A logo gives a face to your brand. It shows who you are, sets the tone for what customers will think of you, and is an important part of branding. Creating a logo is a long, thought-provoking process. No element should be left to chance. How do you choose the right colours, shapes and fonts and how do you create your own logo in a simple graphics program?
How to create a company logo: Before you start
The logo you create may very well stay with you forever. That’s why it’s imperative that you think carefully about how it should look and what it should say about you. Have a brainstorming session with colleagues, consult an expert or sit down quietly on your own. Take a pencil and paper and write down the following points:
- Who is your target audience?Who is your target group? What do they like? What appeals to them? Why are these people looking for your brand?
- Analyseyour company and your products. Write down what values and qualities differentiate you from your competitors.
- Make a list of adjectivesthat people should associate with your brand.
- Search the weband do some research on your competitors. See what logos they use.
The first three points should be consistent – your brand value should correspond with your target audience and the feelings it evokes. The fourth point is to get an overview of what the competition is using and to be able to differentiate yourself from them.
How to create a logo that communicates the right message
The most important visual essence of your logo is colour. It should permeate not only your logo, but also your company website, newsletter, promotional printed materials, and everything else about your company. Identify two or three corporate colours and stick to them. In fact, according to a Loyola University survey, using a specific colour increases the chances that customers will recognize your brand by 80 %.
How to make a logo and not go wrong with colour
Colour, along with shape, is a major parameter of how customers will perceive your brand. It has long been known that colours evoke emotions, but few companies can work with them. So, what is the secret of colour? At the very basic level, colours are divided into cool and warm, with cool colours evoking elegance and professionalism, while warm colours spread a sense of energy and warm emotions.
How do the different colours affect customers
A poorly chosen logo colour can reduce brand trust by up to 78 %. That’s why you should be particularly careful when choosing a colour. What is the psychological impact of each colour on customers?
- Yellow: warmth, sunshine, happiness. No wonder it is used by travel agencies, for example.
- Red: energy, passion, urgency. Red is the favourite colour of fast food.
- Blue: calm, trustworthy, confident. Often found in financial institutions, for example.
- Green: loyalty, health, nature. The ideal colour for farm produce, for example.
- Black: prestige, luxury. Used, for example, by showrooms with expensive cars.
- White: Prestige, luxury, simplicity, purity. It’s not for nothing that white is the main colour for everything related to weddings.
What to watch out for: The meaning of colour is closely related to the culture of a country. In Japan, for example, you wouldn’t make anyone happy with white – it’s the colour of sadness. If you are doing business internationally, find out what the colours mean in the other countries where you operate.
Shapes
Shape is as important as colour in a logo. It stirs emotions and evokes certain qualities. Rounded shapes evoke positive feelings. They are more aesthetically pleasing and have a friendly feel. If you use a circle in your logo, you evoke a sense of community. Sharp edges and angles give a practical and stable impression. Customers will think of a company that uses this shape as strong and efficient.
You can use shapes in two ways:
- In harmony with the colour so that they complement each other and enhance the resulting feeling.
- Contrast with colour by softening a sharp shape with a soft colour, or vice versa.
Fonts
The same applies for fonts as for shapes. Round letters are more subtle, cursive or “handwriting” is what customers associate with the feminine element. Square and hard fonts are masculine, evoking progress and technology. Decorative, frilly fonts can be chosen for children’s products, while calligraphy can be used to emphasise the brand’s historical value. The shapes, colours and font should work together to create a harmony that communicates the final impression of the brand.
Tip: A logo can contain a maximum of two fonts.
If you decide to use two different fonts for your logo, choose each font for a different part of the message – for example, one font for the brand name and one font for the tagline that appears below the name – but never combine multiple fonts into one section, or even into one word.
How to create a custom logo that meets the technical parameters
To be practical for use in printed materials, on the web and on large posters, a logo needs to be flexible in size. How do you achieve this? Create your logo using vector graphics – unlike raster graphics, these are not made up of individual pixels, but of straight lines and curves that adapt seamlessly to the size and keep the logo sharp at all sizes. Create a black and white version of the logo too, which will come in handy if your business appears in the newspaper, for example.
How to create your own logo in Canva
Wondering how to create an original logo on your own? The answer is simple: There are countless programs on the Internet that allow you to do just that. Today we’re going to introduce you to Canva, which is user-friendly, localized in English and free.
In Canva, you can either create a brand-new creation, or choose from one of the pre-set logo templates.
It is very easy to edit the font and graphic elements using the top bar, which offers you to change the font, colour or even the font size.
After that, all you must do is download the logo in the desired quality.
Leave the logo creation to myTimi
Don’t have the courage to create a logo yourself? Are you unfamiliar with the psychology of colour or do you lack the necessary graphic skills? Leave the logo creation to myTimi. We will work on your company graphics and figure out how to show your business in the best light.
