Small businesses often aim to create a good impression of themselves with a logo. And if there is a unique concept in logo design, then it has a certain potential, which in many ways will allow you to influence the target audience. For many companies, the logo is a tool for business development and promotion of their products or services on the market. Indeed, a logo is an effective marketing tool and marketers know this very well.

However, designers need to be careful when creating a logo, especially when it comes to brand image or conveying a message about the company. Careful selection of colors, fonts, symbols and images is the key to success. A well-thought-out conceptual logo can make a lasting impression on the consumer, who will subsequently always associate it with this particular brand. Therefore, the designer's task is to create a memorable logo that will attract target customers.

When working on a logo for a small business, you need to adhere to certain rules that designers have deduced empirically. In fact, these are not even rules, but advice and recommendations that it is advisable to adhere to, since they help to create a unique logo that will correctly convey the image of the company.

Research

Before starting to paint, a designer needs to make sure they understand the client's business. It is not necessary to know everything, but the main points, such as market segment, product line, peculiarities of business processes and development plans, need to be known. Without this knowledge, it will not be possible to create anything intelligible - the logo will turn out to be faceless and will not be associated with the brand. This means that the set goal will not be achieved. And the client will most likely send such a logo back asking to redo everything.

Therefore, the designer needs to conduct a research of the customer's business before starting work. You also need to understand what the target audience of the brand is. Researching a business can help you get an overall impression of the business, and you should always look at the company from a designer's perspective.

If you look closely at the most iconic logos, you will find many similarities in their designs. All of these logos are based on unique concepts. In practice, this means that there are no cliches or cliches in the concept, all images, symbols and typography are completely original. Finding unique concepts is easiest to do on paper, with multiple logo sketches. In the process of creativity, various options will appear, from which you can subsequently choose one or two for further development.

Here's a good example of how a professional works: many different logo variations that came up when looking for a unique concept. As you can see, as a result, the designer found an acceptable option, which became the basis for the future logo. The picture shows that the sketch only vaguely resembles a finished logo; the designer simply created a scheme that seemed acceptable to him and reflects the essence of the brand.

Using matching colors

Color is one of the most important elements in logo design. The designer needs to make sure that the color correctly communicates the brand message to its target audience. This can be helped by the research that the designer conducted during the preliminary stage of work: it will be much easier for him to find colors that correctly reflect the personality of the brand. For example, many companies operating in the fast food market have a red color in their logo designs. Red as the main color allows you to attract the attention of customers, it is a color that is associated with energy, pressure, joy, passion and excitement. Fast food companies with a red logo primarily expect to attract young people: they are cheerful, energetic, constantly hungry and have nothing against eating on the go.

But red isn't just used in fast food - it's versatile. For example, the familiar Virgin logo was originally black and white. Virgin appeared in the 70s of the last century and the logo of that time was the best fit for the label promoting progressive rock music. The current logo was created with the assistance of Richard Branson, the permanent head of the company. When Branson was signed to release the Sex Pistols album, he realized that the logo known as the "twins" was out of date. Branson wanted to change the logo, making it less corporate and more edgy. This is how the Virgin text style was born. Unsurprisingly, red was chosen as the primary color - it fully reflected the rebellious nature of punk rock that the brand wanted to associate with.

And one more thing: the designer at the very beginning needs to decide what the logo will be: monochrome or multicolor. Multi-color logos, such as the eBay logo, look very nice, but a logo like this is unlikely to be suitable for small businesses, since multi-color printing costs more than single-color. As a result, the company will have a sharp increase in advertising costs.

Experienced designers carefully select fonts that will help highlight the brand's personality. For example, rock band logos are often typed in unique authoring fonts that convey the revolutionary nature of music. But if the designer was ordered a logo for a company that produces goods for children, then it is better to refuse bold decisions, in this case comic or handwritten fonts are more suitable. When choosing a font, you should always strive to ensure that it correctly conveys the image of the company and fully corresponds to it. The logo has a long life, so the font should be not only unique, but also moderately neutral, not subject to changeable fashion.

Symbols and semiotics

Many brands, familiar to us from the text style, initially had only a symbol. One of the best examples of symbol use is Nike's famous Swoosh. The sign, which at first glance is an incomprehensible squiggle, evokes a variety of associations in people.

For example, many people think that the Nike symbol looks like dust raised by a runner racing into the distance. Interestingly, many Nike products today don't have a text logo - just a graphic sign. The largest sports brand breaks down language barriers - after all, the promoted symbol is understandable to people from all over the world.

Another example of how a global brand uses semiotics is the WWF logo. When creating the logo, negative space was actively used, as a result of which the designer managed to very accurately convey the silhouette of a panda. The idea behind the logo is simple: a picture is worth a thousand words, in this case WWF tells about itself with the help of one but very successful image.

Example number three is the logo of Starbucks, one of the world's largest coffee brands. The company was founded in 1971, when their first logo appeared. The company has evolved, along with the logo changed, but the famous siren has always been the central image of the logo.

And the siren logo still appears on every cup of coffee purchased from Starbucks. Why exactly a siren? And how does it compare to coffee? No way. The siren is half-fish, half-woman, kind of a mermaid, and the designer took this look because Starbucks was based in Seattle, one of the largest ports in the United States. Coffee beans arrived in Seattle by sea, so the designer decided to take as an image a mysterious inhabitant of the deep sea.

Feedback

Designing a logo for a small business is difficult enough. Often such companies have not yet found their face, they do not have clear contours and their image has not been fully formed. Therefore, the designer runs the risk of making a mistake when choosing a concept. To achieve the desired result, the logo must be tested on representatives of the target audience. This point cannot be ignored, because without knowing what other people think about logo design, it is impossible to be completely sure whether the logo will work or not. Therefore, feedback from colleagues, experts and potential clients is extremely important.

An original logo that perfectly works for your new business can be created on your own without the involvement of expensive specialists and in just a few minutes using the online service: Turbologo.ru

Before you read this instructional article, we suggest defining some simple but important concepts for a new or existing business:

1. Do small businesses need a logo and corporate identity?Needed!
2. Do you need a company logo at the start of a business?Needed!
3. Is the creation of such a necessary logo a priority and important task, on the solution of which it is necessary to spend a lot of effort, time and money?No.

What to do? What to do in this case?

Today it is possible to solve such a difficult task easily, quickly and without much material costs using modern high-tech online services for creating logos and corporate identity.

And not only an online service will help us with this, with the help of which not even a professional, but actually the owner of a new business, can create an effective and memorable logo, but also today's trends in business design.

Today, there is no need to "cram" into a small graphic image the entire semantic range and all the semantic loads that are characteristic of this or that business. It practically doesn't work.

Can you imagine a person who stands in front of a signboard of a store and tries to delve into the meanings and meanings that the designer put into the company's logo? There are only a few such eccentrics.

Today's modern business logo is a simple, light, original and catchy element.

An element that everyone can create independently, and which will not differ, and sometimes even surpass the originality of the "creations" of professional and expensive designers.

It is possible to draw a logo online!

Consider the possibility of creating an original logo for small businesses using the online service: Turbologo.ru

Why did we choose it?

Simple, convenient and most importantly - cheap. By the way, about the cheapness of the whole event. If you want to attract a professional designer to create a logo, prepare at least ten, or even two tens of thousands of rubles.

You can save money by hiring a freelancer from the exchange, which will cost the budget of a start-up business at least 4000 - 5000 rubles. Plus to this add a few days of work, the possibility of working with a layman and a poor choice of options for ready-made layouts.

The online service Turbologo will easily provide you with the opportunity to make a logo online on your own at a sufficient, professional level in just 10-15 minutes, an unlimited number of options, and most importantly - for "funny" (compared to the salary of a professional designer) 490 rubles

Important note:The magic of words: "professional designer" and "specialist freelancer" do not let the inexperienced be misled. Many so-called designers and especially freelancers, who in great numbers "feed" on the stock exchanges, create their "creations" with the help of online services and pass them off as their work. So why overpay someone when in 15 minutes of not the most difficult efforts and our instructions, you can create an excellent logo yourself?

Were we not convinced? Hard to believe?

Try it for free!

See what happens. We are convinced that in 99 cases out of 100 those who tried to create their own solution with the help of Turboloy, the result was completely satisfactory to them.

Examples of modern small business logos

Clickable picture. Turbogo is a true constructor of successful design.

Create a logo online for free in high quality

Not all entrepreneurs are confident online users, and therefore we offer step-by-step instructions for creating a modern and bright logo, written on the basis of simple and clear explanations for everyone.

This will be an easy-to-follow tutorial on how to create a decent logo for any small business.

Design a logo yourself online. How it's done.

Step # 1.

Any user can design a logo on their own online with the Turboly service.

Right now, using this active link, you go to the section where you can start creating your future corporate identity: https://turbologo.ru/create-logo

In the active windows located on the page, enter the name of your future company or the name of the business and add a slogan. A slogan is a short (preferably) laconic, easy-to-remember phrase that expresses the essence of your future business.

For experiment and clarity, purely conditionally, we will call the company "Running Elephant" (why not?), Which will sell goods for animals (pet stores), and come up with a short slogan - "Always ahead"! Press the "Continue" button and move on.

Step # 2.

On the page of the second step, we choose a color scheme that matches our future brand. It seems to us that the green color harmonizes well with the name "Running Elephant".

By the way, you can skip the choice of colors now, and choose it later. This is very convenient because when the logo is ready and can be seen in its finished form, it is easier for it to choose a color.

Find it difficult to decide on your own which color scheme is right for your business? No problem. Turbogo is a very smart service and will tell you which color is right for you. To do this, just hover over the colored rectangles with the mouse and use the hint.

Step # 3.

The next step is to select icons. Here you have two options:

• choose a suitable icon from the attached list;
• or skip this step, and then select the appropriate icon.

Step # 4.

Just a couple more seconds to complete a simple, non-binding registration, and you will have some great results! Some possibilities are already being seen behind the registration form.

Step # 5.

We passed the registration in a couple of seconds and got the following results:

At the first stage, we received 15 logos, which, in our opinion, were created at a fairly high professional level.

Step 6.

What's wrong with you? Never mind, Turboly has the opportunity to continue his work. To do this, activate the create another function.

Do you find it difficult to create a logo that will fully meet your requirements? The creators of the service have provided for a similar option and invite all users to first look at the gallery of logos already created by other members of the service.

Visit the page: "Gallery of works" and choose from a large list the direction that best suits yours.

In our case, the conditional running elephant company plans to open a pet store. Fine! We select the link "Pet shop" and look at examples of logos that were previously created in Turboly by the owners of pet shops.

Important note:The author of this article worked for several years at the most famous freelance exchange in Russia, offering designer services. He has created a large number of logos, and he is ready to reveal the secret of his success: all his new developments are based on ideas already created by other developers before him. This is not plagiarism. But almost all designers are looking for and find new and successful solutions for themselves and their clients in those works that were created by someone before them.

The Turbologo service database currently contains millions of fonts and icon collections created by professional designers from all over the world.

Your task is to create on the basis of these images, compose your unique logo, and on the basis of this logo, and the entire corporate identity of your new company.

And the last one:it will take an inexperienced user a little more than 5-10 minutes (with repetition) to develop his first logo using the Turboly service, and an experienced user two minutes.

The main feature of the service - Affordable price

You can create unlimited free options. Pay only for downloads.

Clickable picture. The price of a good logo.

It should be added that such a service, with which you can easily create a logo online, will be useful not only for small and medium-sized businesses.

It helps a lot:

• individuals who have a small hobby part-time job;
• manicure masters;
• makeup artists;
• photographers;
• confectioners;
• handmade craftsmen;
• and to all those who want to save money and quickly get an excellent result.

There are many myths that some entrepreneurs, especially newcomers, take to be true and thus make mistakes. What are the most common myths when creating logos and how to avoid mistakes - we will talk about this further.

Some of them are relevant even for companies with large budgets. But if you are striving to become a practical entrepreneur and use money wisely, then perhaps this article from Logaster can help you optimize your budget.

Misconception 1: A logo must look cool and expensive

It is not unusual that we all strive for excellence: a quality product, friendly service, an intuitive website design - all this increases the chances of success.

But is it worth it to break down and throw all the resources to create another world masterpiece in graphic design?

Don't rush to answer. Perhaps you need a logo that works great for your business, differentiates you from the competition, looks decent, and doesn't have to cost you a lot of money?

The success of a logo lies not in the expensive design, but in the quality of the logo creation.

For example, in 1971, Carolyn Davidson, a student at Portland University, designed a logo for an unknown company for a modest fee ($ 35). It was Nike.

Was the development of the Nike logo worth a lot of money then? No. Does it work? Yes.

And there are many such examples.

Don't believe me? Well, let's take a look at the cost of designing well-known company logos.

The cost of developing a logo for Coca Cola is $ 0, Nike - $ 35, Twitter - $ 15, but the Pepsi logo cost $ 1 million, and BP's rebranding - $ 221 million. The cost is different, but all logos are successful in their niche.

Expert opinion

Olga Agafonova, Chief Designer at Ecwid:

There is a funny story about this in the Silicon Valley series. The guys wanted a "cool and expensive" logo, but as a result of a series of misadventures, they came up with the simplest version that they could get right away and for free.

Of course, the logo is by no means the main thing, and it does not directly affect the success of the business. You can easily work with no logo at all, or with a very simple logo. However, an unprofessional and sloppy decision can ruin your reputation. So, it's better without a logo at all than with a bad logo.

Therefore, directly answering the question whether it is worth spending a lot of money on creating a logo at the initial stage of starting a business - no, not worth it.

Misconception 2. Success is possible only with quality design

Yes, design is important. For example, 80% of small business owners consider the design of a logo, website, and other elements of a corporate identity to be “very important” or “important” for a company's success. Only 3% think design is not important.

But is it worth relying only on quality design in a competitive race? Unlikely. This is just one of the tools. You may get the customer's attention, but your company's long-term success depends on your products, marketing, innovation, etc.

Sagi Haviv says the logo is a simple and functional signpost to help people find and identify your business. But for a logo to be successful, there must be a respected and reliable brand behind it. A logo alone will not make a company successful.

In addition, as sad as it may sound, many companies do not "bother" with the creation of a logo at all.

TJ McCue claims that about 50% of small business owners do not have their own website, they do not have a Facebook page, a LinkedIn profile. But many create a profitable business without an Internet presence and with the help of word of mouth. Some of them have a text logo created by services like Flamingtext. Of course, someday they will be embarrassed to look at their logo and change it.

But at the same time, if you have a choice between improving the service, making a profit or taking care of your logo – choose the first two options.

Expert opinion

Nikita Obukhov, founder of Tilda Publishing:

Design, whatever many conversion and MVP advocates may say, is very important. Another thing is how unusual it should be. Place your stake not primarily on the “effect”, but on the content. Explain in a very simple and neat graphic language who you are, what you offer and why you are better than others. And then, when you get the first feedback and money, think about the "creative part" of the design.

Misconception 3: I need the most trending logo designs

When you read another article on logo design trends for 201X, you really want to create a logo that will be on the wave of the latest design trends.

But, as he wrote in his book “Logo and corporate identity. Designer's Guide "David Airey, when it comes to logo design and corporate identity, trends are best left to the fashion industry.

Trends come and go, and you definitely don’t need to invest a lot of your time and money in designs that will quickly become outdated.

Durability is paramount, and the logo should last as long as the business it represents. From time to time, you can refresh it, clarify some details, but the main idea should remain intact.

Expert opinions

Vladimir Polonik,

Trends are things that come and go. I am sure that the logo is not the most important thing in the work of a small company. But for some business niches, the very fact of having a logo can increase the credibility of the company.

Misconception 4: My logo must be no worse than Apple and Starbucks

This is a worthy endeavor, but you are unlikely to be able to repeat the success of well-known companies. Besides, repeating someone else's concept is not the best choice. To grab the attention of customers, you need to stand out, not repeat other people's ideas.

Therefore, it will be much more effective to analyze why the logos of well-known companies have become successful and learn from their experience. For example, why the Coca-Cola logo hasn't changed since 1987, and why the Nike logo is a great example of a strong, memorable logo that's effective even without color.

Misconception 5. My logo should give everyone an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat I'm doing.

This is one of the most common logo design myths.

Most small businesses create a logo that literally depicts the products they sell using overused visual clichés.

How, then, will your business stand out from the competition if every company uses the same idea?

A logo doesn't have to literally represent what the company does. For example, the Audi logo is not a car at all. And the Hawaiian Airlines logo is not an airplane.

Expert opinions

Olga Agafonova, Chief Designer at Ecwid:

Trying to "explain" everything about your company's activities with a logo is boring, to say the least. A logo should only reflect what sets your company apart from others. As we remember, the purpose of a logo is to increase the company's awareness.

Misconception 6: My logo must have a hidden message like FedEx

Yes, it's a good idea to stand out from the competition and make your logo more memorable. But let's be honest, has your attitude towards FedEx changed since you learned that there is an arrow hiding between the letters E and X?

Have you started ordering more items on Amazon after you noticed a hidden smile in the form of a line?

Unlikely. Because that's not what matters for the clients. They value service, reasonable prices, product quality. To do this, they will be ready to become a client of a company that may not have a very cool logo.

We do not want to say that your logo should not have hidden elements. But if you do not know how to write them concisely and clearly, do not focus your attention on this. You can always refresh the logo and make an advertising campaign out of it.

Misconception 7. If the team likes the logo, the customers will like it too

The logo is created for your clients, not for yourself, your colleagues or friends. You must form a clear idea of \u200b\u200bwho your customers are and what they want.

To do this, decide on the qualities of the company that you want to convey to your audience, and try to create a logo that could do this.

Misconception 8: logo first, then sales and branding

What do many aspiring entrepreneurs do when they start a startup? That's right, they create / order a logo, corporate identity. But they spend a lot of effort and money.

Logo making is a creative robot that requires a lot of resources. When you are working on starting a business, it is very important to save your energy and money in product development.

Therefore, perhaps in the early stages of business development, you should focus more on the product and sales.

But this does not mean that you should not have a logo or that it should be of poor quality. There are many ways to create a great logo on a budget. For example, using online logo makers like Logaster, or hiring freelancers.

Misconception 9. A logo is just an element of the company that needs to be created

Many people underestimate the importance of a logo and see it as a picture that needs to be created and placed wherever possible - on a website, in social networks, on a business card, etc. - to be no worse than others.

But the problem is that you need to consider the logo as a tool with which you can benefit (although you should not rely on it 100%)

If your products are good, the prices are reasonable, and in terms of marketing and business, you are no worse than other competitors, then a quality logo can distinguish you and attract additional customers.

For example, you buy milk in a supermarket and have settled on two options - one with a logo, the other without. Which packaging will you choose? Under the same conditions (the same prices, volume and percentage of fat content), most likely you will buy milk with a logo on it. Since the logo is also a symbol of quality, the face of the company. Packaging with a logo is more credible than packaging without it.

Expert opinion

Olga Agafonova, Chief Designer at Ecwid:

The logo does not distinguish it from competitors. The logo increases the company's awareness. And already the associations that the company will form with its work will "stick" to the logo. There are certainly theories of color and shape perception that are relevant to logos as to any other graphic object. They are easy to find on the net. However, the reputation of a company has no less influence on the perception of the same sign.

Misconception 10. If I don't understand design, the designer himself can come up with everything right

Logo design is a field of graphic design. But this does not mean that if you do not understand anything about design, then a specialist will do all the work for you and create a working logo.

As a business owner, you must understand the values \u200b\u200bof your company and the specifics of the niche in general. For this reason, you should be constantly involved in logo design. A good designer will always ask you a few questions in order to learn as much as possible about your business, industry, competitors, and you should tell as much as possible about your business vision and company values.

Only when the designer understands for whom the logo is being developed, who it should attract and what information needs to be conveyed, he will be able to translate it into graphics. Naturally, you do not need to be near the developer for days. A constructive conversation should take place when drawing up a technical task. It is at this stage that you need to dot all the i's and give the greatest amount of information about yourself. This is followed by work with clarifications and proofreading.

This way you get a quality logo that works for you.

Expert opinion

Vladimir Polonik, CEO of the landing page designer Q-page.ru:

The designer must understand the needs of both the business and the future customers of that business. He must be able to look at the product both through the eyes of the business creator and through the eyes of future consumers. Moreover, the company will be recognized precisely by the logo, so it will have to be changed much less often than the website has to be modified.

A logo is undoubtedly an important element of a business. But remember that the quality of your product should be at the top of the table, as a quality logo is not enough for business success.

Business planning is the process of setting goals, determining priorities, means and methods of achieving them. In a market economy, entrepreneurs will not be able to achieve sustainable success if they do not clearly and effectively plan their activities. Constantly accumulate and analyze information about the state of target markets, the position of competitors in them. Entrepreneurs must constantly analyze their own perspectives and opportunities. With all the variety of forms of entrepreneurship, there are key provisions that are applicable in almost all areas of commercial activity. They are necessary in order to timely prepare and avoid all difficulties and dangers, thereby, reducing the risk in achieving the set goals. For these and some other purposes, business planning is used and its result is a business plan. In a market economy, a business plan is a working tool used in all areas of entrepreneurship. The business plan describes the process of functioning of the company, shows how its leaders are going to achieve their goals and objectives. Business planning provides a motivated model of action, created on the basis of a market forecast of the economic environment. Introduction

This is where the business plan begins - Project Feasibility Study and Business Planning - Business Development Strategies and Business Development Plan - Firm Development Strategy - Company Commodity Audit i.e. Product analysis Project feasibility study and business planning Business development strategies and business development plan -Evaluating the competitiveness of the company -Predicting the development of the company -Marketing audit of the company -Estimating the state of the industry (markets) and their development prospects Forecasting the development of Marketing audit Assessing the state of the industry (markets) and prospects for their development

Example Business plan of the CLEOPATRA Beauty Salon 1.1. Private individual property (your name, surname) 1.2. Location of Interest, 15 Nauki str. (This can be any city in which you would like to have a company) 1.3. Logo. Motto: Women - worthy beauty! 2.0. Business concept: Assorted massage; body wrap, brushes, SPA procedures Manicure and pedicure Hairdresser services Cosmetologist - make-up artist services Solarium

2.1. Objectives There is no beauty salon in the microdistrict; women are not comfortable wasting their precious time visiting salons in another part of the city. Tasks (development, production and sales) Hair, nails, face and body care 4.0. Complies with the Federal Law of the Russian Federation and other regulations 5.0. Form of organization: individual entrepreneur 5.1. Business partners - 6.0. Distribution of working hours: Monday-Friday from 9 to 18 hours Saturday-Sunday from 10 to 17 hours Every day without days off Work of employees for 8 hours daily for 5 days with two days off Labor resources: hairdresser, masseur, make-up artist lying houses visit the salon regularly

7.1. Competitors - there are no competitors in this microdistrict 7.2. Consumers women and girls from 10 and older 7.3. The arrangement and observance of sanitary and hygienic rules allowed the opening of salon 8.0. Opening costs ……………… Company registration …………… Living room Fee …………………… 9.0. Equipment for offices: hairdresser's Chair (rotating with a lift); mirror with a shelf for tools; lighting, a socket for electrical equipment, a trolley for instruments, a tabletop ultraviolet sterilizer for processing instruments, a basket for dirty linen, a sink with an armchair (for 2 workplaces), a dryer with an armchair (for 2 workplaces). cosmetologist Specialist cosmetic chair; mirror with lighting and shelf; a sterilizer for ultraviolet treatment and boiling; refrigerator for storing drugs; basket for collecting dirty

11.1. Utilities… .. Heating …………………… Water ………… ... ……………… …… Energy, Light …………………………… Label orders… Instructions on application …… Telephone fee ……………… License fee ……………… Travel and other expenses… Advertising ……………………… Newspaper, Radio, Leaflets, Television, Announcements Total costs… ………… Authorized capital ……… ... ………… Working capital…. …………… Credit ……………………………… Calculation of the company's income and expenses for a month

A logo is definitely an important part of any website. In this article, our partner, the online service Logaster, talks about the intricacies of creating a logo for a site on the Nethouse platform.

Why do you need a logo?

The logo is the first point of interaction between a visitor and your website. It helps to attract attention and increase the awareness of the company in general and the site in particular. Thanks to the logo, you stand out from the competition and can declare your merits. Therefore, if you do not have a logo, or it is made of poor quality, for example, made in Paint, then you look much worse than your competitors, and your customers really feel it.

Before giving any practical advice, we would like to mention how important it is to correctly assess your financial capabilities and determine the amount of budget that you are willing to spend on creating a logo. If you are a budding entrepreneur, most likely, you already have all the expense items covered. And the most important of them is "" Promotion. Attracting customers "". That is why it is so important to get the highest quality logo at a reasonable price. After reading the next article about the importance of a logo, you don't have to break down and throw all your resources into creating another world masterpiece in graphic design. Chances are, you need a simple but effective logo that will work great for your business, differentiate you from the competition, look decent, and not cost a lot of money.

Ways to create a logo

The choice of method depends on your design skills and budget. In general, the logo can be:

• draw yourself (full control over the process, free of charge, but it takes a long time and requires certain skills);
• order a logo from a designer (unique, but you have to look for a suitable artist and allocate a budget for this);
• order a logo from a design studio (unique, it is possible to implement any ideas in the shortest possible time, but very expensive);
• hold an auction-tender (it is possible to obtain original solutions for relatively little money, but for a long time and you will still have to face costs);
• use an online service to create a logo (free or very cheap, it is possible to obtain unique options by self-selection of suitable parameters).

As you can see, each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, because not every entrepreneur or web developer is a specialist to create a logo on his own, and the services of professional designers are quite expensive. Therefore, often the way out of the situation is online services for creating logos, we will talk about them later.

General tips for creating a logo

Searching for ideas for a logo.

Finding an idea is one of the most difficult tasks at the beginning. Many are faced with a creative stupor and simply do not know where to start creating a logo, what elements to use - what icon, color, font. But if you use a logo generator, it will be much easier to create. Below we have collected several ways to develop a logo idea:

Use online logo galleries.

Online galleries like Logogala are great places to get inspiration from designers. Every day such sites are replenished with dozens of logos created according to the canons of graphic design.

Online services for logo creation.

You can try creating a logo using similar services and see what kind of logos they offer. Perhaps among these options you will find the desired logo or idea for it. Also, many of these constructors, for example, Logaster, provide tag search.

Analysis of competitors.

In the process of creative searches, it will not be superfluous to analyze competitors' logos. Take a closer look at them and note for yourself what you like and what you don't. This does not mean that you just have to go and copy someone's design, making changes only so that your logo is not considered plagiarism. A competitor analysis can help you figure out general logo design trends in your niche.

Don't forget about the target audience.

This point, in general, also refers to finding an idea for a logo, because potential clients can also be a source of inspiration. Take a survey or imagine yourself as your target audience and find answers to the following questions:

Who are they - your site visitors?

What do these people value in your company?

What do your customers like?

Having received the necessary answers, you will be able to more clearly imagine what feelings and emotions you need to evoke in people using your logo. And this, in turn, will help the desired idea arise.

Hopefully, your vague idea of \u200b\u200bthe future logo is now slowly starting to take on more tangible forms. But sometimes just a beautiful logo is not enough to achieve the set marketing goals (to attract attention and increase the site's recognition). To do this, many designers advise to follow certain guidelines when creating a logo. Many of them are very important, such as the principle of simplicity. Let's be honest, disaster will not happen if you cannot create a logo in accordance with absolutely all principles and tips. However, here they are:

1. Simplicity. The simpler the logo design is, the easier it will be to review, remember and recognize later.

How to make a logo simple and straightforward? Try not to use a lot of colors, fonts, complex icons, as when reducing the details are lost, and the overloaded logo will be hard to read and remember.

Look at the Nike, McDonald’s and Apple logos. Each of these companies has a very simple image that can be easily reproduced at any size.

2. Creativity. One of the functions of a logo is to distinguish you from competitors, to make you different from everyone else, to attract the attention of future customers. This can be achieved in several ways:

• use the icon as part of the logo text;

• overlay the icon, making it part of the letter of your company name;

• use the original font and icon;

• make a part of the icon out of letters that will illustrate the name of the company or the type of your activity;

• make a silhouette out of the icon, an image of something or someone, illustrating the type of activity.

Often, creating these effects requires creative ideas and skills. Therefore, do not be upset if you fail to create such a logo the first time.

On the other hand, many of these methods are easy to implement. For example 1 and 2, the effect is easy to implement using the Logaster or a similar constructor.

3. Durability. Fashion and other short-lived events should not affect the effectiveness of your logo. Trends come and go. Don't create a logo that might be out of date in a few months. For this, do not use the fancy stuff - fonts, effects, etc.

4. Versatility. A high-quality and effective logo should look good in any form and regardless of the medium - print or digital, on a business card or billboard.

5. Give the logo more "air".

Logo color

Color has a psychological effect on human perception. For example, red for most people is associated with love, aggression, strength, energy. Other colors work the same way. Therefore, when choosing a logo color, be guided by the individual qualities of your company / site. For example, for a party store with a creative and vibrant image, vibrant and intense shades of yellow or orange are the best choice. Also, do not forget about the connection between color and theme, which you can understand with the help of the infographic below (click on the image to enlarge it).

Of course, using a specific color in your logo won't make your website better, your business will not make more money, etc. However, color can accentuate and enhance the perception of the qualities that your website and business need.

Finally, think about what colors your competitors are using. They can give you a hint in which direction to move in order to stand out favorably against their background. And of course, don't forget about the functional influence of color on such parameters as readability, attention-grabbing and eye strain. In order for your logo to be adequately perceived by viewers, follow the guidelines below:

The optimal amount is 2 primary colors, with the possible use of their shades.

Provide enough white space so as not to overload your eyes.

Consider the color scheme of your company's website. The logo should harmoniously fit into the site design and look good on any branded products - business cards, calendars, pens, letterheads, billboards.

How to choose a logo font

Like any other element of the logo, the font plays an important role - the readability of the logo text depends on it. In general, there are a number of guidelines to help you choose the most suitable font:

The font must be readable.

The text on your logo should not only look good, but also remain readable at a small size. Website header, social media pages, business card, badge - no matter where your logo is placed, the text on it should be easy to read. At the same time, when choosing a font, keep an eye on kerning (the distance between characters). Too much distance can make the logo incoherent, especially when placed on a large surface (T-shirt, banner).

Don't use many different fonts.

Many different fonts will add chaos and mess to your design. Plus, it won't help remember your logo. Use no more than 1-2 fonts - this is the optimal number.

Having learned and memorized all of the above, we proceed to the direct creation of logos.

Creating a logo using an online designer

As mentioned earlier, using an online service to create a logo is the best solution for those who do not consider it expedient to spend large sums to order a professional logo and are not a specialist to create a logo on their own.

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