How to Create Your Own Business Logo

Do you have a new business venture idea, thinking of starting a business or thinking of branching out on your own but not sure of how to go about your branding process particularly, creating your own distinct identity & logo? Here is a low-down on all you need to create your own visual identity for your new business.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="400"] Bizham.com Logo[/caption]

As a business owner, it is expected that you have done your homework; strategic plan and business plan, as these will grossly influence your brand. A logo is not your brand, nor is it your identity. Logo design, identity design and branding all have different roles, that together, form a perceived image for a business or product.

Trying to create a logo on your own may seem like the best way to avoid the high costs of going to a professional design firm, which will charge thousands for a logo alone. However, be aware that there are a lot of independent designers, including many who advertise online, who charge much less.

"What’s important is to create something that you believe is different from anything already out there,” David Airey

The steps below will take you through the process of creating and designing a logo that will successfully brand you in the marketplace.

Write a Creative Brief (exactly what is your brand message)

Now that you have a platform, and also your business central theme and mission , how do you want to convey your message? Do you want to sound bold and innovative or tried and true? Do you want to engage and excite or educate and inform? What is the personality/temperament of your brand and how do you want it to be perceived? Who is your primary and secondary target market? What type of messaging will most appeal to them?

These questions and answers will help in summarizing the problem in a document for your team to share and discuss. This will help further guide the branding process.

Educate Yourself

Beyond your strategic plan and business plan, as an entrepreneur/start-up business trying to save cost on branding process, you can take a step further by Conducting research focused on the industry itself, its history, your competitors and logo designs that have been successful and current styles and trends that are related to the design brief.

Understand that at this level, you are not the designer but only working on the concept and art direction.

Conceptualizing and Developing Brand Identities

Sketching and Conceptualising

Develop the logo design concepts around the brief and research. Get started with a pencil and sketching pad. Sketching is a much faster way to produce initial ideas. Keep your illustartions simple and original. Do not imitate, be experimental and not get caught up in the finer details. Take breaks throughout the design process. This allows your ideas to mature and lets you get renewed enthusiasm.

Keep all your sketches, but select the best and most appropriate for your business.

Choose Unique and Appropriate Colour 

When taking the brand’s personality into account, you have to think about every aspect of the image. The Logo Company released an article "The Science Behind Colors" and an infographic displaying The Psychology of Color in Logo Design. Here’s a quick break-down:

Red: energetic, sexy, bold

Orange: creative, friendly, youthful

Yellow: sunny, inventive, optimism

Green: growth, organic, instructional

Blue: professional, medical, tranquil, trustworthy

Purple: spiritual, wise, evocative

Black: credible and powerful

White: simple, clean, pure

Pink: fun and flirty

Brown: rural, historical, steady

Choose Appropriate Typeface

Typography is obviously central to good logo design. Not every logo needs a mark. Sometimes, all you need is a professional logotype to identify your business. Some companies choose to stick to Logotype entirely, like Ray-Ban, Coca-Cola and IBM. Be sure to avoid gimmicky fonts, utilize negative space and perhaps tweak an existing font. A simple styled logotype aids recognition — Consider fonts like Helvetical, trajan, Garamond, Futura and Bodoni.

Execute Your Design

Here is where you might need to higher a graphic designer to execute the final design and other marketing collateral. Take your time to shop for a good and affordable designer. The bulk of the work has been done by you and you can now act as the art director but give the designer the flexibility and liberty to work.

I wish you the best in your new business and your new experience.

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