Designing a new logo can be an exciting process, but a little scary, too. After all, you want to get this right. Your logo can say a lot about your brand. It can make you more memorable if you do it right, and it can even let people know whether you are true industry insiders like you claim you are. Whether you’re looking to create a logo for the very first time or you want a logo for your rebrand, you’ll find some advice to help you here. Read on for 14 things that every entrepreneur should know about logo design!
1. You Don’t Need To Spend A Fortune
The good news is, if you’re on a budget you absolutely do not need to spend a fortune to come up with your logo. In fact, there are some very prominent businesses out there who had their logo designed for $5 from Fiverr. Check out freelancer sites like this and see what your budget can get you. Of course, it might be worth spending more if you can, but it isn’t always a necessity.
2. Less Is Often More
Think of logos these days: what do you see? There’s a lone apple, a ghost shaped figure, and other minimalistic logo designs that are simple but easily recognisable. Less if often more when it comes to logos. Gone are the days when entrepreneurs desperately try to cram as much imagery into their logos as possible. Keeping it simple is the way forward. Just how simple you make your logo is up to you.
3. Your Logo Design Is Not Your Branding
It’s so important to remember that your logo design is not your branding. This means that you can’t rely on a great logo to brand your entire business! Your branding is everything, from the tone of voice you use across various platforms, to how you treat your customers. A logo adds to it, but it isn’t all your brand consists of. Even once you have a wonderful logo, your work is not done.
4. Your Logo Must Be Consistent With The Rest Of Your Brand
Make sure your logo is consistent with the rest of your brand. You’ll want to consider absolutely everything to ensure that it fits in with what you’re trying to achieve seamlessly. For example, you could ask the following questions:
- What is our tone of voice like?
- How would we describe our brand personality?
- Why can our customers trust us?
- What makes us different from similar businesses out there?
- What colors do we most often use and why?
5. Your Logo Should Help People To Remember What You Stand For
In an ideal world, your logo will be so well designed that it lets people know why you exist and what you stand for. Consider this as you come up with ideas and put things together. You’re not just trying to come up with some cool or edgy, or pick a random symbol to represent your brand. You’re trying to use your logo to send a message!
6. You Might Need To Take A Risk
In some cases, it might be a good idea to take a risk when you design your new logo. For instance, you might make a reference to the industry that only certain people might know about – this will show you are insiders and that you know what you are doing! This may not work for every type of business, but it can certainly work for some.
7. Do Market Research Once You Have Designed A Logo
‘Trust your gut’ is sometimes great advice, but not in this instance. While the logo you go with is ultimately down to you, you should do market research once you have designed the logo you believe is the right one. This will help you to figure out what the best fonts and colors are, amongst other things.
You’re going to want to gather as much feedback as possible to determine whether your logo is truly saying what you’re trying to say.
8. Consider Working With A Pro
You don’t need to work with a pro, but as a good logo design should last at least 10 years, you should allocate a suitable budget to it. The designer you choose should be familiar with your industry and competition. Even if you have a good idea what you want it to look like, consulting a professional will ensure you come up with the most effective logo for your needs. This logo is going to be the foundation for all of your promotional materials, and spending more now will nearly always pay off later on. This sort of goes against what we said in the first point, but if you do have a budget, then you should allocate more to your logo design! Just be sure you find the right logo designer by:
- Checking out their portfolio.
- Making sure you can communicate well with them.
- Ensuring they understand your business and needs.
- Making sure they have suitable experience.
9. You Should Understand The ‘Mood’ Of Colors
Choosing your colors is not as simple as selecting your favorite colors and sticking them on your logo. They need to match the tone of your business, and researching the mood of colors is crucial for this. People subconsciously match colors with certain moods. For example, orange is a happy color, while blue is quite tranquil. Purple can indicate royalty, while red can indicate urgency. You’ll want to do lots of research so you can make sure that your colors are right, instantly giving off the correct vibe – even if it is subconscious for the most part.
10. Don’t Forget To Make It Scalable
Your logo shouldn’t just look good on your website or on a business card, but printed small on pens and huge on billboards. Your ideal logo should look good at every size, so keep this in mind as you come up with designs.
11. Be Original
Don’t look at your competition and come up with something similar but different. Be as original as you can! Competition analysis is important, and your competition might be doing well, but the last thing you want to do is get a reputation as a business with no creativity.
12. Utilize White Space
White space can be used on your logo to create a better look and feel overall. Utilize it if you can.
13. You Must Understand The Legal Aspects Of Using A Logo
On top of designing a wonderful logo, you also need to understand the legal aspects of using one. For example, getting a trademark when you’ve found the one you want to use. This can differ depending on where you are in the world, so do your research to avoid heartache and hassle.
14. Involve Your Team
Finally, make sure you get your team involved! They might have some great ideas and could help you to narrow down any potential logos. Trust your team and show them that their opinion matters to you, and they will have far more job satisfaction.
Hopefully, the above pointers have taught you everything you need to know about logo design so you can go out there and come up with your ideal logo. Logo design can be easy. You might come up with something absolutely amazing on the first try. However, it’s unlikely, and you will usually need to test out various logos before you find ‘the one’. Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs looking to design a new logo? Leave it below!
