Did you know that a whopping 75% of people recognise a brand by its logo? It is the leading brand identifier that precedes visual style, brand colour, and unique voice.
On the flip side, 60% of consumers avoid a brand depicted by odd, unappealing, or unattractive logos even if they have good reviews
To cut a long tale short, logo designs matter. They’re much more than an image — they’re a visual representation of your business in action.
On that note, let’s explore why you need a logo and how you can go about creating one.
Why Do Logos Matter?
Before investing time and effort into designing a professional logo, there’s nothing wrong in thinking if it’s even worth it. If you’re struggling with the same, here are some compelling reasons why you should take the plunge:
- A well-designed logo offers a solid first impression of your brand.
- It brands your business and carves a unique identity for it.
- It imparts a professional image to your business and helps maintain trust and credibility.
- You can stand out from your competitors, which plays a role in attracting and retaining customers.
- Optimised logos can emphasise your role in the industry and even convey your brand story.
- It provides a visual link to your business, which is easier to recall and remember.
From the above, it only goes without saying that yes, a professional logo design is totally worth it.
A Handy DIY Guide to Logo Designing
Just because a professional logo promises a bouquet of benefits, it doesn’t mean that you have to pay through the nose to get one designed. You can always start with the DIY approach to logo design.
“How to DIY my logo?” you say? Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Set design goals
As with everything, the first step is to formulate a design goal and strategy.
Start by listing out the adjectives associated with your brand. Align it with the emotions that you wish to induce amongst your audiences.
Are you an approachable startup that is young and lively? Or do you consider yourself a figure of authority? In the case of the former, you would want to evoke visions of fun and frolic, while for the latter, you would want to convey formality to build trust and credibility.
Next, streamline these goals by incorporating the key principles of logo design:
- Keep it simple and original.
- Make it memorable.
- Aim for the balance of modernity and timelessness.
- Design to complement your brand values.
- Maintain versatility and scalability.
Finally, note all this down so that you do not lose focus from the primary goal. After all, a creative journey can be rather distracting, and you do not want to meander!
Step 2: Understand logo types
Typically, all logo designs can be decomposed into a strategic combination of images and typography.
However, each logo delivers a unique look and feel due to the different moving parts involved. And for this reason, it’s crucial to understand the different types of logo design, which can be broadly classified as:
- Abstract Mark: An abstract geometric logo like Pepsi.
- Mascot Logo: Uses the brand’s mascot or ambassador like KFC.
- Combination Mark: Combines text and icon or mascot like Starbucks.
- Emblem Logo: Uses text within an icon or a symbol like a badge. This style is often used by schools and government entities.
- Lettermark: An all-text logo that is consist of the company’s brand initials like NASA.
- Pictorial Mark: Only uses an icon like Instagram and Twitter.
- Wordmark: A logo that only uses the company name like Google.
The use of a particular type of logo depends on its applicability. For instance, a wordmark logo suits businesses that have short or unique business names. On the other hand, a pictorial mark logo design helps global businesses that would have to otherwise translate lettermark logos.
READ: What to Learn from the World’s Most Remarkable Logos
Step 3: Analyse the competition
Equipped with your logo design goals and knowledge of the different types, it’s time to carry out market research.
Study the different brands in your line of business. Analyse their logos and identify what makes them a success or a failure. Use this exercise as a basis for forming a roadmap of the dos and don’ts on how to DIY your logo.
Step 4: Flesh out the details
Every design has seven major elements, namely, lines, shapes, colours, typography, texture, value, and space. And each has a specific role to play.
Lines, for instance, create a sense of separation. Colours stir up certain emotions. Typography conveys the tone of the brand message, and so on. Given that once you commit to your logo design, it will represent your business everywhere you go.
So, break these down to a granular level and record them to avoid inconsistencies. You may be surprised at how perceptive the human eye could be even to minor changes in font styles, size, or colour to the extent that your brand may appear to be a knock-off.
Step 5: Get creative and start designing!
Now comes the fun bit – designing the logo! Get your creative juices flowing and prepare multiple prototypes of the logo design that may fulfil your objectives.
A logo maker tool can simplify this task by many folds. OncEthane you have a few options ready, run it by your marketing teams, colleagues, or even loyal customers. Don’t be afraid to take a break and put this task aside, as it will allow you to review it with fresh eyes.
Final Thoughts
Creating a logo design for your business is essentially Branding 101! So, get started with it as soon as you can. In fact, even if you do have a logo in place, you can consider upgrading it and adding a little more pizzazz.
Hopefully, this post has been successful in answering your “how to DIY my logo” question. With the above information, you can set out on a creative quest of finding a logo that satisfies your branding requirements.
