How to design a great logo visual China

There are always some companies that will make you think that designing a logo is as simple as piecing together some text and one or two graphics. No matter what others say, there are more companies that are committed to designing an excellent LOGO, rather than just staying at that level.

Many have become great logo designs. Although a logo may seem like an insignificant thing, it represents the entire company or brand and must convey recognition, value and more. Don't think of it as a "tiny" design job. It can become a company's most important design and guide future design and branding decisions. In this guide, you can learn all the necessary steps to create a stunning logo for your project or potential clients.

What makes an excellent LOGO?

A good LOGO is powerful. Whether it contains graphics or is just plain text, a good logo has a certain power that makes it eye-catching.

On this point, an excellent LOGO is unique. It will not be confused with the logos of other companies, especially business competitors.

Similarly, a good LOGO is easy to recognize. It can be quickly and easily associated with a company.

A good LOGO is also durable. In 10, 20 or even 50 years it should still be outstanding and look relevant. This is easier said than done.

A good LOGO can also strengthen your brand. It should convey the appropriate mood, tone, and feel for the company. It's up to you whether you want your logo to literally reflect your company. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. But either way, it needs to be the backbone of your brand.

A truly excellent LOGO can also convey the company’s core message. It can spread the quality, technology and values ??that the company believes in.

Classification of LOGO

There are three main forms of LOGO: font LOGO, a text-based LOGO; concrete LOGO, using graphics directly related to the type of company (for example, a clothing store uses clothes as a LOGO ); there are also abstract LOGOs, the graphics have no obvious connection with the company type, and may be more based on a feeling or emotion.

Font LOGO

Font LOGO is very common and is usually a distortion and change of an existing font. Font logos are especially suitable for diversified companies that are involved in more than one industry (such as GE or DuPont).

The Sky Production’s LOGO is a great example of a font LOGO that integrates graphics into letters. The shape of the letter "S" comes from the shape of clouds, while the borders on both sides look like the edges of film. This great example elevates the realm of what typeface logos can achieve.

In SiO Athletica’s LOGO, the simple triangle that replaces A is thick and modern. It is enough to be used throughout the logo and other brand promotional materials with A to strengthen the brand image. Consider a similar approach when creating your own logo.

Although this is not immediately obvious to people as a font LOGO, the shape of the LOGO is composed of four letters B. Very creative and impressive without being complicated.

Cube’s LOGO is simple and direct, using a line to transform a rectangle into a unique letter C.

Folkdeer’s LOGO incorporates antlers into the font, blurring the boundaries between the font LOGO and the figurative graphic LOGO.

Concrete graphics

Concrete logos are also very common and can directly provide the meaning of the company name, if it is not clear enough. Usually, local and small businesses seem to particularly like this type of logo. Part of the reason may be that these logos are easy to identify and leave little room for interpretation (although some companies also make clever use of puns and hidden graphics).

For bicycle shops and related companies, the bicycle chain is a very vivid graphic. As shown in the picture, this is the LOGO of The Ride.

Herschel Supply's Winter Club Collection LOGO is another excellent example of concrete graphics, this time in the form of mountains and trees.

The Meatlovers Gourmet Burger & Cie’s LOGO with the heart-shaped sandwich graphic is very vivid, while also maintaining a minimalist and modern feel. This shows that even figurative graphics can be interesting and unexpected.

Greenly uses leaves in its LOGO, which perfectly expresses the meaning of an environmentally friendly company.

The rocking chair in Brooklyn & Co’s LOGO perfectly interprets the furniture company.

Plumbline Media’s logo looks almost abstract until you see that it is actually just a book (representing the media) with a vertical line running down the spine.

Abstract Graphics

Abstract graphic logos are also suitable for diverse companies because they convey mood and tone rather than a specific company type. A logo does not necessarily need to directly reflect what the company does. Think of the Nike swoosh, McDonald’s golden arches, or Apple’s logo.

Ease’s logo is a good example, with abstract graphics conveying the appropriate emotion.

The LOGO of Austariff, an Australian solar energy company, is reminiscent of the sun and also combines the shape of a leaf (reflecting the renewable energy industry). They use this graphic in a very interesting way in their branding materials.

Stylish Eve’s LOGO started from the shape of an apple, but moved towards an abstract result. This is a good example of taking something related to the name as a logo (Eve has a strong association with Apple) and stylizing it to create a logo that evokes the imagination.

Warped Vision’s logo uses abstract graphics that remind people of something, without giving any indication of the company’s specific business.

Futural’s logo is completely abstract, but gives a modern and futuristic feel, making it an excellent choice based on the name of this company.

Research, research, and research again

The first step in designing an excellent LOGO for a client is to get a good design outline. Clients should give you background information about their company, including logos they have used before. However, it is important to collect information beyond what is provided by the customer, both directly and through your own discovery.

Ask specific questions to the client to get clarification on anything in the outline that you are not 100% sure about. It's better to ask questions when you're starting out and make sure you know what your client wants and needs than to make endless revisions later or risk losing clients because they think you're not listening (even if They are the ones who don’t understand the situation).

You have to conduct research among your audience. Who will see this logo? In other words, who are your clients’ customers? You will also want to know where the logo will be used and in what form. This is important because it determines how limited your design is, for example whether it is necessary for the logo to appear well in black and white (in case your client is still using newspapers or similar media for advertising).

How much is not too much?

Many designers who have never done a logo may wonder how much research they need to do. What does it mean to know too much about your client’s company? What level of research is necessary to design a LOGO?

The answer is that when it comes to designing a logo, you can never know too much about your customers. It's a major part of their brand, their face to the world. Think about how easily recognizable some logos are. No one needed to see the word “Nike” to associate it with the Nike Swoosh; they immediately recognized the Nike Swoosh and associated it with the brand. When you see the Starbucks Mermaid, you know what company it represents. When you see a bitten apple, you know it's an Apple.

Do you think the designers behind these logos have ever thought that their logos could take off with just company brochures and about pages? It is true that sometimes there is not a lot of corporate story behind the birth of a great LOGO. However, adding some additional information to these examples will certainly not affect the overall process.

Take the time to get to know the company you work for. Understand their values. Understand their position in the market. Understand how their customers perceive them. If it's a new company, understand how they want customers to view them and where they want to be in the market.

Although you can definitely design a LOGO with only two or three paragraphs of design outline, if you delve deeper, you will be able to produce better work. By setting aside the right amount of time to research and plan your logo design process, you'll get better results and happier customers.

Inspire

Once you have done all the research you can and understand your client company inside out, it’s time to go find inspiration. Of course, in rare cases, you may come up with the perfect logo idea during the research stage, but it’s more likely that you won’t. You need to look elsewhere for some inspiration and ideas.

When you are looking for creative reference logos, look for company logos from both similar companies and completely different companies. Spend some time browsing inspiration libraries, logo collections on blogs, or even just searching for logos in Google Images.

As you look at all these logos, resist the temptation to imitate any of them. Imitation may be the sincerest tribute, but imitating another company's logo does neither yourself nor your customers any favors.

Remember what I said about an excellent LOGO being unique? This is an important quality to keep in mind when browsing other people’s work. This concept is looking for ideas that inspire your own original design, rather than ideas that allow you to improve and effectively plagiarize.

As you look at these logos for inspiration, consider the different types of logos and which ones look most common in your client’s industry. Are most logos abstract? Concrete? Or in font style?

Because, even if 80% of companies in an industry use concrete LOGOs, it does not mean that your customers have to do the same. It’s important, though, to consider whether breaking from established standards is consistent with your client’s values. If they're a very traditional business, it might be wise to stick with what's already established. Second, if they are trying to step in with another concept, or if they are a trailblazer, consider deviating from those established pathways.

Sources of LOGO inspiration

There are many great inspiration libraries on the Internet that can provide inspiration for your LOGO design. Here are 10 of our favorites:

Logos on Creattica

Logopond

Logofaves.com

Logosauce

LogoGala

Logospire

LogoLounge

Logo of the Day

Logoed

In addition to the inspiration library, there are also a large number of LOGO sets to provide additional inspiration. And what is certain is that we are surrounded by LOGOs in our daily lives, in products, in advertisements, online, and more.

Drawing the initial design

By now you should be fully immersed in the brand. You should know them as well as you know your own company. This makes it easier for you to create proper sketches that form the initial design.

According to the different types of LOGO and the different symbols suitable for customers, you can consider drawing a table to accommodate possible design solutions. For example, you can have one column for font logo ideas, one column for concrete ideas related to the company name, and one column for ideas related to the industry they work in. Creating quick drafts in tabular format allows you to see all options at a glance, allowing you to discover new ways to combine different ideas in interesting ways.

When starting out, remember one thing, you must keep all your sketches. An idea that looks bad in the first round or draft may later become the starting point for some brilliant solutions.

If you discard your early drawings as garbage, you may not be able to get those creative ideas back later.

This is also the step where you need to choose the fonts for your logo and all corresponding slogans. If you want to create something completely unique, consider creating an original font for your logo rather than using an existing font.

If designing a purely original font is not part of the project, then consider adding variations and personalization to an existing font. This is a great way to get custom styles without spending the time and resources necessary to create a purely original type design.

Although you may choose to intentionally include (or not include) subgraphics and meanings in your logo design, you need to be aware of potential hidden meanings, words, or graphics. It’s entirely possible that some words have escaped your attention during the design process, and are only noticed by clients and their customers when the logo is ready for the public. This hidden content can at best be funny, or it can be so bad that it becomes a real PR nightmare for your client.

The negative space created in LOGO design can also be used as a secondary graphic, or to further simplify the main graphic in the design. Think about how to use negative space to better define the logo, or to emphasize the client's image and values ??in the design. Take a look at how this logo below uses negative shapes to spell out the word “one”, and it also uses numbers.

Don’t be afraid to experiment on your sketches. Try something unexpected. Try those crazy ideas that you're sure won't work but can't stop thinking about them. This is the time to cater to every creative idea. Of course, you'll dismiss most of them, but you might stumble upon a really cool idea in the process. A bad idea may lead you to a good idea, even a great idea. So don't rush it, just have fun and experiment during the initial sketching stages.