How To Design A Memorable LOGO In 7 Steps (For FREE!)

Key Takeaways

no matter your budget you deserve a logo that makes you feel confident and represents your brand in the most authentic way in this video we're going to explore how to design a memorable logo in seven steps for free by the end of this video you'll have all the tools you need to create a stunning logo that makes your brand glow [Music] do you remember a logo that you felt was very poorly designed take a second it's not easy to remember when is it the truth is good logos stick and bad logos don't that's why the process of designing a logo is a very important one as it will likely become the first impression that your customers will have with your brand picture branding materials like they're your private agents who are all given a special mission or objective to accomplish for your business logos are given the task of ensuring that your brand is easily identifiable and most importantly easy to remember with all this talk about private agents and missions you might be thinking that creating a logo is a complicated process on the contrary some of the best logos are in fact the simplest ones take for instance nike apple target mcdonald's what makes these logos have such a long lasting impression is that they're really simple and easy to recognize if you were to represent your brand's personality with a symbol what would that symbol look like ideally that's exactly what your logo is your business needs a simple image to act as a point of reference to your brand and without one customers will have a difficult time remembering you a fun way to put your logo idea to the test is to show it to a child and once it's removed see if they can replicate it by memory or even come close the easier it is for a child to remember and draw your logo is proof that you've got yourself a great design whether on a website brochure product or packaging it's your logo that will greet people and let them know you've got the right company or you're in the right place your logo is not your brand but it will become the face of your brand no matter your budget you deserve a logo that makes you feel confident and represents your brand in the most authentic way in this video we'll guide you through the entire process of creating a logo from scratch from coming up with a creative concept to selecting the best fonts and colors finding inspiration and polishing that winning design we're about to explore how to design a memorable logo in seven steps for free and that adventure begins right now before we dive into how to design your logo i highly recommend that you download this free branding worksheet use this handy exercise as a guide to help you craft a compelling brand story starting from a competitor analysis and differentiation strategy to picking your brand name and slogan this worksheet will walk you through the entire process of building out a memorable brand that makes an impact brand identity brand identity is a term that embodies all the distinguishing characteristics of your brand a fancy way of saying when someone mentions your brand this is what comes to mind these impressions include everything from the language the style to the sentiment of your overall brand however there's also visual impressions that appear when your brand is mentioned these include colors shapes designs images and icons a logo plays the important role of taking your brand identity and infusing it into one single image the main objective of your logo is to allow people to experience your brand identity by simply looking at the design before you start sketching ideas for your logo you'll want to have an idea of your brand's identity a great place to begin is by asking the following three questions why did you start your business what core values are important to you as a business and what makes you different from the competition the objective here is to define who you are as a business the answer to this question will then provide hints and clues to what your brand should look like or how you should be represented if you don't quite have the answer to these questions right away not to worry this is the groundwork that once carefully considered will make for a smoother process when creating your logo to better understand this process travel back in time with me to 2014 when my tea company was expanding into a brick and mortar retail store we felt that it was time to refocus the business and refresh the brand we started out with an imagination playground where every idea was put forth in order to collect creative angles and possible concepts nothing but a few colorful markers big sheets of paper and creative minds were needed for this stage of the process start with why we began the process by putting forth the question of why why did we initially start this business why did we feel there was something missing in the market why did we feel that we could best address the problem and why did we think it was time to rebrand as the answers began to roll in our concept started to become more clear and as our concept became more clear our identity started to take shape we were able to curate ideas that aligned with our overall vision this means every aspect of interaction with our brand will be an exciting and memorable experience from the t's to the decor and yes you got it even the logo next we asked ourselves what will we do we had to come up with actionable steps to address the overall gaps we identified in the market we knew what the problems were now we had to ask the simple question of what will we do about it the answers and solutions we came up with helped us better define how we intend to be perceived as a brand an example of an actionable solution we came up with was as follows we will become the willy wonka of tea by incorporating a sense of mystery and surprise with our marketing products and packaging the next stage of our brand identity process was create at that point a lot became clear about our brand identity what we're hoping to achieve and even what our logo concept might look like the great part about setting the groundwork is that it then makes the rest of the process feel very natural when we shared our why and our what with our graphic designer he was then able to work his magic in coming up with sketches and concepts for us to consider in just a few designs we had finally narrowed our options down to three solid designs that we then thoroughly examined to see which logo would best capture our brand identity just like that the bowtie teacup logo was created this logo went on to become a very well-known symbol throughout our industry and even pave the way for an entire line of custom bow ties and fashionable merchandise over the years to follow look for design inspiration now where do we start the creative process can usually be quite challenging as we try to develop ideas from nowhere on the other hand it can be equally challenging when we come up with too many ideas thus making it more difficult to make a decision inspiration can act as a great guide in the creative process as the people or things that inspire us often breathe life into our own ideas here's a list of places to gather some ideas and start drawing inspiration from other creative individuals logoed logoed simple single page scroll lets you browse a frequently updated collection of stunning logos logospire this vast collection of user submitted logo designs will help you get your creative juices flowing brand new brand new is a blog that covers designs and redesigns of new and notable brands across all industries logo lounge this blog lets graphic designers upload their latest logos logo lounge is perhaps best known for publishing a series of books showcasing artwork that's been featured on the site logo design love graphic designer david airy curates this design blog reviewing logos and marketing designs from all over the world a cool criteria i like to use when evaluating logo concepts with potential is called the sh rule shirt hot highway i ask myself could i wear this logo on a shirt could i see this logo on a hat would i notice this logo from the highway if i can answer yes to all three then i classify that logo as a great possibility as i can already foresee its application in various product merchandise and advertising scenarios good news the inspiration doesn't stop there many graphic designers and creative communities love to share their work on social media channels such as pinterest or instagram have fun exploring these design related galleries by simply searching the more popular hashtags such as logo logo designer logo designs graphic design graphic designer choose a color that reflects your brand the influence of color is no secret and it's said to have an influence on human emotions and behavior you can imagine that knowing the psychological impacts of color could present a huge advantage in marketing and advertising studies have even suggested that color can affect your user's mood making it crucial to their buying decisions colors have a voice and though we may not be able to hear it we're usually able to translate what certain colors are saying let's take yellow for instance when walking through a grocery store yellow price tags seem to depict that a sale or price reduction is being offered now this doesn't necessarily mean that every yellow tag will save you money on a product but typically that's what it causes us to believe when it comes to selecting the right color for your logo it's important to ensure that the colors you choose relay the right message or better yet the intended message for your overall brand with that in mind let's go over the psychological effects of certain colors brown an earthy tone brown is often associated with all natural ingredients homemade goods and freshly baked treats given it's the color of tree bark sticks autumn leaves and rich soil brown can also give an outdoorsy aura to your brand orange like a roaring fire orange radiates warmth energy and passion the color of sunsets it also tends to invoke summer especially when paired with lighter blues and soft greens yellow oranges high saturation sister yellow also gives off light energy and warmth but if orange's warmth is a glowing fireplace yellows is the intense heat of a midday sun radiating over barren desert yellow tends to invoke happy feelings but use it sparingly a little yellow can add a touch of optimism to a dependable brand but a lot can be maniacal green a color with two personalities green can invoke an organic aura that brings to mind lush rainforest eco-awareness and a sense of calm and yet green just as easily becomes the color of money greed envy and nausea pink a softer gentler color pink has at different points in history been viewed as both masculine and feminine though contemporary customers will likely associate pink with femininity it more broadly brings to mind kindness romance and love red bold and unforgiving red tends to stand out which is why it's become such a dependable color in branding like pink red tends to invoke romance but whereas pink's romance is tender and gracious red's romance is passionate loud and carnal purple the rasputin of colors purple is a shadowy mysterious stranger with an almost magical magnetism given that purple dyes historically have had a reputation for being rare and expensive there's no mystery how purple has come to be associated with wealth excess mysticism magic and indulgence blue the color of a clear blue sky blue tends to invoke feelings of trust ease and peace that said blue has also been shown to be the least appetizing color try to avoid it if you're selling food black gray white sometimes the best color for your brand is no color at all shades of black white and gray tend to invoke a sense of calmness balance or clarity using multiple colors most logos are monochromatic single colors are easier to coordinate with and using only one color will simplify your brand's other graphic design elements mono logos can also be reimagined in different colors for different purposes how do you create color combinations to use for your logo if you choose to have a multi-colored logo it's important to be conscious of what colors you use together while color theory can be quite complex there are a lot of online tools to help you fast track a color scheme palatin paluten's color wheel lets you create color schemes using easy interactive sliders coolers coolers lets you generate random color harmonies lock colors you want to hold in your palette and adjust other colors collectively to create a fully customizable palette you can also generate palettes from uploaded images color mind color mind is especially good for web designers because it includes an easy to use tool for achieving readability and color harmony on web pages by previewing color combinations on the same page in real time as adjustments to the palette are made color space color space is best for developers as it automatically generates css code to include in the color palette you're creating on your web page canvas color palette generator canva generates color schemes randomly and from images but what makes canvas tool unique is its ability to search for color palettes via keywords select a typeface you may have heard of the term typeface and thought perhaps it simply means fonts both terms are commonly used interchangeably however there's an important distinction between them typeface refers to the design variations of the lettering such as italic bold sans-serif or the well-known helvetica and many more there are thousands of typefaces that exist and new ones are being created continually each variation also known as letter design within a typeface is a font for example verdena is a typeface but verdena five-point bold is a font when we think of typefaces as the design of the lettering it's important to make sure that the design is appropriate for the intended audience or the specific advertising channel in which it will be seen for example if you're advertising an educational product for young children you probably wouldn't want to use decorative or fancy typefaces and scary fonts on your webpage or in your brochures instead a more suitable selection would be a soft serif type face like cooper black which offers more gentle and warm feeling there are four basic type styles and understanding when to use them can give your brand a professional and intentional look and feel serif type styles dating back to the inscriptional lettering used in the latin alphabet serif owns the title of the oldest style of the four main types given its traditional significance we often see serif style used in branding materials that aim to invoke a sense of elegance history tradition and wealth surf can be seen as the fine aged wine of fonts with the serf type styles there are four main sub styles old style fonts like garamond transitional style like times new roman modern style like boudini and finally slab serif styles like rockwell or courier if your brand is hoping to create a classic image or antique feel and identity old style or traditional serif might be the perfect choice whereas modern and slab surf are commonly used to establish a more innovative and contemporary feel sans-serif type styles if you've read a newspaper lately chances are you've seen a sans-serif type style at work as they are commonly used in print media for headlines and bolder titles within the sans-serif type styles also known as the gothic-like styles we have three main sub-styles these are grotesque like franklin gothic for example humanist styles like gilsans or verdana geometric style like futura and gotham script styles script styles are very well known and can be used for various branding objectives derived from handwriting or calligraphy script styles can offer a formal sentiment to your branding and at the same time can evoke a sense of luxury elegance and passion script typeface has two main sub styles these are informal with fonts such as zephina and formal with styles such as brush script or sign painter consider using script as your typeface for any words or short phrases that you want to highlight or stand out to your customers decorative styles decorative styles are typically seen as the wild child out of the four types as their defining feature goes beyond conventional typography think of decorative typeface as your mood fonts these fonts best mimic feelings or textures personalities and effects oftentimes brands will use decorative style fonts that are specifically tailored to their business it's an obvious way to differentiate yourself from a marketing and branding standpoint although decorative type styles can be seen as funky and trendy be very careful not to overuse this style as funky can also be seen as tacky and trendy can go out of style very quickly create several revisions as a logo creation process develops you will have come up with many possibilities for your final design the revision stage plays a key role in fine-tuning all possibilities by pairing different combinations together you can analyze and decide whether your design is magic or tragic going back to our own logo the revision stage helped us to test out a few different font color options to come up with a solid design when we tried using bold fonts with our logo we noticed that it immediately overpowered the icon design and stole its message we then tried using a script and again it took the focus away from the icon and instead gave it an unprofessional look and feel we tried many revisions until we realized that the best solution was to create a simpler font that complemented the logo but didn't cause your attention to stray from the cup and the bow tie using a medium thin line and a modern serif font we finally found a design that worked get feedback revisions are the perfect segue to the feedback stage it is very natural in any creative process to enter into the fuzzy zone the fuzzy zone is that moment when your creative mind is a bit foggy overwhelmed and exhausted from the entire process and this is the best time to take a step back and invite refreshing perspectives and feedback from others around you this makes for a great testing phase as you will allow a different set of eyes to view your design and relay how it makes them feel honesty is extremely useful when receiving feedback as it will better position you to make the necessary adjustments to your design here are some ideas for questions to ask when getting feedback what's the first thing that sticks out to you about the logo how would you characterize my brand what do you remember most about the logo and is there anything confusing about the logo if you could remove one aspect of the design what would it be keep in mind the more specific you are with the questions the better feedback you'll receive try to avoid questions like would you buy this or is this interesting as these kinds of questions require more of a real life scenario in order to answer polish your design like a brand new car once it has been designed built and tested it's time to polish your logo design at this point your logo idea will have matured and a lot of what you initially saw in the sketching stages will now be refined the polishing stage is where you take a deep dive into the details of your design just to make sure it's perfect the shapes the sizes the typefaces and fonts the spacing the texture all of these aspects must be carefully analyzed as you get ready to show your logo to the world how much should a logo design cost now that we've explored the logo creation process you may be asking should i design my own logo or hire a designer designing a logo that is captivating unique and easy to remember is certainly no easy task if your budget allows hiring a professional to design your logo is a good idea and will allow you to focus your attention on other aspects of your business the cost of a logo design will be determined by the experience level of the designer that you hire logos can be very expensive incredibly cheap or even free a designer's portfolio is a good way to get a sense of their style creativity and diversity however there is no guarantee that your designer will produce a winner until you actually receive the logo should you hire a designer or design your own logo here are some questions to ask yourself if you're considering hiring a designer to create your logo do i have the budget without a doubt you can find free online logo makers but if you're planning to hire a designer expect to pay 50 to 300 for reasonably experienced designer if i don't like it can i absorb the loss like any aspect of doing business you'll have to evaluate how much of a financial risk you're able to absorb keep in mind you are not only paying the designer for the completed logo remember you're also paying them for their time how much time could i dedicate to creating one myself every minute spent on designing your logo is time taken away from another aspect of your business keep this in mind when you're deciding whether or not you should take on the task of creating your own logo do i have a good eye for design everybody's got their own super power and design may or may not be yours answering this question truthfully will help you save money and time hiring a designer if you decide that hiring a designer is the best solution for you then you'll be happy to know that there are many online communities with talented designers and freelancers ready to take on your project here are some recommendations shopify experts if you're looking for a designer who knows e-commerce like the back of their hand browse through our shopify experts marketplace shopify experts can help out with all sorts of designs customizations and can be filtered to find an expert in your price range or with an experience in your industry upwork a global online freelancing platform that connects businesses with freelancers remotely upwork includes a collaborative timesheet and live chat making it easy to monitor your freelancer's progress freelancer freelancer is unique in that potential hiries bid for jobs that you post allowing you to find the best designer at the lowest cost fiverr a two-sided marketplace to buy and sell a variety of digital services such as writing graphic design video editing and programming fiverr offers fixed prices for services regardless of the work time making it easier to budget your logo design dribble a community for designers to showcase their creative work and connect with employers dribble works not only as a place to find a designer but also a place to explore new creative designs for inspiration if you decide to make your own logo a great logo will captivate your customers and leave you and your brand with a strong sense of confidence it may seem like a complex process to create one simple logo but keep in mind this is the single image that will represent your great business and brand it's totally worth it every well-known brand was unknown at some point in time and yes in the beginning stages managing your cost is very important hopefully given the tools and tips and resources we covered today you won't have to compromise quality of design you have all the tools you need and a spark of inspiration to get out there and create a memorable logo all by yourself once you've designed your logo and branding it's time to create your online store and start making sales shopify has everything you need shopify makes selling online easy fast and scalable you can get started with a free 14-day trial no credit card required set up your store in days and bring your brand to life building an online store shouldn't be this easy or this much fun click the link right here to get started on your business journey if you thought this video was helpful make sure that you're giving it a thumbs up that actually helps our channel and our community grow leave your questions in the comments and i'll try to get back to each and every one of you for more simple actionable tips make sure to subscribe to learn with shopify we release a new video each week that will help you start run and grow a successful online business we're a youtube channel for small business owners with big plans so make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss out you