A logo is the visual representation of a company. At a glance, a logo tells potential customers the company’s purpose, what products or services are offered, or what type of experience they can expect. That’s a lot to cover in a few well-deigned pixels.

But remember: every brilliant logo design once started off as a simple logo drawing.

The long-term goal of any logo design is recognition. Use these brainstorming techniques to develop ideas and drawings for a logo that is unforgettable.

Plan for Creativity

Although brainstorming is an exercise in spontaneity, preparation is a key element to success.

The first step is to set aside a dedicated block of time specifically for the brainstorming session. Planning ahead helps minimize distractions — studies have shown it can take over 20 minutes to get back on track after an interruption.

Advanced planning also allows for playlist orchestration. Music is a powerful tool when it comes to creativity and choosing the right type of music is important. Instrumental music is highly recommended for maintaining focus on a creative task. Stay away from music with lyrics (it tends to block concentration).

Open the Observatory of Your Mind

Be as a student at all times. What shines bright and really catches the eye? Creating a list or file of logos, drawings, and designs that are intriguing and effective help spur creativity. Include notes about what makes each logo unique, describe the emotions evoked by the image and what makes it memorable. Evernote and Pinterest are great for keeping track of likes (and even dislikes).

Get Back to Nature

There is overwhelming evidence that exposure to nature not only promotes calmness but has a positive impact on creativity.

Images from nature have been the inspiration for the logos of many well-known brands (think Apple and Twitter), as well as companies with products or services that have nothing to do with nature.

A quiet bench in a neighborhood park, a sling chair on a pier, a wildlife viewing area off the interstate, or any serene location with trees and vegetation is a potential destination. The shapes, textures, sounds and even smells from natural surroundings will bring out the inner visionary, and hopefully some excellent logo drawings.

Go “Shopping” for Logo Drawing

Fortunately, this brainstorming adventure does not require a credit card. A stroll through the mall, an hour of window shopping along the boulevard or even a trek through the aisles at a local grocery store offers a wide range of logos and design ideas.

The selection of colors and designs, sizes and shapes, fonts and images are excellent ways to inspire multiple logo drawings. A smartphone camera is a perfect way to record styles and designs that jump out to get noticed.

Go with the Flow

Being aware of current trends is important to any creative process.

The latest styles in fashion design offer suggestions for use of patterns and insight for well-chosen color schemes.

Keep track of new and innovative font styles and experiment with various fonts when sketching logo drawings. Different fonts may stimulate even more ideas.

And, of course, always be in touch with what is trending in logo design itself.

A Final Note

Judgment and analysis of the ideas created during brainstorming should be left until the end of the session. Do not block creativity by critiquing.

When brainstorming is finished the best strategy is to close the sketchbook of logo drawings and take a break. Revisit a day or two later for a fresh perspective. Once the inspiration hits, don’t hesitate to get to work creating your new logo.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, a logo is worth so much more.

Having a good logo can make or break your business. And there is much more that goes into a logo than just a fancy typescript or catchy design.

Choosing the right color is one of the biggest decisions in the logo design process

Red is one of the most famous logo colors in the world, whether a logo is all red or is coordinated with another color.

Some of the most iconic brands in history are known for the bright red logos.

Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Youtube (and a TON of others) have become synonymous with their logos.

Find out here what having a red logo will mean for your business.

Eye Popping Red Logos

Red is one of the most eye popping colors there is on the color spectrum.

With a red logo, you are guaranteed to catch the eye of many potential customers.

Red will automatically attract a person’s eye to the picture or cause them to do a double take.

Because red is so eye popping it will stand out against any color the logo happens to be placed next to.

Choosing to go with red for your logo will definitely help you stay in the minds of any prospective customers.

Boldness

That same eye popping quality that a red logo has will also give the logo a sense of boldness.

Red has also long been known to symbolise love. The combination of love and boldness will give a red logo a feeling of passion and emotion.

That love and boldness will invoke a trust between the consumer and the company.

The boldness that a red logo brings will come along with a feeling of excitement from the consumer.

They will see a company’s logo and feel adventurous and will be drawn to the company by adrenaline and will want to feed their adventurous side

Energy

Having a red logo means portraying an image of being energetic and active.

In customers’ eyes and mind seeing red as a symbol of a business means they can assume an intense and upbeat business.

Fire is almost always depicted in a shade of red. When people think fire, they think red and it goes for the opposite.

When people think red, fire will be one of the first things to come to mind. So the same characteristics of fire – intensity, energy, enthusiasm – will be applied to your red logo whenever someone sees it.

Red is a loud, strong color so if you want to be a loud, strong company, you will definitely want to utilize red in your logo.

A lot about a company is said by the color of their logo.

Before going out and immediately applying all the red you can find to your company’s new logo, first think about what your business is selling and the personality of your business.

If you are in the finance world or want to project a sense of calm and tranquility, then you will want to steer clear of using a red logo.

However, if you are in the entertainment business or especially the food business, red is a great color to put in your logo.

Likewise, if your company is fun, vibrant, and full of energy having a red logo will show your customers just that.

Great restaurant logo design can really help your business stand out from competitors on the high street.

A good logo will convey to customers exactly what your restaurant is about – if it’s fancy, family-friendly, or fast and tasty.

A bad logo can make the place look tacky and put off customers. Here are the top mistakes to avoid when looking for a new restaurant logo design.

Keep it as Simple as Possible

Think of some restaurant logos – McDonald’s, KFC, Wendy’s. What do they have in common?

That’s right – they’re all very simple. There’s a limited color palette in use and there isn’t very much going on in any of these three.

But we bet you were able to remember them all. And you’re not alone.

A survey from Siegel + Gale found that simple logos were the most memorable. 16% of the 3,000 people asked said Nike was the most memorable, followed by 15.6% saying Apple.

It doesn’t matter if your restaurant is serving fast food or gourmet meals – keeping your logo simple will aid your customers’ memories and help to build brand recognition.

This can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool if you go on to open other restaurants under the same brand.

Choose a Legible Font

Make sure people can actually read the name on your logo. That means choosing a clear font which is easy to read, and setting it at an appropriate size.

There are hundreds of fonts out there, but whatever you choose it should reflect your business. You don’t want a very ‘cartoony’, informal font for a high-end restaurant, or vice versa. It sends the wrong message.

Do some testing before you commit to having your design made up. Ask your friends and family to see if they can read the text, and what they think the font represents. If their answer doesn’t match what you’re looking for, consider making a change.

Don’t Copy Anyone Else

The whole point of having a logo is to differentiate and identify yourself in a busy market. If you copy someone else (inside or outside your industry), it will confuse customers and definitely generate ill-will from the business you’ve copied.

In the worst-case scenario, you could even find yourself on the wrong side of a lawsuit. The owner of the ‘Krusty Krab’ restaurant was pursued by Viacom for use of its trademark last year (the name comes from the popular kids’ show Spongebob Squarepants).

Be original. Stand out.

Cheaper isn’t Always Better…

We know local businesses have limited budgets. But hiring a super cheap designer is not always a great idea.

We’ll admit, there are outliers – some designers might do special rates for smaller companies, for example.

However, chances are that paying someone to create a logo for next to nothing is simply money down the drain.

…but Free Just Might Be

If you’re willing to stick to the key points we’ve set out here, and have a limited budget, you might want to have a go at making your own logo.

We recommend you get feedback on it and refine it sensibly. But if you want to save money and feel like your creative juices are flowing, we say go for it!

So you have just thought of the perfect idea for a startup or a product that will change life as we know it.

You have all of your ducks in a row to make your impression on the world but there’s just one thing you have to take care of.

Time to design a professional logo.

We’ve already told you about how to optimize logos for searching for search engine optimization, but how do you actually make a logo that stands out?

Come along as we take you through the 3 steps to design a professional logo that will shine.

Be Unique

We can’t stress this enough.

The worst thing you could do for your business is to brand it with a logo that reminds people of another brand.

It can be a scar on your business from the get-go and something that will either be a big mountain to climb or even worse, leave your company dead on arrival straight out of the gate.

Can you really tell the difference between Motorola and Marmot’s logos?

Now that’s a serious design fail.

So remember to unique when you design your professional logo.

After all, you are trying to distinguish yourself from the pack (and avoid a potential lawsuit)!

Stay Simple Yet Exciting

It’s totally understandable that you want everyone to know your brand’s mission statement right away, but slow down.

The last thing that you should do when you design a professional logo is to clutter it with too many descriptive and unnecessary images.

You may think that you are being descriptive and clever, but what you are doing is confusing your audience.

By creating a simple yet effective logo you will directly spark your customer’s interests in a clean and direct way.

Just remember the old saying: less is more.

Don’t overthink it!

Be Timeless and New

This is a delicate balance for your brand to strive for but one that is so important.

Your professional logo should seem new and fresh while tricking your audience into thinking that it has existed forever.

It probably seems impossible right? But hear us out.

If you keep an eye on some of the more classic logos for some of the world’s most popular brands you can get an idea of what has worked.

I mean, think about Pepsi! They have stayed pretty close to the same design since the ’50’s and it still looks fresh today.

So by establishing the right balance between classic design tropes and bright vibrant eye-catching colors, you can be striking and vintage at the same time.

Now that’s the sweet spot.

The Bottom Line on How to Design a Professional Logo

We’re sorry to say it, but now you have no excuse.

By following these 3 steps, you will be able to create a logo that will connect to your audience and leave a lasting impression.

If you have any more questions on how to design a professional logo feel free to send us a message through our contact page.

We are here to help!