When starting a business, one of the things entrepreneurs have to think about is a logo for their brand. It might seem insignificant compared to other business decisions, but be assured – it is worth choosing a logo once and using it for the years to come. Keep reading to learn what makes a good logo and where to find the best places online to make one!
Do you need a logo?
A logo is much more than your company’s name illustrated with a small picture. A logo tells a story of what your brand is, who is your customer, and what are your values. If you want to stand out and have a professional look from day one, yes, you need a logo with one condition – you make not only the logo but invest in creating a brand identity.
5 cases when you need a logo
- Starting an Etsy shop. A logo will show up in your listing and a good logo can deliver a message that you are a reliable, high-quality brand.
- Starting a Shopify store. If you want your shop to stand out from competitors, it is a good idea to have a unique logo rather than plain text with just your shop’s name.
- Starting a real-life shop. If you are opening not just an online store, but also a physical store a logo will help your physical store to stand out.
- Selling in fairs and artist markets. A logo can be useful for real-life meetings with customers – they will recognize your shop by its logo and brand colors from far away.
- You will do social media marketing. A logo will bring together all your marketing channels – from webpage to Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
3 cases when you don’t need a logo right away
- Starting a blog. Even though a logo can be a nice touch, a blog business can live without a logo for some time while the blog gains momentum and grows traffic.
- Selling on Social Media under your personal brand. If you are an influencer or plan on selling print on demand products through your personal profile, you don’t need a logo, just the proper legal setup.
- You provide services. If you work in the B2B sector, there is less need for a logo. It is especially true if you get new clients through personal recommendations not advertising.
A logo starts with a brand
A logo is highly intervened with a brand identity and cannot be viewed as a separate item. One of the goals of a logo is to work as a recognition element and convey the brand message to the customer.
What is a brand?
In simple words, a brand is a distinct identity. In business, it is often expressed through colors, fonts, and communication styles. For example, when you name some popular brands like Coca-Cola, Tiffany&Co, Spotify, or Netflix – you know what their logos look like, what are they brand colors and how they usually talk to their audience.
You might also notice that you associate light teal blue with Tiffany’s brand even if it is just a similar colored grocery bag. Or if something else is written in the Coca-Cola font, it doesn’t matter what’s written, it will associate with the Coca-Cola brand.
And that’s how a good brand works. You don’t even need to see the real logo – you immediately think of a brand even when met with similar colors, items, and fonts.
How to make a logo that works with a brand?
- Start by defining your customer. You need to know exactly what are the values of your perfect customer and therefore what your brand stands for. Show those values in the logo.
- Define your product niche. For a brand, it is best to look for a broad niche, for example, “baking”, not just “cake baking”. Try to show the niche in the logo in some way.
- Choose associative colors. Depending on your brand, choose colors that correspond. For example, for a psychology practice, good brand colors are neutrals, pastels, and calming tones. Some niches can work with broader color schemes and choose almost any, for example, a design company, or clothing brand.
- Choose a corresponding font. If you are labeling yourself as a forward-thinking business, choose a modern font rather than something with a vintage flair.
- Communication style. Is your company’s communication style serious and corporate or friendly and cheerful? Convey this style through the logo by choosing corresponding elements, fonts, and colors.
What makes a good logo
Here are 8 principles that will help you design (or evaluate) the best logo for you!
- Simplicity
Think of some of the most popular logos – Google, Netflix, Vogue, Apple – they all have something in common and that is a very simple design. Simple design is also easy to remember and well-readable.
Simplicity can be expressed through font, number of colors, illustration/graphic, and the number of elements in the logo.
- Empty space
Embrace the empty space. Designers also refer to empty space as “negative space”. It is a space in the logo that has nothing on it. For example, if you have a square logo, you don’t fill the whole square with elements, you focus only on the middle point.
It can also mean space between elements. For example, a spacious font, or room to breathe between text and illustration.
It can also apply to having fewer details aka fewer lines in the design.
- Symbols
Symbols are a great way how to make an association with your brand. Even if the brand uses just text, they will often use their first letter as a symbol, for example, as Google or Netflix does.
But for a smaller brand, a symbol that shows what you do, can be very useful. For example, if you sell pet-related items, a logo with a paw can work well.
Symbols can also work as an eye-catching element if it is something unusual, funny, or interesting. This function of a symbol can work wonders for a smaller brand.
- Versatility
A logo must work well in different mediums. You should be able to use it on your website, on your business card, on t-shirts, on roller banners, and even on a window. Think of all the places your logo might end up, and determine whether the sketch you have now, meets all the standards.
To achieve versatility stick to the first point – simple design, and you should be fine!
Also, lots of design companies as well as AI design tools now offer mock-ups with your new logo on different items. Be sure to not skip them and check them out!
- Created for its intended use
Even though you want your logo to be versatile, it is also worth keeping in mind its primary use. If you are creating an e-commerce store make sure it first looks good there, and then think about other uses. Or if you are starting an Etsy shop, remember that their logo space is square, so maybe a square logo might be a good idea. But also don’t fixate too much on one platform, they might change their rules or you might want to migrate. It is just something to consider.
If you are bringing your logo into the real world, think about how it will look on t-shirts, roll banners, and signboards.
- Easy to read
Most likely your logo will contain your brand’s name. So, make sure people can read it. Avoid low contrast with text and background, very detailed and intricated font or details over the text.
Rather opt for high contrast, clear shapes, elements not touching (or just the edges touching), and as little extra details as possible.
A short brand name is also a plus. Think about it – it is much harder to read and remember long lines compared to sweet and short names.
- Stand out from your competitors
When creating a logo you definitely have to make a competitor’s brand analysis. You don’t want to be mistaken by another brand or even unintentionally copy some of its elements. It can lead to customer confusion and even legal trouble.
And you also want to stand out from your competitors.
By gathering logos and brand colors from some of the most noticeable brands in your niche, you will see a color palette. Choose logo colors, fonts, and designs that are nothing like anything else in your niche. That way people will easily distinguish your brand from your competitors and you will start to carve your way into the field.
- Color use in a logo
You want your brand and your logo to have a distinctive color palette. You will use it all over your marketing – from website to social media posts, packaging, and employee t-shirts. Some brands have colorful logos, for example, Slack and Google, some opt for one color, for example, Netflix. You can decide what works best for you, but to keep it simple it is best to stick to one or two colors. You will anyways have some derivative colors for marketing purposes, for example, backgrounds, color palettes for presentation, etc.
9 places where to get a logo online
Nowadays, it is quite easy to create a logo. There are a lot of AI tools that make good options, lots of templates you can adjust, and even human-designer services for affordable prices. Let’s see!
- Looka
Looka is a logo generator that offers not only logos but also a brand kit. You will get all the file formats and other options.
Price: Free for logo
Premium for brand kit
- Brandmark
Brandmark is a logo-generating service that will get all that a designer gives you and more – a brand kit, a logo, a style guide, Facebook covers, profile and app icons, etc. They even offer free touch-ups from human designers.
Price: Basic 25 EUR/one time, Full designer package 65 EUR/one time
- Canva
Canva is an online graphic design tool. They offer a lot of free logo templates that you can change to your liking. They also have premium templates and options for more versatility.
Price: Free or Premium12.99$/month
- Venngage
Venngage offers logo templates that you can tweak and change until you have a logo you enjoy.
Price: Free or starting from 10$/month
- Design.com
Design.com is an AI logo generator that will give you options, inspiration, and ideas. And maybe even the “right one”.
Price: Free
- Graphic Springs
Graphic Springs is a free logo maker. You can get a logo in just a few minutes. Enter your brand name, choose a niche and the logo maker will create a cute logo for you. After that, you can adjust colors, font, and everything else.
Price: Free
- Logo Maker
As the name states, Logo Maker is a logo-making website. You answer a few simple questions and get logo options. It is possible to edit the logo.
Price: Free
- Shopify Logo Maker
If you are creating a store on Shopify, this might be a good option for you. In Shopify logo maker you can create a professional logo in seconds. You answer a few questions and get a lot of options that you can edit later.
Price: Free
- Fiverr
Fiverr is perfect for finding a freelance designer, who offers logo design. By choosing to work with a human rather than an AI logo maker, you get to communicate your needs clearly and therefore most likely get a result you enjoy faster. Before hiring a designer, make sure you check their portfolio and know that you like their work!
In conclusion
In conclusion, a well-crafted logo serves as the visual cornerstone of a brand, encapsulating its essence in a simple yet powerful design. The key elements of a successful logo lie in its ability to be memorable, versatile, timeless, and reflective of the brand's identity. Through careful consideration of color, shape, and symbolism, a good logo not only grabs attention but also communicates the brand's values and personality to the audience.
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