How To Create Custom Logo Designs? (That looks stunning)

Are you a brand owner looking for ways to make your brand memorable?

You definitely have to get the basics right. If you ask us, the very first thing you need is a custom logo design that resonates with your brand personality.

What is a custom logo design, you ask? Well, it is a brand identity that can effectively show who you are and what your brand has to offer. The best thing about creating a custom logo is that you don’t need to be an experienced graphic designer.

Simply follow these seven steps to create a logo design with different sizes, and you will be set. The steps will give you a clear plan and help you figure out what kind of logo design suits your brand.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Step 1: Know your brand inside and out

A clear understanding of your brand will help you get on the right track. After all, a logo isn’t just a design. It is a message you’re sending out.

To create a logo, you will first have to ask these simple questions:

• What does the brand sell or do?
• Who is the brand for?
• What feeling should the brand give?
• What makes the brand stand out?

Be honest while answering the questions in a few short sentences.

No logo maker would do that for you! Whenever you’re in doubt during the logo design process, you can come back to these questions for clarity.

For example, if your brand is a kids’ toy shop, you would want the logo to be playful and bright. What if it is a law firm? Well, you’d like the logo to represent strength and professionalism. You get the drift.

Step 2: Research for inspiration and ideas

The next step is to acknowledge what’s already out there in the world. In other words, you’ll have to look for inspiration to drive your logo ideas.

When searching for new ideas and inspiration, you can:

• Search online for logos in the same industry
• Look at the iconic logos and signs people put in your city
• Check for design ideas on packaging across stores
• Explore font and icon ideas all across

But how are you going to keep all these ideas and inspirations organized? The best way is to make a small “mood board” online. We suggest you build a folder, a Pinterest board, or use other tools for this purpose.

However, keep in mind that “copying a logo” can be a risky proposition.

All you have to do is learn what works on a logo and what doesn’t. So, just start with five logos that you liked and jot down what you liked about them.

Step 3: Focus on idea-driven simplicity

With all that information, you should be set to develop one strong idea for your logo design. Most people overdo the design by adding way too much. In our honest opinion, it takes no time for that logo to start looking messy.

All stunning and memorable logo designs in the world are carved out of one strong idea. Here are some of the simple logo styles you can follow:

• Wordmark: Where you only have text, like a clean company name.
• Icon: Where there is only a simple symbol, like a small mark.
• Combination: Which is generally a duo of text and icon.
• Lettermark: Where the brand name initials are used for the logo.

This can be tricky as you’ll have to choose one direction that fits the brand. Once you know the style of logo, you can go after one clear message.

For that, you can ask a question like, “If someone sees this logo for 2 seconds, what should they remember?” Good luck getting this done with a free logo maker!

Step 4: Sketch freely to have brand identity options

Now you’ve got to the most fun part of the process: sketching.

All you have to do is grab a pencil and paper, sketch as many ideas as you can. Here, you don’t have to worry about making perfect sketches. This part of the exercise is all about exploring and creating at least 20 quick sketches.

Don’t be surprised! The best professional logo sketch or idea often comes after the first few sketches. If you’re new to this, here are some helpful sketch tips.

• Go for simple shapes like circles, squares, triangles, and other design elements.
• Try different icon and text placements.
• Play with different styles and icon sizes.
• You can even try bold and thin versions of the logo.

Before picking the 3-5 best sketches to improve, make sure you keep the sketches small and fast.

Step 5: Get the color palette right

Colors add emotions to the free logo design. Your color palette can effectively change how people feel after looking at your aesthetic logo or business name.

We don’t want you to experiment much and go for simple colors that are a visual representation of simple feelings. Here’s a list of user-friendly colors you can use.

• Blue color for trust and calm feelings.
• Red color for energy, strength, and excitement.
• Green color for life, health, and growth.
• Yellow color for cheerful, bright, and friendly feelings (McDonald’s golden arches).
• Black color for boldness, modern, and a premium feel.
• Purple for a magical and unique feel.

In addition to picking 1 or 2 colors, the key is to make sure your new logo design project works in black and white.

Step 6: Font-correction matters

The font you use in a good logo can make it feel serious, silly, modern, or classic. We suggest you go for basic font types like Sans-serif, Serif, Script, and Display fonts.

Besides, you should ensure the free logo has readable fonts because you want people to be able to comprehend it.

Stick to just one font, as using too many fonts is not worth it.

Most importantly, refer to your brand tone when choosing the font. You don’t want a playful brand to have a serious-looking font, do you?

Step 7: Edit and test for final touches

We have reached the final and most critical step of the logo design process. Here, we will refine your logo design idea and make it cleaner so it starts looking professional.

You will have to fix the spacing between letters, make the lines smoother, balance the icon and text, remove extra details, and make shapes consistent. Once you do that, it’s time to test the complete logo. For that, you will have to ask yourself these questions:

• Can you see the business logo clearly as a small icon?
• Can you recognize it from a distance?
• Does the company logo work in black only?
• Does it work on light and dark backgrounds?
• Can the logo work when put on a business card, social posts, website header, or a t-shirt mockup?

You should fix the logo whenever it fails a test.

And once everything feels good about the logo, go ahead and save the perfect logo in the right formats like SVG, PNG, JPG files, and PDF. This will help you develop the print or digital marketing materials for various medium like social media.

Conclusion

There you have it! We have shared all seven steps required to develop high-quality logo designs. Believe us, creating a custom logo design doesn’t have to be hard.

Once you have the right plan, you will develop and customize logo designs that your audience will never forget. However, you ought to keep the basics right, i.e., the logo should be simple, clear, and easy to remember.

Now get back to the drawing board, grab a pencil, and start sketching new ideas for your unique logo. Enjoy the process, as your next logo could be your best one yet.