In today’s tech world where creating a brand image has become a market necessity, logo designing is one of the tools to create a personal mark. Logo is basically a graphic symbol, mark, shapes and combinations of specific color which makes our brand stand out. It helps in creating a brand identity and giving public recognition to it. People usually think that it’s just a matter of arrangement of few lines and shapes with colors. But, logo creation in itself is an art.
There are various steps, techniques and most importantly, thought process involved in logo creation. Here are few basic steps that one should keep in mind and follow before embarking on the journey of creation.
1) Answer the Ws’
It is very important to for whom are you designing the logo- yourself, an individual, a firm, brand or organization. Next is: What is purpose of designing and what should it communicate? Followed by: Who is the target audience of the brand?
2) History Research
Creating a new logo requires the necessary information on the mission, values, are of interest, aspirations of the brand or individual. Re-creating an existing logo requires the logo evolution history and the reasons why and how it evolved.
A proper background research gives a certain direction to work on and molds our thoughts in a desired manner.
3) The Logo making basics
Gestalt principles are the perfect guidelines to get a logo development idea. Principles of continuity, figure and ground, similarity, proximity, closure and symmetry gives us a guideline on logo making. One should also know the importance of Golden ratio and how many major designs are made using its’ reference. Typeface selection is another important aspect to be kept in mind as they emote feelings and emotions. Sometimes, logo also involves manipulation of alphabets to create new designs. In this case, one should have the understanding of differences in various typefaces and what do they mean.
4) Take inspiration from around
Inspiration is everywhere. The only requirement is to have bull’s eyes. Once you start observing, you will get a lot of shapes to get inspiration from. You would find plethora of ideas and the relation existing between the brand and the things around you.
5) Doodle your design
Today’s tech savvy generation start off with their designs immediately on the software. But, then it is really important to do the hand sketching. Hand sketching gives us an idea on the stroke size and can be manipulated accordingly. Select a few designs and re-create on the software. Personally, I believe Adobe Illustrator is the best tool to do so as it is also convenient in font manipulation.
6) Decide on a color scheme
Colors are very important in the process of logo creation. Each color has a different meaning in different and separate context. Depending on the context, color selection is to be done. Each color used should be justified and symbolized. Along with the colors, understand the logo in grayscale and black and white. It gives us an idea of figure and ground ratio and most importantly, we come to know that the logo can be printed on any media of any color. The beauty of the logo lies in its compatibility with any printable material.
7) Cross cultural compatibility
Logos which are flexible and molds itself according to culture, society around, target audience, etc gets an edge over other identities. These are compatible and communicate the message in any form. A universally accepted logo is always a win- win situation.
These are few basic guidelines in creating a logo. Apart from this, always remember that logo design goes beyond doodling and is a mark which is meant to stay on forever in people’s minds. So, make sure to create an impactful one!
