There are so many things to consider when creating a memorable logo, especially as they have such a major impact on how customers perceive brands. Imagine a world with no logos, and how difficult it would be to distinguish between different brands! Creating a brand logo design that knocks your customers off their feet is important to help differentiate you.

Creating a great logo is so much more than just your use of colour and shape. Designing a brand logo requires a lot of planning, a lot of trial and error, and in-depth knowledge of your brand. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it; sometimes being experimental really pays off.  

Here’s how to create a brand logo design that beats your competitors in 4 steps:

1. Become your brand’s best friend

Your brand is your best friend: without it you wouldn’t have a business, Diving straight into the design without fully understanding what your brand is about isn’t going to help. There are so many things to think about before you even get to that stage, such as:

• Why did your brand begin?
• What are the goals or mission of your brand?
• What makes your brand different? What’s your USP?
• What does your brand value?
• What is your brand’s tone of voice and personality?
• Who is your target audience?

By understanding every little detail of your brand, you’ll then be able to create a brand logo design that captures the essence of what your brand is about. This is extremely valuable when differentiating your brand from your competitors, and for customers to recall your brand quickly. For more information on developing your brand, click here.

2. Keep your enemies (well, competitors) close

Taking a sneak peek at your competitors’ ideas and logos is a great source of inspiration. It also allows you to judge for yourself what type of logo does and doesn’t work for the target market. It’s not stealing – it’s research!

Think about what makes their logos stand out; how do they convey what their brand is about? What colours have they used? Then start to ask yourself, what makes each of your competitors’ logos different from each other, and how can you emphasise yours.

Whilst getting inspiration from your competitors is great, it is still important that you clearly set yourself apart from the competition. For example, if you run a finance company, there’s no reason why your logo can’t include a bold pop of colour or modern font to make it stand out.

3. The fun begins – start designing

Now that you have a clear understanding of what your brand is about, and you’ve sussed out what your competitors are doing, it’s time to start designing. When it comes to designing, there are lots of different elements that you have to think about, such as colours, shapes, typography and graphics. The best way to approach designing your logo is to breakdown all of the different elements, and then work on bringing them together.

Colour

Colours are a real game changer, especially as they have the power to create different emotions within us. For example, green is connected with nature and wellbeing; therefore, a holistic therapy company or nutritionist may use elements of green in their logo. Blue is known to be calming; it’s also a classic colour used by corporate businesses as it signifies trust.

Whatever your business, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the psychology of colour to determine what colour scheme fits your brand and your values.

Typography

For the typography in your brand logo design, you want to pick a font that complements your colour scheme and your brand. The four types of basic fonts that can help you achieve a great logo are:

Serif fonts = chic, timeless, classic, high-end

Sans serif fonts = Modern, clean, sleek, minimal, simple

Script fonts = elegant, calligraphic, down to earth, personal

Display fonts = decorative, stylised, bold, eye catching

To really make your logo stand out, different fonts used together can create a unique look and feel, but it depends on your brand and the personality you want to portray.

Shapes & Graphics

Whilst it isn’t always necessary to include different shapes and graphics in your brand logo design, they can be a real advantage in helping your logo to stand out amongst the crowd.

Images found on logos can be a range of simplistic abstract lines and shapes, down to detailed illustrations and graphics. Depending on what’s going to catch your audiences’ eyes, whilst still capturing the essence of your brand, using shapes and graphics is a fantastic way to bring your logos to life.

4. Review and revise (if you have to)

Last but not least, it’s likely that you’ll come up with a broad range of ideas and designs, which it’s important to review what you have and start narrowing down your choices. If you’re still not happy, there’s no rush when creating a logo; the most important thing is to make sure you get it right.

To discover why a good logo can make all the difference to your business, click here.

Looking for support with branding your business for success? Why not call our creative team on 01462 262020 for a no obligation chat, or email hello@focus7int.com.