Logos are the graphic extension of the internal realities of a company.
– Saul Bass
A business logo combines text and/or images to create a symbol that tells consumers the name of your business, and it also helps form your brand identity. I want to be clear that a logo isn’t the same as your brand. If you’d like to know more about what a brand is, check out this blog post. A brand is the experience or the perception that people have about your small business. A logo is a part of your brand identity, but it is not your complete brand.
Why Do You Need a Great Business Logo?
Having a logo is really important. Not only do you need a logo, but you need a great logo. A lot of small business owners tend to gloss over their logos. They pull images from Google, they try to create something in graphic design software with little design experience, and they don’t give it the attention to detail that it deserves. When a logo looks unprofessional, people often will question your business and the quality of products that you offer.
A great logo does many things. It grabs attention, it gives a good first impression, it helps to identify your brand, it’s memorable, it differentiates you from the competition, and it gives brand loyalty.
When you see other logos, you’ll notice that they are on everything from business cards and websites to social media to product packaging. This is why having a great logo is important because it is what your customers will see on everything. It is the first impression that people have about your business, so you want it to be great.
Choosing Business Logo Typography
There are several elements you’ll need to consider when creating a logo. The typography, the colors, shape or layout and an iconic element. You’ll want to carefully consider each of these elements so that you end up with a polished logo.
Typography is the type of font you use, and it should be consistent throughout your brand. If you use it in your logo, then you should also use it in other areas like social media, newsletters and other branding. The typography that you choose should be easy to read, but it should also represent your business. For instance, a gym would probably pick a bold font whereas a wedding planning business would go with a cursive font. When picking fonts, you’ll come across an array of fonts like serif, sans-serif fonts, script and modern.
Serif fonts have little edges on the letters and they are generally considered traditional and classic. Sans-serif fonts don’t have edges on the letters and they can give a logo a more modern and clean look. Script fonts have a handwritten look to them, and they can give a logo a formal and elegant style. Modern fonts are sans-serif in nature and they generally are popular among younger demographics.
Choosing Business Logo Colors
The colors you choose for your logo will be the colors that represent your brand. Stick with three colors or less so that it is visually pleasing on your consumer’s eyes. Check out a color wheel to help you choose colors that compliment each other.
Think about how the colors you pick will make your customers feel. For example the color pink is generally feminine and has a calming effect whereas the color yellow radiates happiness and positivity. Research colors and emotions to help you pick colors that will represent your business well.
Adding Shapes and Elements
Logo shapes can help you create logos that are unique. Shapes like circles, rectangles and triangles also convey feelings and meaning to a business logo and the brand it represents. Circles generally give a sense of unity, whereas triangles can be associated with strength and speed. Whether you include shapes or not, you’ll have to consider the layout of your logo. Where you’ll put the iconic elements, text and slogan are all things to consider when creating your logo.
Iconic elements are symbols that can be added to logos to help customers recognize your business. They are generally simple elements and can include pictures like a lightbulb, mustache or animal or they can be abstract like overlapping circles or triangles. If you want an iconic element, be sure that it doesn’t confuse your customers. The symbol needs to represent your business and it should also match the style of your font if possible.
Choosing a Word Mark
You don’t need an iconic element if you can’t find one that truly represents your business. Your logo can simply be a word mark logo. A word mark logo is just your business name without symbols and it can be in an existing or custom typography.
A word mark logo tends to look best with business names that are short and don’t have slogans. You can also choose to do a monogram logo. A monogram logo generally is a company’s initials or the first letter of their business name.
Create a Business Logo
Now that you know what is in a logo, it’s time to create one. You should have written down, and maybe even sketched out some ideas. If you still haven’t figured out a logo idea, research your competition and see if you can figure out what’s similar and different about them to help give you some ideas. When you’re ready to create logo, you have a few options to consider: create a logo yourself, buy a logo template, use an online logo maker or hire a professional graphic designer.
Designing a logo yourself from scratch will be the cheapest route. It can be scary for some, but you’ll learn a lot along the way. If you don’t have a lot of design experience, I don’t recommend this method as it can be extremely frustrating and time consuming. However, if you know your way around a particular design program like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, then this is certainly an option to consider.
Use Business Logo Templates
If you don’t have any design experience, you can still design a logo yourself for cheap. There are many websites and designers who sell logo templates. Logo templates are essentially logos that are already designed that you can make edits to so that you can add your company name, colors and more to it.
Some templates may be more customizable than others so you’ll have to read the fine prints. Also, it’s possible that other companies are using these templates so you may end up with a logo that’s similar to someone else’s.
Find an Online Logo Generator
Another affordable way to create a logo is to use an online logo maker. An online logo maker gives you the tools you need to create a logo without all the extras that are in a graphic design program. They will have built in layouts, shapes, fonts and they use artificial intelligence to help you create a great looking logo. Some websites offer these generators for free, while others will charge a fee.
Hire a Professional
Lastly, you can hire a professional graphic designer to create a logo for your business. The price of this will fluctuate depending on your needs and who you use to design the logo. You can find something that fits your budget on websites like fiverr.com and etsy.com or you can search for a professional on a website like 99designs.com.
There are a lot of options available when it comes to finding someone to help you design a logo. Be sure to have a budget in mind and also a few design ideas of your own so that the designer has a staring point to work with.
You’re Off to a Great Start
Now that you have a name for your business, a brand, a slogan and a logo, you are ready to take things to the next level by investing your time, money and energy into your business to get everything up and running. I’ll discuss some great tactics in a future blog post to help you open up shop.
Download this FREE worksheet to help you write down all your business logo ideas.
Business Ideas Worksheet
This is a FREE PDF that goes with the blog post How to Create a Logo for Your Craft Business.
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