Download Different Ways to Design a Logo for Your Business

When it comes to marketing materials, nothing is more important than a well-polished logo. A brand logo acts as the foundation of your entire marketing identity as it will be used for advertisements, business cards, your website and many other elements.
But where does a logo come from and how can you design one for your business? Let’s discuss four primary options and whether they will work best for your needs.

Host a logo design contest

As the saying goes, two heads are better than one, so why not put together as many heads as possible to generate a new brand logo? Creating a logo design contest is easy, and these contests can also serve as promotional material for your business. That said, if you want to be successful in finding a high-quality logo, you should follow these tips:

• Know where to promote the competition – While you should have notifications on your website and social profiles, you also need to go to places where graphic designers will see your post. Gig work websites and graphic design forums are a great place to alert potential participants of what you’re looking for and what you offer.

• Give good prizes – If you want to have high-quality work, you must offer high-quality prizes. Cash is always appreciated, but you may be able to offer other incentives such as free items, discounted services, or other goodies that attendees may want (ie a laptop or paid Adobe Creative Suite membership). Excellent prizes will also generate more buzz and ensure more entries.

• Be clear with your parameters – Even if you only have a general idea of ​​what you want your logo to look like, you should still be able to articulate your vision to potential designers. Otherwise, you’ll get wildly different interpretations, meaning you have fewer viable options to choose from when picking a winner.

Benefits

• Get lots of creative ideas
• Can find high quality talent
• Acts as additional advertising for your brand
• May use secondary logos for other purposes

Cons

• It can be difficult to get participants
• The results may not be exactly what you want, which lengthens the process
• The prizes may cost more than the price of paying a designer directly

Use a Logo Maker tool

Technology has come a long way in recent years and artificial intelligence is enabling businesses to workshop ideas and come up with logo designs based on a few details and ideas. When designing a logo, it’s great to try a logo maker because you can use it repeatedly for ideas, then pay for the final design that looks the best. You can even edit and upgrade the logo to be closer to your vision, ensuring that the design is ready to use immediately.

That said, while such tools are ideal for generating ideas and seeing many options, they also have limitations. For example, most of the graphics and icons available are stock images, meaning it’s difficult to get something unique or customized to your specific brand. However, some sites that offer these tools can also put you in touch with human designers, who can take your basic design and turn it into something incredible.

Another advantage of logo makers is that they allow you to see how your logo will look in different situations. For example, you can see the logo on various websites, business cards, t-shirts, mugs and more. In most cases, visualizing how the logo looks in three dimensions can tell you whether or not it is a good fit for your brand.

Benefits

• Free idea software so you can generate tons of different logo ideas
• Compare and contrast designs between different tools
• Edit and refine your final design so that it is unique to your brand
• Some tools can connect you to a designer for a more polished version
• See your logo on 3D objects such as shirts and business cards

Cons

• Limited font and graphics libraries
• Much more difficult to develop custom or specialized logos
• Not ideal if you have a specific vision in mind

Try your hand at Logo Design Software

For many years, the best way to do graphic design was via Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Online tools were severely limited, so you had to shell out big bucks for an Adobe license. Fortunately, websites and graphic design software are far more common, and you have access to many tools that were reserved for professionals in years past.

The beauty of these programs is that you don’t need to be a master graphic designer to create a high-quality logo. When you use logo design software, you can access different fonts, icons, images and other design elements to create something visually striking from scratch. Although there is a bit of a learning curve, creating a design today is much easier than it used to be.

That said, if you’re not sure what you want for your logo, it can be difficult to build something from scratch without some artistic knowledge and talent. Otherwise, you might just end up with a jumble of different elements that don’t really work as a cohesive design. Overall, this option is best for businesses or individuals who feel comfortable bringing their ideas to life via a digital platform.

Another advantage of graphic design software is that you only need to pay one price to design as many logos as you want. Additionally, you can create additional design elements for your marketing, including ads, print materials, landing pages, and many more. Basically, a one-time investment enables you to be creative forever.

Benefits

• Relatively cheap software options
• Smaller learning curve than you might expect
• Access to tons of design tools and graphic options
• Can create additional marketing materials, not just a logo
• Can add designers to the program for collaboration

Cons

• Not ideal if you don’t know what you want
• Some programs are more difficult to master than others
• Designing a logo from scratch can take longer than outsourcing to a professional

Hire a freelance graphic designer

Finally, the best way to get a custom and polished logo is to work directly with a freelance graphic designer. Deciding to hire a logo designer allows you to connect with designers of all skill levels and budgets. In addition, you can browse portfolios and connect with a professional who matches the style you want for your brand.

The primary disadvantage of hiring a graphic designer is the cost associated with the project. Although you can save money by using designers from budget websites, you may be limited in the kind of logos you get back. Overall, if you want high-quality work, you’ll likely need to pay more billable hours on top of the price of the logo itself.

That said, another benefit of working with a graphic designer is that you can develop an ongoing relationship. In some cases, you may even be able to pay a monthly or quarterly rate to get consistent work for various marketing needs. For example, if you like how they designed your logo, you can have them design landing pages, social media ads, infographics, and more. There are no limits to what you can achieve when you have a skilled designer present.

Benefits

• Fully customizable logo options
• Can find designers with industry experience
• Browse portfolios to see which designers match your brand’s style
• Develop an ongoing relationship to create other marketing materials

Cons

• Costs more for high quality work
• Some designers can flake or not deliver what you expect

As you can see, designing a polished logo for your business is much easier than you might have realized. Each method also has its ups and downs, so you can figure out which option works for your budget and the complexity of your logo design. Even better, you can sample logos from multiple sources to ensure you get the best possible design. For example, you can generate ideas with a free logo maker and then take them to a freelance designer to turn them into something unique to your brand.