Do you need design tips for your new logo?
Companies regularly spend millions of dollars designing their logo. BP spent over GBP130 million on its logo redesign.
There’s a reason for that investment. One advertising firm credited its logo design with its global expansion.
Whether you’re looking for a change or creating a logo for your new business, a great design can make all the difference.
Eager to find out more? Here the best design tips for your new logo!
1. Plan Ahead
The first tip is to start at the very beginning of the design process. Many people think that a logo is just something to put on a business card.
A logo is much more than that. It’s a reflection of your business, what it stands for, and what you do to help people.
All of that can be conveyed in one image. It’s necessary to say so much in that one image because consumers have less time and attention to give.
Your logo has to make a huge impact to break through the clutter immediately.
The process starts with you getting very clear about what your business is (and isn’t).
A good logo design doesn’t happen overnight. It takes planning and patience. You’ll want to ask yourself a few questions before you jump into the design process.
Who is your core customer?
What are the three most important things people need to know about your company?
What makes your company different from your competitors?
These questions will force you to dig deep to learn what your company is about. Once you have the answers, you can incorporate them into the logo design to ensure your message gets across.
2. Know Design Basics
When it comes to design tips for your new logo, most people overlook the basics.
They simply go with what they think looks good. In the end, they may have missed the mark by creating a logo that was too busy.
Here are the basic design principles you need to know.
Font
Did you know that typefaces can convey emotion? For example, a Retro Font can take people back in time and create warm feelings about their childhood.
Helvetica can make people think of the US government. That’s the font that’s used on tax forms.
Other fonts can come across as strong and bold.
For example, if you look at the logo for MilitaryCoinsUSA, you’ll see that they have just used text and a small image next to it.
The company uses a strong, block font that conveys exactly what they do. They offer military challenge coins. The logo is very simple and makes good use of whitespace.
Color
Color has a psychological impression too.
Red increases a person’s heart rate and induces a sense of urgency. That’s why you see red on sales signs.
Blue is known for dependability, strength, and reliability. Orange is for confidence.
Go back to your list of the three things that you want people to know about your company. What colors are associated with those things?
3. Avoid Borrowing from Others
There’s a line between doing competitive research, getting ideas, and stealing elements from other logos.
You should know what your competitors’ logos look like so you don’t create one that is similar to theirs. That will only confuse customers.
Even if you take a font from an iconic logo, people will still associate that font with the original company.
Let’s say you tried to use Coca-Cola’s font in your logo. People will recognize that font and get confused. They won’t be sure what your company is and what it does.
Your logo needs to be original. When you do research, note what you like and dislike about other logos. Go above and beyond to make them your own.
4. Create a Meaning and Story for Your Logos
Every logo should have some kind of meaning. Nike’s swoosh represented the wings of Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory.
The mermaid from Starbuck’s logo is a Norse legend. The two-tailed mermaid was seductive. The same could be said about the coffee, which was sold from the first store near Seattle’s waterfront.
When you’re designing your logo, try to tell the story behind the logo. What does each element represent? Thinking about your logo that way forces you to be deliberate about every font and color that’s used.
5. Think about Usage
Where will your logo be used? This can also determine your logo design.
If your logo is going to be used in a small space like a business card, you may want to skip having a tagline.
From a practical standpoint, if you’re planning on using your logo on promotional items or branded merchandise, you won’t want to use many colors.
In the printing process, too many colors in a logo can bleed together, causing one big mess.
Make a list of everywhere you want to use a logo. Once you have a couple of test designs, print them out and put them on items like letterheads and brochures to see how they look.
6. Simplicity Rules
You have a lot that you want people to know about your company. Yet, your logo can only say so much.
That’s why it’s tempting to add multiple images and taglines into the logo.
Keep the design clean and simple as possible. Stick with one image, one or two fonts, and a couple of colors at the most.
You’ll need to think outside the box to fit all of that into your logo.
7. Have Fun and Be Open to New Ideas
Designing a new logo is a creative experience. If you get too bogged down in the details and try to make it perfect, you can get lost in the process.
Instead, stick with the key elements that you want to convey about your company.
Then, be open to ideas and play around with different fonts and colors.
The more you stay open, the more fun the design process is.
Use the Best Design Tips for Your New Logo
Now that you know the top design tips for your new logo, it’s time to get started and put your logo front and center.
It can make a great first impression that could jump-start your new business.
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