Your business needs a logo, but your budget does not need another designer’s invoice, right? So grab a few ideas, open a logo maker, and start creating.
A professional logo can definitely matter for a business. Does that mean you should hire a designer right away? Not really.
If you are still testing an idea, running a business, or just need a logo for a new project, you might want to try doing it yourself. There are plenty of online tools that let you make your own logo design without learning hard-to-use software or staring at a blank canvas.
You can, in fact, pair different fonts, colors, icons and layouts until you find something that seems just right.
The trick is knowing what to look for and, just as importantly, what to leave out. Let us walk through the process of creating a logo yourself, from the first sketch to the final file.
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Start With What Your Logo Needs to Convey
Before you head straight to a logo maker, wait. Take some time to figure out what you want your logo to say about your business. A good logo has a reason behind it, even when the design itself looks simple.
- Know Your Brand
Start with the basics:
- What does your business do?
- Who are you trying to reach?
- What kind of personality do you want the brand to have: friendly and playful, modern and sharp, or traditional and dependable?
Jot down three words that describe your brand best. They’ll be a useful starting point as you choose colors, fonts, and visual elements.
- Take a Look at Your Competitors
Look around. See what other companies in your industry are doing. Notice the colors they use, the fonts they choose, the symbols they include and how they arrange their designs.
For example, if all the businesses next to you are using a wordmark along with the same basic icon, it’s likely best not to copy that exact same approach.
Your logo should have something that helps people tell it apart.
Get Your Ideas on Paper
Make a quick list of words, objects, symbols, or ideas connected to your business. Sketch a few rough concepts too so you have something to build on.
Choose the Right Logo Style
Now that you have the basic idea in mind, decide how you want to show it. You won’t need to try out every logo style out there. A few simple options are enough to get started.
- Wordmark
A wordmark uses the business name as the logo, with the font doing most of the work. It works well if your name is short and memorable. Google is a familiar example of a wordmark logo.
- Lettermark
If your business has a long name, using its initials can keep the logo clean and easy to use. IBM is a classic example of a lettermark.
- Icon or Symbol
This approach uses a standalone symbol to represent the brand. It works best when you have a simple visual idea people can connect with your business. Apple is an obvious example, with its apple symbol doing all the talking.
- Combination Mark
A combination mark puts a symbol and the business name together. This can be especially useful for a new business because people see the name and visual together while they are still getting familiar with the brand. Adidas has used this approach across several of its well-known logo designs.
Pro tip: Pick a logo style not because it looks cool. Choose one that works for you.
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Build Your Logo With an Online Design Tool
This is where your idea starts looking like an actual logo.
You can use a tool such as LogoDesign.Net’s logo maker and play around with different layouts and styles until you find something that’s worth it.
Don’t try to get everything right on the first try. Start with the basics and make changes as you go:
- Enter your business name and industry.
- Pick a template you like.
- Add an icon or symbol that connects to your business.
- Try a few arrangements until the name and symbol sit well together.
- Remove anything you do not need. If an element is there only because it looked interesting, remove it.
- Fix the spacing and sizes so nothing feels cramped or awkward.
Stick to One Strong Idea
Don’t try squeezing it all in one logo. Three fonts, four colors, a couple of icons, a fancy effect—it sounds fun but can produce messy results.
Pick Colors and Fonts That Fit
With the basic logo in place, there are two things you can play around with to change its whole look: color and type. You do not need a complicated color palette or five different fonts. A couple of good choices can be enough.
- Keep the Color Palette Simple
Start by checking your logo in black and white. This makes it easier to see whether the design itself works before color gets involved.
Some brands keep things to one color, such as Netflix in red, Spotify in green, and Target in red.
Others use two colors, such as Pepsi, Mastercard, and Burger King.
Then there are brands like NBC, eBay and Microsoft that use several colors.
For your own logo, start with one main color and add another only if it helps. Blue is often seen in business and technology logos, while green is common in nature and wellness branding. But remember these are common associations, not rules. Most importantly, make sure your colors are easy to see together and look good on both light and dark backgrounds.
- Choose a Font You Can Read
You will usually come across serif, sans serif, script, and decorative fonts.
Serif fonts, like the one used by The New York Times, have small strokes at the ends of letters.
Sans serif fonts, like Chanel’s, have cleaner letterforms.
Script fonts, such as Coca-Cola’s, have a handwritten feel.
Whichever style you choose, keep it readable. Test the logo when it is small, and avoid squeezing several fonts into one design.
Pro Tip: Choose colors and fonts that look good together.
Make Your Logo Work at Any Size
Your logo is not going to sit on your screen at the same size forever. One day it might be a tiny Instagram profile picture, and the next it could be sitting across a shop sign. It needs to hold up in both places.
Try your logo in a few real-world situations:
- Social media profile: Shrink it down and see if the name or symbol is still clear.
- Website header: Check that it does not look lost or awkward beside your navigation.
- Business card: Make sure the smaller version is still easy to read.
- Sign or banner: Enlarge it and look for anything that suddenly feels out of proportion.
- Try the Tiny Version
Zoom out until the logo is much smaller than you are used to seeing it. If the text disappears or the icon turns into a blur, something needs changing. You may need a simpler layout, fewer details, or a bolder font.
- Try the One-Color Version
Turn the whole logo black or white. Does it still look like the same logo? If it only works because of its colors, go back and simplify it. A logo that works without color will give you far more freedom when you use it later.
Download the Right Logo Files
Before you say the logo is done, check that you have the correct files saved. You don’t want to start over because you only got one version.
- PNG
Perfect for digital use—like on your website, social media, emails and presentations. Make sure to save one with a transparent background too so you can put it over different colors whenever you need to.
- SVG
This format keeps your logo sharp no matter how small or big you make it. If you want to put your business logo on signs, banners or printed stuff, you will need SVGs.
- Keep a Few Versions
It is worth saving a small set of versions while you are at it:
- Full-color logo
- Black logo
- White logo
- Logo with and without your tagline
When you have these logo files handy, you won’t have to dig through every time you need to place your logo somewhere new.
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Ready to Create Your Own Logo?
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a logo that does the job. Start with an idea. Keep the design clean and easy to recognize. Test it in sizes and places to see how it looks. The first version might not be perfect—that’s okay. Keep adjusting it until it feels just right.
Ready to give it a try? Create your logo online with LogoDesign.Net’s Logo Maker and see what you can come up with.
