The home of premium quality free logo design tool Browse 5,000+ images

Why Do You Need a Logo?

A logo is a visual representation of your brand which can be denoted by a graphic image, symbol or emblem. You need to give a face to your business brand so your customers and audience can associate with. Your choice and need of a design is dependent on your preference, industry, audience receptiveness and/or design trend.

But that is not all. You need an identity to communicate your brand message, vision, mission and what you offer that is of value to your audience. Your logo thus needs to effectively communicate your brand promise, and elicit feelings of trust, confidence and reliability.

You also need a logo design to be the ambassador of your brand wherever your business moves whether it is online, offline, locally or globally. That is why you will see startups, small businesses, medium to large enterprises use their brand identity on product packaging, uniform, vehicles, social media, website and anywhere that their brand get in contact with their customers.

How to Make a Logo Design?

Whether you decide to engage a logo designer or use a free logo maker, the basic elements are the same.

First you need to understand the brand, what it needs to communicate and what industry it belongs to. Research competitors, market and audience thoroughly before starting to make a brand icon.

Then decide on what type of design you want: wordmark, lettermark, iconic or monogram etc. If you decide on iconic, then select an appropriate symbol that represent your brand like flower or graph. If you choose to go with a wordmark or lettermark then you will have to be careful in selecting a font that is legible to communicate your brand message perfectly.

Always make your logo in black and white first then choose colors. For that, it's important to understand color psychology, industry trend, and audience perceptiveness. Once colors are done, you can decide on adding effects like gradient, shadow or retro effect to your logo.

How to Trademark a Logo?

A trademark is a definitive sign, name, symbol or logo of a business to represent your products or services. There is a legal way to protect these – by trademarking with a legal authority, which, in the U.S. can be done through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

To trademark a logo, first you need to make sure that similar symbols have not already been registered by someone else. You can do this by checking the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) database.

Once cleared, you can initiate the online trademark process for your icon by preparing for it. You’ll need to have information like business category, locality, ownership details, distinctive design marks and date of commencement of commercial activities on hand for the registration.

You can trademark a logo for anything between $275 and $325, provided no legal counsel is involved. Within six months to one year you will be able to get a confirmation whether your design has been trademarked or not.