A quick and extremely awesome guide to logo design

a quick and
extremely
awesome
guide to
L G OO DESIGN

So you’ve decided to take the
plunge and start a business.
Congratulations!
2 | A Quick Guide To Logo Design
a quick and extremely awesome guide to logo design
Your future is sure to be filled
with lots of exciting mile-
stones: product launches, first
customers, reviews from news
outlets, and (hopefully) finding
that you’ve achieved the goal
of starting something from
scratch and bringing it into the
world.
But for all the celebratory moments of
establishing a business, there are many
tasks - big and small - that you have to
attend to. One of these is coming up
with a logo for your business.
Creating a logo isn’t something you
should take lightly. If your business is
a manifesto stating your purpose and
worldview, your logo is the envelope
you put it in. In other words, it’s one of
the first things a customer will come
into contact with, a visual cue that will
hopefully stick with them long after
they’ve left your store or walked away
from your advertisement.That means
it’s hugely important to design a logo
that is memorable and makes a consu-
mer feel the way you want them to feel.
In this eBook, we’ll talk about how to go
about creating a striking logo that at-
tracts customers, sets your brand apart,
is easy to understand, and uses color
in a way that that elicits the emotional
reaction you want.

A logo isn’t something that was
cooked up by 20th
century
advertisers and marketers
looking for a way to make
money off their clients. Logos
are actually complex represen-
tations of how human beings
use language and visual cues.
The word “logo” is technically short for
“logotype,” which is descended from a
Greek term that roughly means “word
imprint.” One of the earliest examples
of a logo is the coat of arms, a medieval
symbol often worn by knights that iden-
tified their family or state.Another early
precursor to the modern business logo
is the wax seal, a tradition that began in
the 16th
century as a way for people to
seal letters with an identifying marker. It’s
important to note that in each of these
cases logos had to be unique in order to
identify the knight or letter sender.
The increasing focus on artistry and
creativity and the introduction of mass-
produced goods that came about in the
late 1800s could be considered to be the
beginning of logo creation. However, it
wasn’t until 1876 that the first logo was
trademarked: the red triangle you can
find on every Bass beer.
The History
of the Logo

Logos also become more important with the rise of
globalization. Business owners and manufacturers
needed a way to describe their product in way that
could be recognized by people of all linguistic back-
grounds. An abstract logo allowed them to bypass
translation issues and offer an easily digestible way
of identifying their business.
It’s important to keep in mind that logos began as primarily an
artistic endeavor, and the artistry behind them can’t be stressed
strongly enough.Whether you’re a business owner or medieval
knight, your logo is a distillation of ideas and emotions. It’s the de-
finition of art.And even if your logo is little more than your brand
name (think IBM or Hallmark), a good logo will take these words
and use color, font, and design to give them life.
The History
of the Logo

Know The Facts
A logo is more than
just a pretty design.
By the age of eight, almost
all children are able to correctly
match a logo to its product.
It's tells a story that
lodges itself in a consumer's
brain for a very long time.
A few years later, children
aged seven or eight are able
to regularly recall the logo.
A recent study found that
humans begin to recognize the
fact that certain logos stand for
certain products around three to
five years of age.

Before you start actually design-
ing your logo, think about
what you’re trying to accomplish.
How are you trying to portray
your brand? Edgy? Sophisticated?
Whimsical? Feminine?
How should your logo make
your customers feel?
As a business owner, you’ve probably
learned the importance of making lists.
In this early brainstorming stage, write
down the answers to the questions
above. If you’re feeling creative, free-
associate a list of words that you’d
use to describe your brand.
It’s also important to think about where
your logo will appear. Sure, the huge intri-
cate design you came up with might look
amazing on your business card,
but how will it look on your storefront
window?Your business card?Your
website?You company’s softball team?
You get the picture. A logo has to
be like the perfect bottle of wine: suitable
for an almost endless array of situations.
So while it may be tempting to think
about your logo as a haircut, something
that you can change with ease, it’s better
to think about it as a tattoo, a telling sym-
bol that will be with you for a long time.
A logo has to be like the perfect bottle of wine:
suitable for an almost endless array of situations.
DefineYour
Purpose

Get Inspired
After you’ve come up with
a list that describes the logo
design goals, make it your
job to look at as many logos
as possible.
You’ll definitely want to take a look at
the logos of some of the world’s most
iconic brands: Nike, Starbucks,
McDonald’s,Apple, IBM, Reebok,
Hershey, and Proctor and Gamble are
all good places to start. Figure out what
it is about them that you like. Is it their
simplicity?Their use of text and abstract
shapes?Their color?Their font?
If you don’t like some of them, try to
figure out what you’d change.
Again, a list of words or ideas, no matter
how abstract, can help you figure out
what it is about these iconic logos that
you do and don’t like.
You don’t only have to look at logos for
inspiration. Art books, magazines,
websites, even long walks, can
help you figure out what you
want your logo to look like.
You may also want to ask friends or
family members what logos they like.
If that’s too difficult of a question for
them, ask them what they think of when
they think of your business. Some of the
answers you get may be better than
others, but you can never have too
much inspiration.

Ask For Help
At this stage, you’re ready to start
designing your logo.
If you feel confident your grap-
hic design skills, you should by
all means go about coming up
with logo concepts on your own.
The key to success is coming up
with as many concepts as possi-
ble.While it may be tempting to
come up with one concept and
tweak it for a long period of time,
putting a couple dozen ideas on
paper will help you figure out
your options and determine what
you do and don’t like.
If you get stuck, ask for advice.Ask a
trusted friend which versions he or she
responds to. In some cases, the less they
know about graphic design and mar-
keting, the better.After all, you want to
know how the average person walking
down the street experiences your logo.
You should also consider hiring a pro-
fessional to create your logo for you. If
you don’t know anything about graphic
design, this may be a foregone conclu-
sion, but even a business owner who
knows (or thinks they know) how to
design a logo can benefit from turning
to a professional for assistance.
LOGO
help!
help!

Ask For Help
Having a stranger or professio-
nal work on your logo can offer
valuable perspective. For
instance, you might think
a whimsical, floral logo is best
for your restaurant, but an
outsider may introduce
another element - a futuris-
tic font, or an unexpected use
of color - that totally changes
how you envision your logo.
However, even if you’ve turned to a
professional for help with your logo,
don’t be afraid to voice your opinion.
Be sure to tell them what you do and
don’t like. Don’t worry about hurting
their feelings! And of course, that list of
words and phrases you created to help
identify will definitely come in handy
about now.
Hiring a solid logo designer
doesn’t have to cost an arm and
a leg. There are plenty of places
online where you can find
talented creative professionals
willing to work for a relatively
low price in order to build their
design portfolio and help out
business owners in need.

One of the most important considerations
for a business is the color or colors they use
to identify their brand.
Colors can leave a lasting impression and elicit a wide range of reactions and
emotions, making it an important thing to consider when creating your logo,
painting your offices, or designing any of your marketing materials.
So what exactly do those colors mean?
Consider the Color

Blue Yellow
Entrepreneur says this color is one that stands for
being “trustworthy, dependable, fiscally responsible,
and secure.” Makes sense when you think that this
is the color is central to the identities of Facebook,
WalMart,AT&T, and probably your town’s police
department.
Fast Company calls yellow an optimistic color that
has the benefit of being bright enough to grab a
consumer’s attention from a distance. It makes
sense that Denny’s and McDonalds both use yellow
in their logos since they’re eager to attract hungry
travelers on the interstate.

Orange Red
Considering using orange in your business branding?
Fast Company calls orange a “friendly” color that
is used by everyone from Nickelodeon to Hooters.
Entrepreneur says that orange tends to appeal to an
upscale market, and that lighter oranges can work
well in beauty salons, restaurants, and even hospitals.
Red is a tricky color for markets. Fast Company says
it stands for “excitement,” but that it also can cause an
excitement in consumers that isn’t always welcome.
Entrepreneur agrees, saying,“Count on red to evoke a
passionate response, albeit not always a favorable one.
For example, red can represent danger or indebted-
ness.” In addition, red is often used to announce big
sales, which might not be the vibe you’re looking for.

Green Purple
Green is the easiest color for eyes to process,
according to Fast Company, and also one that brings
to mind (what else?) money. Entrepreneur calls it a
serene color that brings to mind health, freshness,
and serenity.All these things explain why green
shows up in the logos of brands like Whole Foods,
Land Rover and Starbucks.
Purple is a strong color with strong connotations.
Fast Company says it’s the go-to color if you’re look-
ing to portray your brands as imaginative or wise
(seeYahoo! and the SyFy Network).They note it can
also be a soothing, calming color, which is why it’s
a popular way to promote anti-aging products.
Entrepreneur says light lavender can evoke feelings of
nostalgia and sentimentality (e.g., the Hallmark logo).

Pink Brown
Depending on what shade you go with, pink can be
used to say a few different things about your brand.
Entrepreneur says hot pink evokes feelings of fun and
youthfulness, while pale pinks are more romantic.
As Fast Company points out, any shade of pink is
going to lend your brand a feminine touch.
Entrepreneur calls brown a dependable, sturdy
color that also happens to be good at hiding dirt.
This may explain why it’s the color of UPS and
other trucking companies. However, note that
the dirt connotation can be a turn off for some
customers - so maybe don’t give your bridal
boutique a brown logo.

Black White
Black means business.That’s why it’s the preferred
color for glamorous eveningwear and stretch
limousines. If you’re looking to convey drama and
sophistication, Entrepreneur says this color will
do the trick. Fast Company wholeheartedly agrees,
calling this the color of upscale luxury items.
When you use white in your logo or marketing
materials, you’re telling people you have nothing
to hide. Fast Company points out that Apple,
Wikipedia, and Honda all rely on white for their
branding. Entrepreneur calls it out as one of the
more eye-catching colors, and notes that it can
also denote purity and cleanliness.

So this is the down and dirty of creating a logo.
That being said, there’s no single way to come
up with a logo.
You may be the least design minded person in the world, but if inspiration
strikes you at 4 a.m. and you find yourself still loving the results three or
four months later, just go with it.
The most important thing is coming up with a logo
you feel perfectly encapsulates your business.
Bringing Your Logo to Life!
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A quick and extremely awesome guide to logo design

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