Designing a perfect logo for a company isn’t as simple as many people think. It’s a multi-step process that starts with brainstorming and ends with the final logo design. Only if you complete these steps successfully, can you create a logo that’s memorable and true to your brand. These steps are:
- Brainstorming: At this step, you generate new logo ideas and take inspiration from other popular logos. You can perform this step on your own or with the support of other people.
- Branding: In the second step, you think of your company’s branding as a whole. You decide what kind of brand you have and how the logo should be to justify it.
- Design Elements: At this step, you identify the different design elements for your logo which include icon, typography, colors, etc.
- Logo Designing: At this point, the real design work starts. You can either send your logo ideas to a graphics designer or you can create a logo on your own with logo design tools.
Let’s take a closer look at the brainstorming step which is one of the most important steps of logo designing. This is because you compile all your logo ideas and concepts in this step itself.
How to Brainstorm Logos the Right Way?
Brainstorming the perfect logo for your business doesn’t have to be a herculean task. These are some tips and tricks to do the brainstorming effectively and easily:
1. Follow Ground Rules
Make sure that you follow all the ground rules of brainstorming. These include:
- Let the ideas flow freely. Don’t censor yourself and just share or write down whatever concepts or ideas you come up with. Brainstorming is not a time when you think carefully about each generated idea.
- Write down the ideas. Don’t count on your memory as you will most likely forget many of the ideas and concepts later. So, it’s best to write down your thoughts and ideas in a notepad. Once the brainstorming session is over, you can then refer to this notebook to quickly go through logo design ideas.
- Pick a suitable time for the logo design brainstorming. This is the time when you feel most creative or productive. For some people, it’s early morning, while for others, it’s the wee hours of the night. You can pick whichever time works for you.
2. Check Inspirational Platforms
One of the best ways to make brainstorming efficient is to check out inspirational websites and platforms such as Pinterest and Behance. These platforms can give you a wide range of interesting logo ideas and help you understand the logo design essentials for effective branding.
You don’t need to check out the designs within your domain only. You can refer to logos in other industries for inspiration as well. So, if you run a food business, then apart from studying just the food logos, you can study logos in IT, insurance, retail, hospitality, etc.
3. Don’t Overthink
Many budding entrepreneurs make the mistake of overcomplicating their logo ideas. It’s only a misconception that overly grand and complex logo designs are best. The truth is that it’s a simple logo that is right for your business.
Simple logos are memorable, easy to use on different objects such as business cards, pens, cups, etc., and timeless. There are many popular logos you can refer to verify this- Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, etc. These logos aren’t complex, and yet, they are iconic and memorable.
When you are brainstorming your logo designs, don’t try to go overboard. Stick to the basic concepts and try to be creative with simple designs only.
4. Finalize Logo Elements
Rather than brainstorming the logo as a whole, you can brainstorm the individual components of the design which are:
- Logo-Type: A logo can be of any format- wordmark, lettermark, and brand mark. Wordmark logos use the brand names in the design (Ex. Include Google, Coca-Cola, etc.). Lettermark logos use the initials of the brand (Ex. Include HP, WB, etc.). Lastly, brandmark logos use icons or mascots in the design (Ex. Include Apple, Shell, etc.). You can decide which type of logo is suitable for your business.
- Typography: You can find all kinds of fonts for your logo online. However, you shouldn’t pick your logo’s fonts based on your liking. You should only pick the fonts that match the brand image. So, if your brand is formal, then pick formal and elegant fonts. Similarly, if your brand is edgy and casual, then use appropriate fonts.
- Colors: Believe it or not, there is an entire subject on color psychology in marketing and branding. By doing research on that, you can identify the right colors for your logo. Remember, each color speaks of a specific emotion- red speaks of love while blue speaks of trust. So, make sure that your logo has the right colors.
5. Involve Others
Rather than going on your own with the brainstorming, try to involve your team members in the process; the more, the merrier. This is because the more people are involved in the brainstorming session, the easier it becomes to identify the winning logo design.
Different people have different ways of thinking. So, when you involve your team, they will bring new ideas and perspectives to the table. It will help you come up with original and interesting logo design ideas.
Even if you don’t have a team, you can ask the people in online forums and groups for their suggestions. As long as you are getting other people involved, it will help with the brainstorming.
Conclusion
Brainstorming the perfect logo design can be a daunting task for many entrepreneurs. Those who don’t have any design background face more difficulties than others. However, there are ways to simplify the process and find the best design easily. By applying the tips and tricks shared above, you can identify your winning logo with the least resistance. You can also reach out to those who have some understanding of graphics design and logo design for help.
