A Step by Step Guide to Creating YOUR Logo
Have you ever wanted to create a logo? This could be for a school project, a business you’re starting, or just for fun. You’d probably turn to Canva or another software that has quick and easy templates, but what if I told you that you could create something unique, personal, and wowwing with a little more effort and a few different steps—let’s try it out!
By: Anushree Samsi
- Idea
Once you know you want to make a logo, think about the values you want it to represent. Once you’ve figured out what that might be, brainstorm how you might represent that using symbolic elements. For example, in my United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) logo, I decided I wanted to include something that represented America and something that represented modern culture and the youth of today. I came up with the eagle (in addition to the flag that already existed) and added the social media verified symbol.
- Layout
You now have to pick how this is all going to be laid out. If you are doing a logo revamp, you could use the existing shape of the logo. However, if you’re starting from scratch you’re going to need to decide that for yourself. In my logo revamp of the soccer club Nottingham Forest, I changed the logo to a circular shape because I felt like my Tree of Life symbol was better encompassed there. This is an example of using your symbols to guide your choice of shape design.
- Make it reality
There are two ways to approach this:
- Paper: If you want to make your logo on paper, start sketching with a pencil. If you’re making a specific shape (ex. circle) make sure you have the tools necessary like a compass. Finally, add the necessary color and other finesse.
- Ipad: if you’re not the best at art (like me) I recommend this strategy. Using Goodnotes on Ipad works for me.
- First, sketch the overall logo idea on paper (this is super rough)
- Then, take a photo of this to import into Goodnotes
- Either hand draw your elements or if you don’t want to hand draw them, import pictures of them and overlay those on your original logo sketch. Then trace those elements and eventually delete the imported images to reveal your beautiful logo.
Try these tips out and have fun!