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Logo creation is perhaps one of the most important aspects of being a graphic designer. When hunting for a great designer, many business owners will first look to logo samples in a portfolio before anything else. The reason for this is that a company’s logo must stand out in the crowd, must be able to portray their mission statement with little or no interpretation and it should also create a lasting memory. You don’t have to be the creator of a famous corporate logo, but the logos you do create should be worthy of the ones that are very well known to all of us such as McDonald’s™, AT&T™ or NBC.™

So, how do you learn to create logos that are similar and just as memorable as the ones I just mentioned? Well, one of the best ways is to look at what others have created in the past. As long as you don’t infringe on any copyright laws there is no harm in looking. I will get to more on that later, but first let me go over the steps I use to create a logo.

First, I meet with the company owner or executives and I discuss with them what it is they’re looking for in a logo. This may or not be useful at times. Sometimes, in fact, it can just lead to several useless arguments over details that are really not important at all as it turns out so make sure that you, as the designer, lead the conversation from going astray. In other words, if the company insists that the initials F.B.I. should be included somewhere in the detective agency’s logo, you might want to urge them to consider some common sense about the misunderstandings this may create. As designers, the reality of the job is that from time to time we are forced to create things we don’t like to please the customer, but one way to get around this is to create several of your version of the design mixed in with theirs and nine times out of then, the customer will forget all about their idea once they see yours. However, when meeting with a company regarding logo design, you should be able to learn a great deal about the company’s mission and their goals for the future in this meeting. In an essence, what are the key symbols that might represent that company? Get creative here and try to think of anything that might work. Symbolism is very important in logos.

Next, start making some thumbnail sketches. I usually create about 50-60 different sketches by pencil on tracing paper and narrow it down to about 10 or 15. If you are not very artistic, you can also create these on the computer in an application such as Adobe Illustrator™ with a drawing tablet. But, you don’t have to be Picasso to do these sketches, they’re just rough outlines and should not be considered final pieces of artwork. If you are not very familiar with typography there are several good books on this to use as reference. It’s important to keep the typography in mind when starting out. Sometimes the type alone makes the logo. For example; you might not want to have a thin font such as Times for a company called fat burgers. But, then again, sometimes it can work to be different, it just depends on whether or not it works. Remember, the goal is to stand out in a crowd.

As I mentioned earlier, you can learn a lot from the logos other designers have already created. Once you narrow down the thumbnail sketches, try obtaining a copy of a logo book such as The Big Book of Logos. There have been several different volumes of these wonderful books published in recent years and I personally own and use a few of them often. You should be able to obtain a copy of this or similar books on amazon.com or in your local public library. Your local bookstore’s art section should have several good logo books as well. I find these and similar books with logos indispensable because they are a great reference to what has worked and will continue to work with logos. Some of the logos will be familiar to you, some of them not. You may or not like all of them, but they are a great place to start. Find a logo or logos that are similar to your client’s business and see what the designers came up with. Does it work? Does it stand-out? What is so great about it? Can you create something similar? If you can borrow some elements of the logo without breaking any copyright laws, such as a similar typeface or a color, do it. You can also learn a lot from the style of the logo. It’s important to note that this should not be considered cheating in any way and should be a good tool for getting the creative juices flowing.

Try not to over complicate things, keep it simple. The logo should be readable and recognizable. Remember that some folks may have trouble seeing small letters or light colors, for example. Avoid things like cheesy clipart, star-bursts and type effects such as shadows unless they’re used in moderation. These elements also reek of inexperience. Generally, I try to not use any type effects unless it’s unavoidable. Take a look at the design books mentioned earlier and you will see what I mean. If you can pull it off and it looks good that fine, but it’s just a general rule. Rules are made to be broken, however, and those that do it and pull it off make the best designers. The last thing you want to do is copy the latest style just because you think that’s what’s necessary. Go with your gut and create something unique, your own style. Also, avoid intricate details in a logo and be bold with the lines. Your logo should stand out on a quarter-sized sticker as well as a billboard.

Next, take your final sketches and scan them into the computer. Personally, I prefer to use Adobe Photoshop™ to do the initial scan resizing and formatting, but ultimately I will put the sketches in Adobe Illustrator™ as a background layer at an opacity of about 30%. Then I will trace over the lines using the pen tool and create my type as similar to the sketch as possible. Some designers I know prefer to start out in Illustrator first and that’s fine if you can work that way. You should work in the way that makes you comfortable as long as you come out with the same results.

Once I have the thumbnails in the computer and have made them into vector graphics I am then free to mess around with the various elements of the logo. I like to play around with several different colors for the type at this point. I also like to move various elements of the design around and compare. For example, if the logo contains a triangle on the right of the two lines of type to begin with, I will copy the type and move the triangle to the left, below, above or wherever and then look at different versions side-by-side. Tweak the logo, change the fonts, try different things. Sometimes by shaking it up a little bit you may come up with something brilliant. You’ll know when you’ve found something that works.

Now that you have a good idea where you’re headed with the logo and should be close to finishing, get some second opinions. Some claim that you should never look to your spouse for opinions in this matter, but I disagree. Your client is usually not a designer, so if you impress your spouse, you should impress your client too. Take your five best logos and show them to someone in the office, maybe your spouse or a friend, or a relative. Find someone who will be brutally honest. If the person has suggestions, write them down. You may not think it relative at the time, but it never hurts to make minor changes for the sake of seeing how they look. There have been many times when I thought I had the perfect logo and I showed to my wife who made a minor suggestion that just really made it even better. It’s the little changes at the end that can make the difference. Use your own judgment as to whether or not the comments are important.

Now, once you think you’re finished and ready to meet with your client, open the logo book and compare your final logos to the ones in the book. Do they compare? Are they just as unique? Are they memorable? Can you see your logo in that book? When you go to the client never bring just one logo. This is a mistake. You want to show them at least 3 logos to choose from because you want to give them something to compare. I also create all my logos in full color, 2 color and black and white in large, medium and small sizes.

As time goes on, you will learn to create unique logos with greater ease, but there are always those challenging cases when nothing seems to work. Always remember your basics. Try and stay on top of the latest styles and new fonts. There are several great websites that show logos as well. Once you create several memorable and outstanding logos you will be sought after for your work as a great logo designer. Word of mouth will travel fast when business owners ask around about who designed what logo and your phone will be ringing off the hook before you know it.