Design your own logo

Posted on 12 Oct 2009 at 12:47

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Gallery

Conceptual thinking

Graphical logos should start with an idea. Just playing with shapes is dangerous because you can end up with a clever symbol that conveys nothing. However, there are lots of existing design ideas, or 'tropes', that you can twist into something original. Parallel lines and arrows imply speed and dynamism. Spheres, circles and radiating lines convey global reach or all-round service. Digital products are often represented by breaking up graphics into dots. Straight edges and rectangles are businesslike, whereas curves and swirls are friendly. Geometric shapes feel solid and precise, but tilting them adds a sense of innovation or quirkiness. Graffiti and stencil effects give an urban feel; leaf and frond shapes suggest nature and environmental concerns.

A logo can - and, arguably, should - be simple. However, if it's too simple it won't be unique. In 2005, software company Quark Inc launched a new logo in the form of a ring with a corner at the bottom-right. It looked bold and fresh, but so did the logo of the Scottish Arts Council, which was almost identical. Quark ended up redesigning.

Unless your logo is based on a photo, vector drawing software is the best kind of software to use. First, it produces results that can be scaled to different sizes without loss of quality. Second, because tools such as polygons and Bezier curves are more relevant than painting and tone-correction features. However, bitmap editors such as Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro also include some vector shape tools and a wide range of effects. When using these, make sure you start at a high enough resolution; for reproduction up to A4 size, your design must be at least 2,400 pixels square.

If you do want a painted feel, the best program for scalable brushstrokes is Microsoft's Expression Design, which is available only as part of the expensive Expression Studio suite (which costs around £685). You could try Corel Painter or Painter Essentials, but again make sure your document resolution is sufficient before you start. A graphics tablet with pressure sensitivity will help you draw more expressive strokes, but you may find it better to use the pressure simulation option and tweak your brush settings numerically to control the results precisely.

Having settled on a few possible fonts and symbols, show them to colleagues, friends and family. Listen patiently to their reactions, taking particular note of any negative comments. It's worth doing this at a very early stage, comparing a number of different options, and then again later to refine your chosen logo.

Colour choices

Your corporate colours need to say the right things about your organisation, and they need to work well together and with other brand assets, such as vehicle livery and staff uniforms. Try not to let your own preferences, such as favourite colours, influence your choices. The aim is to communicate brand values, not express your personality.

A colour wheel can help enormously. The mixing wheels in artists' textbooks are based on the traditional primary colours of red, yellow and blue, while those in graphics software use the more scientifically accurate red, green and blue, or cyan, magenta and yellow. Color Wheel Pro is a utility that displays various schemes, and its manufacturer explain the basics at www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-theory-basics.html.