Over the past years, YouTube has risen to become an online video platform that young consumers favor and prioritize. In fact, statistics have shown that these consumers are tuning into online video content 2.5 more times than regular television shows.
For 67% of young consumers, YouTube is considered to be a must-have social media platform when compared to Facebook and Instagram. Especially so for Gen Z’ers, it was found that 95% of them engage with the platform and that 50% of them cannot live without it. Hence, it has become evidential how much of an impact YouTube has made in our society today.
By 2018, there were more than 23 million channels on YouTube. It has become the ultimate platform that many businesses, online influencers, and even regular users try to monetize. Although it may be true that YouTube has opened up many opportunities for people to earn extra money, it isn’t always as simple as it sounds.
To make it on YouTube, one must be able to consistently create amazing content that appeals to their specific niche. More importantly, one must find ways to stand out from other YouTubers. This can easily be achieved through the creation of a unique and capturing YouTube channel logo design.
What is a YouTube channel logo?
Now you may ask, what exactly is a YouTube logo and how is this any different from a YouTube user icon?
First of all, a YouTube logo is one that will act as the brand logo for your YouTube channel. It is a design element that can be incorporated into any video as a watermark in order to either claim ownership of that video or simply add more personality and uniqueness to it. Additionally, it can also be used as a part of your channel’s design, such as the banner.
Many people often confuse a YouTube logo with a user icon, yet these two features are different from one another. A user icon is rather the avatar for your channel. It is the photo you upload onto your profile to help identify yourself, and it will only be displayed in a small circle next to the comments you post as well as on the main page.
However, oftentimes, you will see that many YouTube channels use their logos as their user icons as well. Therefore, depending on your preferences, you may also choose to do this.
Creative YouTube Logo Inspiration
If you are someone who currently has a YouTube channel or is in the process of making one, here are some great examples of YouTube logo designs that could inspire you.
1) The Try Guys
2) Erik The Electric
3) Backyard Scientist
4) Blogilates
5) Sarah Beth Yoga
6) Smosh
7) IISuperwomanII
While you can definitely incorporate some of these logo styles and design elements into your own logo, remember to never copy from any of them. At the end of the day, your main aim should be to create a logo design that is different from all the other channels out there.
You want to set yourself apart by making a logo that is memorable and recognizable to your audiences. Mainly use these examples to spark your imagination, but always try to be as original and creative as you can. Staying true to yourself and your channel’s brand will take you a long way.
How Do I Create a Logo?
If you’re wondering how you can create the best logo for your YouTube channel, keep reading on as we will be covering all the top YouTube logo design tips you’ll need to know.
But before we get to that, you’re first going to have to decide whether or not you will be creating the logo yourself. If you are someone who is just starting out and do not have the budget to hire a logo designer, the best option would be to design and create the logo yourself.
However, if you are an experienced YouTuber and do have the budget, you will be able to consider two other options.
One option is to use an online logo maker. By doing this, you’ll be able to step your logo design game up a notch. Logo makers are easy to use and it will require very little design and technical effort from your side. Unfortunately, the downside of it is that this won’t guarantee that your logo will turn out great. Logo generators, whether free or not, tend to not make your logo any more unique than all the other ones out there.
The second and best option would be to get a YouTube channel logo professionally designed for you. If you want to take your channel to the next level, hiring a specialized graphic designer will be highly recommended.
With their expertise, professionals will know more about the rules of design, as well as what looks good and what doesn’t. They’ll be able to translate the essence of your channel onto your logo while also ensuring that it looks good and is representative of your content’s overall theme.
Although it is the more expensive option, it could be very well worth the price if you happen to find someone who is great at it. At DesignBro, we have a team of design experts who will be able to do this for you. Contact us to find out more about our high-quality logo design services.
If you’re wondering how to make a cool logo for your YouTube channel, look no further. Here are all the most important factors you need to consider when creating your YouTube logo design.
YouTube Channel Logo Design Tips:
Before you begin the designing process of your YouTube logo, it is a must that you do a thorough research of your own channel as well as the other channels that are already out there within your niche. Who are you and what is your YouTube channel about? Are you a food, beauty, travel, fitness,or educational channel? This is the very first thing that you have to know by heart.
Understanding the true essence of your channel will help set the rest of the design elements of your YouTube logo. Look up the other channels that focus on the same topic. Observe their logos and see how you can differentiate your visuals from them.
Color
When selecting a color, you must make sure that the color deeply resonates with your YouTube brand. It is better to focus on the symbolism and meaning behind your color choices rather than picking whatever that seems to be trendy at the moment.
Afterall, trends are always going to keep changing over time. What’s trendy now might not be trendy in a few years, therefore if you want to prevent your logo from having to be redesigned, selecting colors based on representation would best.
To help you out, you can check out our special guide on color and emotions. By understanding colors and their symbolism, you’ll be able to pick the colors that will evoke the exact feelings you want your audience to feel about your channel.
Another great tip would be to opt for 1-3 colors within your YouTube logo. Although you are not obligated to stick to one single color (which is highly recommended), you also should not be including too many colors in your design as this can end up looking a bit messy, especially when scaled down in your videos.
Font
As mentioned in the previous point, your logo will end up being scaled down in your videos as a watermark. Considering that people spend most of their time watching online video content on their mobile devices, you should therefore pick a font that is legible even on smaller phone screens.
The best fonts would be a simple serif, sans-serif font for higher readability. Avoid using too many squiggly and decorative fonts as they are much harder to recognize when scaled down.
Style
When it comes to the overall style of your YouTube logo, you should try to keep it as simple as possible. Blank space matters, and especially so for YouTube channel logos. These spaces will increase the clarity of your logo, making it much cleaner and easier to read.
However, always remember that whichever style you end up choosing, this style must remain coherent throughout your entire channel. The consistency in your visuals will result in a much stronger brand identity for your YouTube channel.
Additional Requirements
YouTube logos are a bit different from all the other types of logo designs out there. Hence, to make it fitting for the platform itself, there are additional requirements that you must follow when creating one. This includes:
- Using PNG or GIF files
- Having a transparent background
- Your image not exceeding the 1MB limit
- Making sure that your image is legible
- Avoiding inappropriate images as you can get banned from this
How Do I Upload My Logo to YouTube?
Once you are finally satisfied with your YouTube logo, it is now time to upload it to your channel.
To do this, you must first open YouTube ofcourse. Click on your user icon on the top right-hand corner of your browser. Select ‘YouTube Studio (beta)’, and on the left-hand side, scroll down to select ‘Setting’ and then click on ‘Channel’.
Click on ‘Branding’, which is on the third column, and this will bring you to the page where you can upload your logo (YouTube refers to it as a “watermark”). Click ‘Choose Image’ to upload your image file and then click ‘Save’. Again, make sure that they are either in a PNG or GIF file and that the background is transparent.
Furthermore, if you go back to the ‘Settings’ window, you will be able to choose when your viewers will see your logo. The choices include:
- Throughout the entire video
- At the end of the video
- Starting at a certain time in the video
You can save your changes by clicking ‘Update’. Now, your audiences will be able to enjoy watching your videos with your added personalized logo!
Besides having grown up in the design Industry, Christiaan has advised some of the world’s largest companies on their branding & packaging designs. Has been the resident judge for design awards, and has spoken at numerous global design & marketing events. Christiaan founded the London office of the award-winning Cartils agency, and has founded the DesignBro.com platform.
