doodling sketches.
Often, you’ll find that you start with a relatively complicated design and end up
with a simpler version of it in the end.
Work the design down to its essentials and leave out all unnecessary
elements.
10. GO EASY ON EFFECTS
Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop, and other graphic design programs are
extremely powerful tools and have many filters and effects that you can apply to
your logo, but don’t get carried away!
There’s a time and place for these powerful tools, but it is not necessarily to
design a logo.
Of course, playing around and seeing whether they enhance a logo is fine, but
just remember that simplicity is key.
11. DEVELOP A DESIGN “ASSEMBLY LINE”
To produce consistently high-quality logos, you need to develop your own design
process, or “assembly line.” This should include the following steps:

Research

Brainstorm and generate ideas

Preliminary sketches

Develop vector designs

Send to client

Add or remove anything the client wants

Finalize the design and resubmit to client
Although you may want to tweak the order slightly, you should follow these basic
steps with each logo design.
This will help you streamline your work, stay organized, maintain focus, and
deliver better quality and more consistent results with each job.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
12. USE OTHER DESIGNS FOR INSPIRATION
ONLY!
The last rule for designing an effective logo is quite simple: don’t copy other
designers’ work! While there’s nothing wrong with being inspired by other
designers, copying another person’s ideas or work is morally and legally wrong.
Gallery websites exist that let you use vector art images free of charge, with
proper attribution under the Creative Commons License, but I strongly
recommend not going this route.
These websites can be helpful for
getting ideas during the
brainstorming stage, but you’re
better off starting your design
from scratch and making it 100%
original.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
3. http://www.wikihow.com/Design-a-Logo
14 steps to design a logo, read on-line to get started
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
4. http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/how-to-make-a-logo/
When was the last time you thought about the Apple logo? It’s not a overly-complicated
design, a fruit outline with a sizable bite missing from its right side, but it’s also one that
nearly every American can identify within a split second. It’s renowned, even iconic, and
ranks among the likes of Shell, Nike, and FedEx in terms of simplicity and brand
recognition. And like Yahoo’s whimsical, purple redesign, and the notorious Golden
Arches that first donned McDonald’s in the early ’60s, it tells a narrative while conveying
a desired message to its respective and potential markets.
A logo can come in countless forms and represent a bevvy of things, whether it be a
service or product, but it will always remain unique visual embodiment of what it
represents. Being so, it shouldn’t be something you haphazardly introduce to the world
without proper planning, feedback and execution. Sure, redesigns come and go with the
times — evident from recent updates to Instagram, Windows 8 and Facebook — but it’s
best to lay a solid foundation on which to build your logo and
accompanying business entity from the moment you publicly open the doors.
Here’s quick guide on how to make a logo. We aren’t going to hold your hand through
the entire process, but at least we’ll give you a few things to consider while crafting the
ultimate logo.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Step 1: Consider
Appropriateness — Your logo is representation of you and therefore needs to reflect
your particular brand, service or idea. Things such as your ideal target audience and the
overall aesthetics of your design must all be taken into account if you desire to produce a
professional and effective logo. It’s unlikely a law firm would sport the same kind of logo
design as a hometown skate shop or a company that dabbles in curating colorful floral
bouquets. Each one has its own individual appeal and clientele, thus each logo must also
possess individual nuances and a cohesive message tailored toward the appropriate
demographic and marketplace.
Skip ►
A professional company should don a professional (and perhaps serious) logo, while a
small business or restaurant may want something a bit more lighthearted and playful. In
some cases, your logo may represent the perfect opportunity for you to showcase what
defines your company or brand. For instance, the official NBA logo fittingly depicts a
man dribbling a basketball while the World Wildlife Fund uses the endangered panda
bear to aptly illustrate the organization’s devotion to environmental concerns. Regardless
of what your logo represents, do some research regarding your audience’s personal tastes
and look at the logos of potential competitors for a better idea of what works and what
doesn’t.
Versatility — Having an appropriate logo is not nearly enough. The design itself should
be flexible and versatile, allowing it to appear just as polished and legible on the Web and
business cards as billboards and merchandise. Obviously not all logos are fit for beer
koozies and trucker hats, but having a logo that can be properly scaled — and looks just
as grandiose when produced in black-and-white — is an absolute must for an emerging
company or brand. Try to avoid elongated logos, whether horizontal or vertical, as they
can prove difficult to work with when transferring mediums.
Simplicity — A great logo is both simple and describable, thus rendering it memorable.
Your audience doesn’t want to process a myriad of components and layers if they don’t
need to. Ditch the clutter and consider opting for a minimalist approach that avoids
photographs, multiple fonts and a vast array of colors. Keeping it simple will also likely
make it easier, cheaper, and quicker to reproduce and distribute your logo once finalized.
Look no further than enduring logos like the Nike swoosh or Shell’s clam-shaped logo
for elegantly simple inspiration.
Uniqueness — Logo design is an exercise in restraint and bucking the trend is one way
to persevere and retain an element of uniqueness in an industry bustling with Helvetica,
arches, and the classic double-letter overlay. While you should be inspired by the work of
others, make your design choices based on more than just what is commercially
appealing to your audience at the present, as popular baselines are constantly shifting and
adapting to the times. Instead, try to incorporate a sense of timelessness and your own
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
individually, while avoiding gimmicky and stock clip art at all costs. It’s called a
bandwagon for a reason.
Step 2: Create
Sketch designs — The design of a logo is what makes or breaks it in the real world. That
being said, sketches are a fantastic way to utilize the above elements and actually begin
visualizing your logo to be. Some logos are entirely font-based (i.e. Facebook, Twitter),
some incorporate an illustration alongside text (i.e. Taco Bell, Goodyear) and others rely
solely on an abstract design often devoid of an apparent meaning altogether (i.e. Nike).
It’s best to sketch a multitude of differing designs — factoring in negative space,
proportions, symmetry, and active appeal — to help you pinpoint what it is exactly
you’re looking for. Try restricting yourself purely to black-and-white for the time being,
thus initially avoiding a heavy reliance on color, and save all your work for future
reference. Again, remember to keep things simple with your font choices and overall
design aesthetics. Practice may not make perfect, but it will bring you closer to
pinpointing what it is you like from each of the sketches.
Colors — There’s visually more to a logo than just the shapes and fonts that may
compose it. Although your logo should hold its own when converted to greyscale, color
still plays a crucial factor when solidifying your branding and capturing an attentive
audience. People often associate different emotions with different colors, meaning you
should be careful what you choose, but you also shouldn’t shy away from a particular
color scheme if it’s part of your broader image and overall branding. For instance, the
pine green color of the John Deere logo is both iconic and psychologically evocative of
peacefulness and subtle growth. Other colors, like blood red and navy blue, are often
psychologically associated with emotions such as excitement and trust respectively.
Consistent colors help build a familiarity that can come define you in time.
Step 3: Translate
If sketches are the bones of a logo, then translating would be equivalent to adding a layer
of flesh. While you could utilize a premium Web-based solution such
as LogoMaker or LogoYes, there is a bounty of freemium tools that are just capable and
comprehensive for expanding upon the sketches of your choice. All of them are vectorbased, offering smaller files sizes and distortion-free scaling, and therefore ideal for
creating logos likely to don a variety of mediums and formats. Below are a few of our
personal favorites given their price point, robust feature set and overall industriousness.
Scan your sketches or start from scratch using the software of your choice.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Adobe Illustrator (Windows/Mac/Premium/Free) — Chances are you already know
Adobe’s flagship, premium products are standouts in all senses of the word. Illustrator is
no different, loaded with a professional swatch of sophisticated tools for quickly creating
and altering crisp images that maintain their vector-based art no matter their size. Like
most applications in the Adobe suite, Illustrator does not boast the lightest footprint, but
it’s still renowned when it comes to creating both Web and print graphics. Simple tasks
are self-explanatory enough though, regardless of your skill level, and there are countless
websites dedicated to publishing advanced tutorials for anyone looking to perform
specific task or just generally hone their skills. Feel free to download and install a free
copy of Adobe Illustrator CS2 if you don’t mind utilizing outdated software and engaging
in borderline-illegal activities. We take no moral, or legal, responsibility for your actions.
Inkscape (Windows/Mac/Free) — Inkscape doesn’t compare to Adobe Illustrator or
CoralDRAW in all aspects, but it does excel in one, crucial component: price. The
freemium, open-source software was designed on a cross-vector platform, utilizing realtime effects while subsequently providing options for quickly carrying out many of the
basic tasks found in more robust programs. Various SVG features include shapes, text,
markers, paths, alpha blending, grouping, gradients, and a cornucopia of useful tools for
crafting graphics, as well as additional tools for node editing, drafting layers and
performing extensive bitmap tracing. The software is relatively light, donned with large
self-explanatory icons and an ever-present color palette, and equipped with gobs of
tutorials covering everything from basic shape creation to editing calligraphy. It’s
not the best vector-based software on the market, but its nonexistent price tag and lavish
tool set will more than suffice for making basic logo designs.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Step 4: Obtain feedback
While you may think you’ve hit the jackpot when it comes to designing a quality logo,
others might not be as receptive to your supposed bout of ingeniousness. Share, show,
and send your potential designs to your friends, colleagues and potential clients to illicit a
bit of feedback. Let them analyze your designs to a tee and look at them from every
possible angle, after all, you don’t want to wind up on a list like the Huff Post‘s most
embarrassing logo roundup or create an uproar akin to the one surrounding the recent
University of California logo redesign. Talk about terrible.
A fresh set of eyes might alert you to something you previously missed, such as a hidden
word or meaning, while providing you with a general consensus of what did and did not
work. Remain open and receptive to the feedback directed at your work, but remember
everyone has their own set of personal preferences and opinions. Your friend may be a
crack shot lawyer, or even an accomplished astronaut, but the doesn’t necessarily mean
he or she knows the first thing about logo design. Take note, asking and focusing
questions on your logo’s weakest and strongest points, but don’t solely rely on the input
of others when making your final decision. Everything with a grain of salt as they say.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Step 5: Refine & finalize
Feedback is generally terrific — if you actually utilize it for the betterment of your logo.
Taking into account the criticisms and reactions you’ve received, tweak, and refine your
logo before settling on single design or several you fit appropriate, memorable and
appealing. Although nothing is set in stone, frequently changing your logo can often
alienate your audience. It’s difficult for people to affiliate a specific logo with your
produce, service or idea if the logo is in a constant state of limbo and extensive
rebranding. Still, don’t be afraid to run your logo through the feedback ringer again until
your satisfied with the results. When finished, finalize your logo and use it to your heart’s
desire.
What do you think of our simple guide on how to make a logo? Do you have a better
methodology or additional tips for beginners? As usual, don’t be shy and chime in below
with the details.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
5. http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/02/how-to-create-a-professional-logo/
HOW TO CREATE A
PROFESSIONAL LOGO
BRANDING, DESIGN, TYPOGRAPHY
· FEB 16, 2009
A professional logo can enhance a company, an organization, or a product. On
the other hand, an unprofessional logo can ruin a brand and mar an otherwise
good designer’s portfolio.
Many logos in use are unprofessional and carry all the tell-tale marks of an
amateur or a beginner. Everyone thinks they can design a great logo, but simply
knowing your way around Photoshop is not enough.
Here are some insights into the process and workflow of effective and modern
logo design. With these tips and your creativity, you can make your logo designs
shine with the very best.
1. DESIGN: SKETCH AND BRAINSTORM
A lot of beginners jump right onto the computer to create a logo. However, more
often than not, a lot of time is spent fiddling with special effects and filters. While
this can be useful, it usually means that the thoughtful design and artistry of the
logo itself has taken a back seat.
A better way to start is to get a fresh sheet of paper and a pencil. Think about the
meaning and the feeling you want the logo to impart to the viewer. Is it for a high
tech game company or a historic non-profit organization? Should it be complex or
simple? As you are thinking, sketch and doodle your ideas. Don’t worry about
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
making everything perfect. You just want to let your natural creativity flow without
your computer software taking over at this stage.
As you sketch different options, start eliminating the designs that seem weak or
inappropriate. When you are satisfied with your ideas, move to the computer.
(For those of you with graphics tablets, you can try sketching your ideas directly
on your computer, but try and keep away from special brushes and effects.)
If you are designing a logo for a customer, keep in mind that they might not like
all your ideas. So, before spending too much time on each design, you may want
to present some work-in-progress designs to gauge their level of interest. This
can be a huge time saver, especially if your customer has not given you a lot of
direction or if they tend to be very particular.
2. BUILD: VECTOR GRAPHICS
Ah, the world of vector graphics. This is a topic that many beginners (and some
professionals) find confusing. In recent years, some software such as Photoshop,
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Paint Shop Pro, and Fireworks have blurred the lines between vector and bitmap
graphics.
Common image formats like GIF, JPEG, BMP, and TIFF are all bitmap formats.
Digital photos are perfect examples of bitmap graphics (also known as a “raster”
images) – because they are made of dots which are also known as pixels.
Bitmap graphics have a specific resolution. If you zoom in on a digital photo, you
will see the individual pixels. You can scale a bitmap down in size, and get some
decent results, but increasing the size of a bitmap means that you are blowing up
the pixels and you will get mixed results depending on the amount of
enlargement. Photoshop, Pixelmator, Paint Shop Pro, and Painter are all
good examples of applications that are primarily designed for bitmap graphic
creation and photo editing. They are not the best tools for logo design.
In contrast, vector graphic files are not made of dots or pixels. Instead, they are
mathematical formulas for shapes. Vectors can be enlarged or reduced, to any
size, with no loss in detail or sharpness. For example, the lines and curves of a
vector graphic will look equally as sharp on a small business card as they will on
a giant advertising billboard. Professional logos are made with vector graphics so
that they can used for commercial printing, web sites, television, and all other
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
forms of media. Vector-capable file formats include EPS (encapsulated
postscript), PDF (portable document format), and AI (Adobe Illustrator).
If you learn to use vector-specific drawing software to create logos, you will be
able to create perfect straight lines, smooth curves, and accurate shapes quickly
and easily. Excellent commercial vector drawing programs
include Adobe Illustrator, Lineform, FreeHand, andCorel Draw. In addition,
there are excellent free alternatives including Inkscape which is shown below.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Using your pencil sketches as a guide, use your vector drawing software to
recreate a crisp version of your ideas. If you are new to using vector software,
take a few moments to learn the basics of using the pen tool to create lines and
“bezier” curves. Keep in mind that vector shapes can have a “stroke” of varying
thickness (the outside line of the shape) and a “fill” color or pattern (the inside of
the shape).
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
3. DECORATE: COLOR SCHEMES
When thinking about “fill” and “stroke” colors, try and use color combinations that
make sense for the logo. For example, you might not use bright pink and orange
for an investment bank. For color inspiration, look online
at Adobe’s free Kuler service or pick up a copy of Jim Krause’s Color Index 2.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
4. VERSIONS: BLACK AND WHITE
After you’ve made brought your logo to life with color, consider how it will look
when photocopied or faxed. If it looks muddy and incoherent when converted to
black and white by a copier or fax machine, its time to get back on the computer
and make a separate version of your logo that is purely black and white and
ready for anything. The black and white version may differ somewhat from the
original, but it should retain the overall look and feel. You may find yourself
converting a solid shape to a hollow shape or vice versa.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
5. PLANNING: MEDIA
While developing a logo, keep in mind your target medium. For example, if a logo
will only be displayed on a web site, you might jazz it up with multiple colors,
fades, or even special effects. However, if a logo will also be used for commercial
printing, you need to consider the complexity of the logo and the expense that
multiple colors and effects will add to the printing costs. For some logos, you may
want to create a web version and a less elaborate print version. In the printing
world, each color is called a “spot” color and the more colors that are required,
the more expensive the printing.
You should also take into consideration your “trapping” settings for your logo
graphics. Trapping refers to the space between two colors. On a printing press,
each color is usually printed separately and there can be some slight movement
of the paper and machinery as each color is printed. These slight movements
can cause thin hairline blanks between colors and even half of a millimeter will be
noticeable if you have 2 colors that are designed to touch each other perfectly.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
This is equally important for colored shapes that are outlined in black. In your
design, you can create an overlap (known as a “choke” or a “spread”) to occur
between adjoining colors to reduce the chances that movement on the printing
press will be noticeable.
However, if you look at a lot of professional logos, you will notice that different
colors do not always touch and there is frequently blank space built into the
designs. Blank space (“white space”) is not only an important visual tool but it
can also eliminate trapping worries.
6. REFINE: TYPOGRAPHY
Words that form a part of a logo are just as important as graphics. A lot of
beginners will use any old font for a logo. However, the lettering style, fonts, and
even the case (uppercase, lowercase, mixed) in a logo can have a dramatic
impact. Never underestimate the need to use effective typography. Also, if your
logo uses a font, use your software to convert the letters into shapes/outlines.
That way, if you need to send the vector file to someone, they won’t need to have
your font installed on their system.
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
MY FAVOURITES
Visual, double meaning, connection to product, overall the image
Unit #2—How to make a Logo
Unit #2—How to make a Logo