Design your own logo

Posted on 12 Oct 2009 at 12:47

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

 1 of 18

Gallery

Colours (or hues, as they should be known) that fall opposite each other on the wheel are known as complementary. These make bold and satisfying combinations because they balance or cancel each other out. Hues next to each other are known as analogous, forming more restful combinations. If you need more colours, use a triad (three hues evenly spaced around the wheel) or a 'split complementary' scheme; one hue plus the two found at equal distances either side of its complement. A colour scheme that doesn't fall into any of these categories will tend to look unbalanced and clashing. For example, avoid a combination of bright red and green.

As well as hues, think about saturation (strength of colour) and value (lightness or darkness). Most image-editing software lets you explicitly adjust these properties. It's effective to use two muted colours (with low saturation and perhaps lightened or darkened) with one strong, saturated hue. Bear in mind that yellows always look pale, even at full saturation, while blues (in the indigo rather than cyan region) always look dim.

A logo can have just one colour, but your design will need to be really strong to prevent it looking cheap and basic. Consider reversing out the logo in white from a coloured background or decal - think of the logos produced by Coca-Cola, HP or Ford. You'll also need to think along these lines when using a yellow graphic, such as a shining sun; it'll be invisible against white, so your logo must incorporate a background colour.

In the past, logos were often based on Pantone spot colours, printed using specific inks. Today, most print jobs use the CMYK process to reproduce a full range of colours. Spot colours add complication and expense, so for most purposes they're better avoided. Software will only use spot inks if you add them explicitly.

Shading places

The common advice that logos should be made up of areas of solid colour dates from an earlier era of printing and now applies only in special circumstances. Modern logos can be far more adventurous. For example, building firm Bovis Homes has a detailed illustration of a kingfisher, used even at small sizes, while the credit card marketed under the name Goldfish has a photo of the fish as its logo.

Shading a graphical logo will make it feel three-dimensional, and there's an argument that people engage more with a solid object. The basic principles of shading are simple. Decide where the light is coming from (commonly the top left), then add a lighter colour near the edges that face this way and darken the opposite edges. To help draw the highlights and shadows, try making two extra copies of the shape to be shaded and moving one diagonally a bit, then use your software's subtract feature to leave a segment you can lighten or darken. Transparency effects or blending modes such as overlay can make shading more subtle. Leave highlights and shadows hard-edged for a graphical look or to suggest a shiny surface. Alternatively, apply a soft feather for a more photo-realistic or matt effect. Try making highlights more saturated and yellower, and shadows bluer.

Cast shadows can also bring a logo to life. Modern graphics programs offer instant drop shadows, but these look static because they sit flat behind an object. Instead, draw your own shadows to make shapes look as though they're sitting on or above a floor; an oval with a soft edge is often enough. This is effective when making an object such as a kite appear to float.