What is a logo design?

Logo design is the process of designing a logo.
A logo is an easily recognizable graphically designed symbol representing a product, company, or private entity of any form. It combines graphics, colors, and topographies to create a brand’s visual identity.
Some aspects of a well-designed logo include;
● Simple such that only the heart of the whole design process remains.
● Memorable in the minds of those who see and recognize it.
● An appropriate logo that represents your specific industry
● It is a timeless logo that will pass through time while still retaining its ‘touch and feel.
● The logo should be versatile to blend into the platforms easily it’s applied. It could be social media, company websites, or even billboards.
What a logo isn’t
a. The brand – A logo is often conflicted with a brand. A brand is a reputation of what people think about how you make them feel, while a logo is a symbol or representation that customers can easily recognize and relate to.
b. Visual identity – A logo is part of the picture that reflects the company’s values but not the entire story. Other visual identities like product design and packaging add to the whole picture.
c.  A symbol of success – A logo can’t make or break your business. It’s not an indicator of success. The best-designed logo can’t save a failing business with so many moving parts of the system.
Why do you need a high-quality logo?
1.  Reveals your brand identity
A quality logo should be imprinted on every company’s product to reveal your brand’s identity. It should communicate ownership and reflect the company or entity values anytime potential customers see it.
Your brand identity represents your company’s reputation, and any well-designed logo should mirror this identity.
2. Differentiates you from the competition
A great logo that is different empowers a brand to stand out from the competition. In the age of attention-deficient, symbols that will distinguish from the competition will draw instant attention and be easily recognized. However, companies designing their logos need to consider their industry to create the appropriate logos symbols.
3. Invites your customers to get to know you
People are drawn to exciting designs and colors. Logos that resonate with your target customers will draw them closer, and they can even buy your product for the first time.
A study by Harvard Business Review of 597 logos found that disruptive logos piqued consumers’ interest and also;

• Boost brand’s net sales
• Had a favorably impact on consumers’ brand evaluation
• Increased consumers’ willingness to buy from the brand
• Made brands appear genuine and authentic in the customers’ minds.

4.Builds brand loyalty
Companies can take advantage of their logo design to tell brand stories that impact and transform the lives of their customers. A great logo tells a story. The story speaks to the customers, making them build loyalty to the brand.
A good example is Nike’s swish logo; they tell stories of pro athletes showing the possibilities of ‘ Just Do It.’
5.Can be everywhere
Brand messaging tied to a quality logo sells. Companies can place the message and the logo on their products, ambassadors, and any platform they engage in.
How much does it cost to design a logo?
The logo design cost ranges from $0, meaning you can scrap fonts and colors together, to thousands of dollars for big brands that need logo re-design.
For small businesses and start-ups, the costs of a quality logo range from $300 – $1,300. Get a reasonable quote for logo design services.
There exist ways to determine logo design pricing that meets your business needs;
● Outputs – You and your preferred logo design provider determine the scope of work, and you only pay for the deliverables.
● Inputs – It’s based on an hourly or daily rate but can sometimes penalize quality and efficiency.
● Value-based -This means you get a quote based on the size of your business and not necessarily the project itself. For example, the CitiBank logo design cost them $1.5 million, while that of Accenture spent $100 million.

How can you create a logo

To design a high-quality logo, you need to follow a process. Creating a logo is 80% strategy and 20% visual design, and each logo design company may follow a different approach. Here are five steps to creating a great logo.
Step one; Discover
During discovery, keep in mind that you are not just designing a logo but shaping your brand identity. The goal is to understand what defines the essence of your organization, start-up, or small business.
In the discovery process, there are several questions to ask. You get the answers from doing thorough research. Here are some of the questions;
● Why do you want or need a new logo?
● What is the company/ organization’s story?
● Who are your ideal customers?
● What do you want people to feel when they see your logo?
● What values do you wish your brand logo to express?
● Who are 3-5 top competitors and brand ‘ role models’?
● Any special requests that must be included in the design?
After getting answers to these questions, document them in a creative strategy for the next step.
Step two; Explore
The goal here is to get educated and exposed to creative design. For those designing logos solo and for the first time, this step is meant to inspire you.
You can start with a google search to understand visual design aspects like; color, topography, and fonts. Next, do a deep dive into the top three competitors in the industry.
Find out what makes their logos stand out. Lastly, explore outside the industry for creative ideas on design platforms like 99Designs, Dribble, or Behance.
After the ‘research rabbit hole, ‘create a mood board to write and attach all the research materials you have gathered. This includes;
-Images
-Color combinations
-Other inspiring logos
-Illustrations
-Photos
-Example designs
Step three; Design
A pencil and paper are great tools for drawing logo design ideas from the research. You can use free software design tools like Vectr or Inkscape. For font designs, consider Google Fonts or Font Squirrel tools.
Step four; Refine
After the design and several iterations of the logo, you need to refine it. Here is a simple checklist for a great logo;
● Is it memorable?
● Is it simple?
● Is it evocative?
Step five; Define
This step ensures your logo stays consistent with your brand identity. Consider guidelines to govern how your logo will appear on different platforms. Some factors for double-checking these logo rules include;

• Size
• Color
• Orientation
• Position
• Treatment
• Layout

Which colors should you choose for your logo design

It starts with understanding color psychology, which aims to determine how color affects humans daily. Different colors evoke different emotions.
● Orange color is associated with creativity, adventure, success, and balance.
● The yellow color evokes feelings of happiness, positivity, and optimism.
● The red color captures attention and is associated with danger, excitement, and energy.
● Green is connected with nature and money, health, growth, and envy as negative traits.
So, there is no right color for your logo design. It boils down to the identity you want your brand to get associated with and picking a color that goes with it.
Should you use a free logo maker to create a logo?
The most significant benefit of singing free logo makers is that there are no charges involved. However, the catch probably is limited logo templates, watermarked logo designs, and more. This can do more harm to your business than good.
You can use a free logo maker for quick logo designs when getting started but consider hiring a professional to design a quality logo for your business in the future.
Some free logo maker tools include;

• Canva Free Online Logo Maker
• Shopify Free Logo Generator
• Adobe Spark Logo Maker
• Squarespace Free Logo Maker

How can you hire professional logo designers

Your self-designed logo is killing your business for several reasons, and you do not know about it. Investing in hiring a professional logo designer is the best suggestion for your business.
Before hiring a logo designer or logo designing company, here are something factors to consider;
● A clear understanding of every detail that goes into designing a quality logo. Ensure you are on the same page in everything involving the logo process.
● Can they provide vector files of logo variations to compare after the project
 

Why do I need vector files for my logo

A vector logo is infinitely scalable without compromising the quality of the logo design. Vector files for your logo solve the ‘logo display ‘ issues in multiple formats and colors. Additionally, you can easily edit vector logos to fit different shapes and design