25 Designer Tips to Brainstorm a Company Logo

A logo is crucial to the foundation of any good business. An effective logo should be timeless, identifiable, and memorable. Ultimately, it should tell the story of your brand. Check out the story of our logo, Inky, and how he was brought to life in this cool video. Inky, the Custom Ink octopus is friendly, approachable, fun, and inclusive—this lines up with the spirit of our company in every way! A lot goes into designing the perfect logo. Read the tips below to discover the best ways to brainstorm a logo for your company.

Think of scale and usability

Big or small, you want your logo to strike a balance between being simple, yet recognizable. From the super tiny favicon on your website to the limited space of your company logo t-shirts, all the way to the massive scale of a billboard, your design should be functional to scale. It should work in both print and digital forms.

Determine your visual hierarchy

Just like any other hierarchy, a visual hierarchy should be arranged with the most important information at the top. Remember, size, weight, and color of text matters. People read bigger things first, so it’s important to structure the logo to properly market the most vital information. A visual hierarchy has the power to lead viewers on an optic journey. Where’s your destination?

Determine if you a graphical, wordmark, monogram, or hybrid logo works for you

A graphical logo is a picture or design. A wordmark, also known as a logotype, is literally the company name in typeface format. Monogram logos are usually a graphical combination of a companies initials, and hybrid logos combine styles. What type of logo best fits your business?

Know your resources, limits, and needs

There are tons of resources available to help with the logo design process. However, the needs and limits of these resources depend on the scale of your company. For example, if you’re running a small business, say a local coffee shop, you don’t necessarily need to hire a design firm. There are many ways to create an affordable logo these days with templates and logo makers.

Are you a chicken or an egg?

In other words, are you starting at the logo, or do you have an established business that is now looking to create a logo for the first time? If you’re an “egg” consider if you can operate without a logo to learn about the industry first. If you’re a “chicken,” what have you learned that will shape your logo? The same goes for a brand refresh.

Consider the psychology of colors

Colors affect how we feel—which means your branding colors really matter. Strategically choose your colors to evoke certain feelings from your audience. Blue is known to portray trust, orange to be playful, and black as edgy, the colors you choose can say a lot.

Explore the psychology of shapes

Just as with colors, there are some serious psychological factors involved with shapes. The shape of a company’s logo should not just be by chance. Circles project positivity, unity, and friendship. Squares convey stability, practicality, and strength. Triangles are associated with math, science, and law. Once again, think about the message you want your logo to deliver. Check out our business templates for some visual examples!

To be symmetric or asymmetric?

That’s the question! Do you wish to create something that’s a mirror image from its centerline? Or do you think you can pull off asymmetry? In general, we as humans like balance. It promotes the idea of security and stability. However, symmetry can be boring. More and more businesses are moving toward asymmetric logos for a more dynamic brand identity.

Don’t forget about the psychology of typefaces/fonts

The font you choose communicates more than just words. Whether the typeface is modern, playful, or professional, your logo’s font greatly impacts brand identity and messaging. Our Design Lab features tons of fonts, each with its own emotional implication. With its jagged outline, the Farquharson typeface channels edginess. On the other hand, Ed Benguiat Script suggests approachability with its rounded, smooth curves. Obviously, readability is key. Choose wisely!

Intersect color, shape, symmetry, and typeface

In general, design elements should not fight each other. You want all of the aspects of the logo to be cohesive. Even if the message of the logo is to create disruption, you still want the design to be unified, although it may be an inharmonious sort of unity.

Picture your brand voice + your logo

Be sure your brand voice and logo are streamlined. If someone were to read your company content without your logo, would they know it came from your brand? Your logo will be right next to your value propositions, core values, and call to action. Make sure it pairs well. The overall tone must be consistent. Your logo is just one element of how you present your brand to the world.

Ask, “Where will we use our logo most?”

While you want to design your logo for adaptability, you also want to ensure it looks best where you’ll use it most. Let’s say your business relies on delivering a packed good to consumers. Don’t make the mistake of creating a logo design that looks great on the web, but looks cheap on the product packaging.

Audit your competition

A logo should, when it’s working, create instant brand recognition. The last thing you want is for your logo to be easily mistaken for a competitor. Copying others won’t do you any favors. So, the more you know about competitors in your market, the better. Auditing your competition before the design process can also help ensure that you create a logo that is more compelling.

Explore connections & associations

The brain is an association machine. Specific qualities will be brought to mind as soon as consumers see your logo. From simplicity and organization to creativity or convention, an association will be made whether you like it or not. With that being said, the brand associations should be positive and give reason to customers to buy your product or use your service. What do you want people to associate your brand with?

Think of versatility and negative space

Negative space, or white space, make a logo extremely versatile and easy to scale from very small to very large while still being recognizable. Check out our logo, Inky, as a prime example. By using just one color you can create the illusion of using two by printing on different color options. Overall, it prints cleaner and reads better. And with ink prices in mind, maximizing negative space can save you money on printing marketing materials.

Explore trends and fads

Design is constantly changing. Creating an ultra-trendy logo can be risky. Even though it may look cool today, it could result in constant rebranding in order to stay up to date. Of course, you want your logo to be relevant, but avoid drifting too far from timeless aspects. It’s possible to modernize your logo with small altercations, while still keeping it classic. Being aware of trends and fads is key so that you can avoid them.

Explore double meanings

Inky is a great example. Octopuses squirt ink, and ink is used for screen printing. We have a winner! Logos that carry dual meanings are not only brilliant due to their execution, but oftentimes they make customers think (or look) twice.

Make sure variants work

Is your logo minimalist enough to work in all formats and still be recognizable? A good logo should work in all sizes and be effective without any color. A good tip is to work in black and white and add color last. If you’re relying on too much flare to make your logo recognizable, the identity of the logo can be easily lost when displayed in a different format.

Ask, “Do we want a mascot?”

Many of the world’s most recognizable brands have a mascot, but certainly not all of them. The right mascot can differentiate your company and build a following of customers that can’t get enough of your brand. A mascot isn’t necessary, but it can help make your business more relatable, depending on the company type.

Skip cliches and painfully obvious puns, please

If you want your company to be taken seriously, don’t use a common pun or cliche. There’s a thin line between cheeky and shameless, and if you cross it, it can make your company seem unprofessional. If you’re particularly fond of a pun or cliche, be sure to get honest feedback to see how it’s perceived by your audience.

Do you want to be active or passive?

The same mascot can be sitting or running. The same shape can be in cool colors tones or bright and lively hues. What’s the energy of your brand? Every tiny detail has big impact on how your brand is perceived!

Vision board all potential variants

Create a full wall of all of your potential variants printed out so you can take it all in at once. This acts as a great check-in point to ensure your brand is communicating the right message through all aspects of your logo design.

Think through unwanted associations

Be sure to do your research and ask others about any sort of unwanted connections your logo may be associated with. Otherwise, you might miss that you have the same colors and shapes as a negative entity. Or you may be copying another business and not even realize it.

Don’t work in silo!

Get feedback from every person that is willing to give it. Each individual’s perspective might point out something you missed, such as an unintended cliché, unwanted association, or printing error. Share information, talk to others, and take full advantage of any collaborative opportunities that come your way.

Test and test again!

If possible, you’ll want to run quantitative tests. This can be achieved by monitoring performance metrics anywhere the logo is present and wasn’t previously. Try testing it on the web, in mailers, or emails. How does it stack up? Testing provides an invaluable perspective – don’t miss out on it.

Logo design has the potential to make or break your brand. It’s important to take full advantage of the brainstorming process. Don’t rush it! Good things take time, and logos are no exception. We hope our design tips help you come up with the perfect logo for your company!