How to Design Your Company's Logo

Our company’s corporate identity not only starts with our values and ideas, but it is also transmitted through the image of our logo. This will be the vehicle through which our consumers and future clients will identify and differentiate us from the competition. To be exact, a logo is a symbol made up of shapes, letters and colors that helps to recognize a brand, company or organization. There are different types of logos depending on how images and texts are combined:

Isotype: this is the symbolic part of the brand, as in Apple, which is recognizable only with the apple symbol.

Logotype: the logo is a word, for example: Tropicana or DELL.

Imagotipo: it is an image accompanied by text. For example, Intel.

Isologue: image with grouped texts. For example: National Geographic.

The steps to follow to create your company’s logo

Nowadays, there is a great variety of websites that allow the creation of simple logos, providing regular figures, a diversity of typographies and other tools that make it easier for the user to create his own design in a simple way. Some of them are: LogoMaker, DesignMantic, Canva, etc, This is a quick and agile option, but we run the risk of finding other companies and organizations in the market with our same logo or similar variants. A more personalized alternative would be to hire a graphic designer who, according to the aesthetic lines, guidelines, objectives, features and ideas of the company, will develop a concept, aesthetics and base from which to create our logo in a totally personalized way.

 How long does it take to generate a logo?

It depends on the complexity of the desired design. If we use one of the previously mentioned websites, we can get a logo almost immediately, but if we entrust the work to a graphic designer, the creation period may increase to several weeks. When working with a graphic designer, we must also take into account the modifications, the time and the processes involved, this will make the development time longer, however, the result will be much more personalized and closer to the values of our company.

 What characterizes a good logo?

Some of the characteristics of a good logo are basic, such as legibility and originality, others are more complex and are usually better valued by design experts. Below are some of the characteristics that define a good logo:

– Legible: in order to be recognized by the mass public, the latter must be able to read and understand it.

– Original but understandable: that is to say, the concept and design must be creative but understandable because, if the complexity of deciphering the meaning behind the logo is high, the public may get frustrated and distance itself from the brand.

– Reproducible in any support: it must be developed in a format that allows us to print it on different materials, surfaces and sizes, so that it can be communicated in different ways and thus remain in the consumer’s mind. 

– Easily memorable: it must be easy to understand and remember so that it remains in the public’s mind.

– Timeless: the logo should not follow any fashion or trend that may be passing, since it may work against us in the long term, and may become obsolete. Therefore, it is better to opt for a timeless style that does not need to be updated every year.

– Different: it must have a creative, different and original touch, since the main objective is to differentiate from the rest of the competitors. Due to the existing over stimulation in the market, this point is really important, it is the one that will make us stand out from the rest and the one that will make the consumer choose us and not the competition.

Why it is important

The logo of a company is of vital importance because it is the first image that the consumer receives of our product or service, and it will make him recognize and remember us in the future. Besides, the logo differentiates us from the competition and internally reinforces our image as a company and gives us added value. Therefore, it is important to have a good logo, which is simple, easy to remember and attractive, to achieve public identification and differentiation from other companies. 

What elements must be taken into account:

At the time of creating the logo there are certain points that we must take into account, below we comment some of them:

– The essence of the company: the logo cannot ignore the values of the company or a reference to the product or service it offers, especially in these times.

– The message behind the design must be clear and understandable.

– The design must be updated with the passing of time, allowing the application of changes in color, slight modifications in the elements or their elimination. The purpose of these changes is to show the evolution and development of the brand, not because the logo is outdated according to current trends, but because the company is evolving.

– We must avoid maximalism, showing in the logo only what is strictly necessary, for this reason it is advisable not to use more than 3 colors, gradients and other effects that may distract the attention from the brand.

 Colors

Depending on what we want to transmit with our logo and who we are addressing, we will choose a color or combination of colors. It is important to take into account some aspects such as the culture we are addressing when selecting colors, due to the variation of meaning they have in different parts of the world. For example, red in Chinese culture means good luck, while in Hindu culture it communicates mourning or loss, so if we choose this color and we address the Hindu public our product will be related to these events by the public. It is also important to consider the colors used in the logos of the competition, in this way we can innovate while identifying those that are overexploited and, therefore, it is advisable to avoid.

 Shape

Depending on the shape selected for the logo, we will transmit one message or another, that is why it is important to think well about the logo design, in order to find the way in which we want to transmit the image of our company.

The circle: it transmits unity and harmony, a clear case of its message can be found in the logo of the Olympic Games, the 5 Olympic rings represent the union of the 5 continents.

The square: represents security and firmness.

Triangular logos: they direct our gaze and attention.

Irregular logos: they are those that do not follow a fixed pattern, they tend to be more creative and groundbreaking because, by not following a stipulated shape, they give more freedom when designing.

Typography

When selecting the typography for a logo, we must take into account several elements, such as the space available and the shape of the product, since these will influence the logo’s design. Then, we must take into account the timelessness of the typography and its legibility; we must avoid the commonplace and the decorative excesses at the same time. Once a main typography has been selected or designed, we can decide if we wish to use a simpler typeface to accompany the main one. An example of this is the Coca-Cola brand, which uses a typeface in its logo, but then uses a simpler and more minimalist typography to distinguish the existing varieties of the beverage.