Logo design for a business can be a challenging task, but with the right approach, I can create a logo that effectively represents your brand and helps you stand out from the competition. Here are some steps the we will work through together when designing your logo:
Define your brand
Before I start designing your logo, we need to need to have a clear understanding of your brand’s identity, values, and personality. What makes your brand unique, and what message do you want to communicate through your logo? We’ll spend some time brainstorming and coming up with a clear brand identity before moving on to the design process.
Research your competition
Take a look at the logos of your competitors to see what works and what doesn’t. You don’t want your logo to be too similar to that of a competitor, but you also don’t want it to be so different that it doesn’t fit in with your industry. We need to look for ways to differentiate you from your competition, while still fitting in with your industry’s norms.
Selecting brand colours
The colours we choose for your logo can have a big impact on how it’s perceived. Different colours can evoke different emotions and convey different messages. For example, blue is often associated with trust and stability, while red is associated with passion and energy. We’ll think carefully about the colours we choose and what message they send.
Choosing typography
The typography we choose for your logo can also have an impact on its effectiveness. The font should be easy to read and should complement the overall design of the logo. We may want to consider using custom typography to make your logo stand out from the crowd, to make it truly unique.
Generating ideas
Once we have a clear understanding of your brand identity, competition, colours, and typography, it’s time to start getting ideas onto paper, or at least screen! I’ll create a selection of design options for us to look at. We won’t worry too much about getting it perfect at this stage, as we’ll refine the ideas later.
Refining ideas
After I’ve created some initial ideas, it’s time to refine one or two. I’ll take your favourite ideas and refine them using your feedback and ideas. You can then show the selected designs to colleagues, customers, and other stakeholders to get their input. Listen carefully to their feedback and use it to refine your designs further.
Choose the final design
After we’ve refined the designs and you have received feedback, it’s time to choose your final logo design. Choose the design that best represents your brand identity, stands out from the competition, and resonates with your target audience. A good logo should be memorable and easily recognisable, stand out from the competition and be easily remembered by customers. A memorable logo can help build brand recognition and increase customer loyalty – think the ‘M’ of McDonalds, Apple’s icon, the Nike swoosh or Amazon’s smile logo.
Your logo should be timeless, not be easily dated and should be able to withstand the test of time, remaining relevant for many years to come. A logo that is too trendy may quickly become outdated and lose its effectiveness – e.g. there are lots of colour gradients around at the moment, however this will no doubt be less trendy in years to come and could look dated if applied to a logo.
Use your logo consistently
Once you have your final logo design, it’s important to use it consistently across all your marketing materials, including your website, social media profiles, business cards, printed items and more. Make sure your logo is visible and prominent in all your marketing materials to help build brand recognition. Brand guidelines are an essential tool to help build a strong, consistent brand. These will include your logo, fonts, colours, image style, tone of voice and more, and if used consistently will help you to build brand recognition, create a strong brand identity, and increase customer loyalty.
Please take a look at my design and branding services and get in touch if would like help or advice on logo design for your business.
Sarah Evans, freelance graphic designer in Lancashire.
