literature

How to Design a Logo, Step by Step Guide.

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whitefoxdesigns's avatar
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Literature Text

Chapter 1 - From the start

When we design a logo, we are fulfilling a need for an identity, because people think in images, not words. For example if you read “banana” on a sign, you don't think of the actual letters that form the word “banana”, you think of the fruit, you form the image in your head. That's what we want when we make a logo.

The following are features every good logo should have:

  • Easy to adjust. This means it has to be understandable in both small and big scale.

  • Charming. Once you see it you won't forget it, even if you didn't understand what it meant, you will still think about it.

  • Readability. It should be easy to read at any size and in any color, and shouldn't leave room for misinterpretation.

  • Easy to comprehend. You have to know what service or product it offers when you look at it.

  • Authentic. The design must not mislead the observer to believe something it's not.

  • Work with different color schemes. Clients often request their logos to work in color, gray scale, single color and on dark backgrounds.

  • Printable. Must work on different print media like screen printing and embroidery.

  • Compact. If a design is scattered, details may get lost in print.

Keep in mind that all clients have different needs and likes making each work different from the ones before. It's up to the designer to decide which features have priority according to the project but still making the logo functional. If the logo doesn't fulfil the needs of the client then it's a bad work.

Chapter 2 - Assembling the Concept


From this moment on I will explain how to create your own design using my own personal identity as example. Get ready to start.

Now that we know the rules our identity needs to follow, it's time to create a concept. To find it we need to reduce the ideas to just a few words, three or a couple more. Each word describing a core aspect of our identity. Two of them must answer the questions; whats our product or service? and what make us different to others?, the third one is up to us.

For example, my identity is a white fox, my alias name Irian, followed by the words Design and Illustration. If we were to simplified it more it would be:

White + Fox + Irian + Design & Illustration (But design weights more because of the size of the word)

White: It's related to the idea of a start, like a white sheet of paper.

Fox: It's my favorite animal, but also it's an animal people relate with the word cunning which is smart or clever. Why is it so important? Because I find clever solutions to graphic design needs.

Design: It's what I do. I choose the word Design instead of Branding because I wanted to be able to offer or graphic design services in the future and not just logo design.

Irian: It's the alias I have used on deviantART and other websites for a long time. I can easily prescind of it and the identity won't be affected.

An identity can evolve and change along time. Very few identities stay unchanging for a long time, but it's important that you always know what's the concept. That's what makes brands different from one to another even if they share names or elements in common.  
Here you can read the progress of my book. All constructive comments, spelling corrections and questions are welcome.
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yazal's avatar
Hey, got some questions : which dimensions do you usually design your logo for a client ?
And about the final delivery you give them, do you give your source file like .psd or .ai or some .jpg and .png at the biggest dimension ?