Are you looking to design a new logo for your business but aren’t sure how to get started? While a logo may seem like a small component of running a business, the truth is, designing a logo is an essential part of building a brand.

For people to understand your brand and build trust in it, you need to have a logo that speaks to the consumer. Check out this guide to learn how to design the perfect logo for your business.

Understand the Elements of Good Logo Design

You don’t need to be a professional graphic designer to understand the elements of good logo design. While logos range dramatically in terms of style and color, all great logos have a few things in common. These include:

• Simplicity: Too much text, color, or graphic elements can make your logo too busy looking and forgettable.
• Timelessness: Many logos look dated after just a few years. A few tweaks can help bring a logo up-to-date, but it’s always smart to start with a timeless appearance.
• Versatile: You want a logo you can use everywhere- on business cards, apparel, billboards, and more.
• Appropriate: You need to make sure your logo appeals to your target audience and fits your brand persona.

Consider the Effects of Color

In addition to understanding the elements that go into logo design, it’s also important to understand the effects of color. We recommend doing some research into color psychology to get an understanding of what different colors represent.

For example, red tends to represent passion and danger, while green represents tranquility, harmony, and environmental beliefs. Blue is a popular logo color, as it tends to invoke feelings of calmness, unity, and trust.

When choosing logo colors, think about what characteristics you want people to associate with your brand. If you want people to see your brand as fun and playful, then maybe yellow is a good color to incorporate. Or, if you want people to see your brand as feminine and youthful, then you might want to use some pink.

You can use a free logo maker online to play around with color.

Look for Inspiration

Rarely does a company come up with a logo idea from scratch. Often, the best logos are born from inspiration from other logos.

While it may sound counterintuitive, we recommend looking to your competitors for inspiration. Not only can your competitors show you what works, but they can also show you what doesn’t work when it comes to logo design.

We recommend studying a mix of local, national, and international competitors for inspiration.

Are You Ready to Design Your Logo?

Now that you’ve read this guide, it’s time to begin designing your logo. Keep in mind, you may not get your logo design perfect on the first try, so it’s usually a good idea to make several mockups before deciding on a final design.

Additionally, we recommend working with a professional designer to help your logo ideas come to life. And, if you’re looking for more business branding tips, check back in with our blog.