Logos and logo design is a hot topic.
You guys have a lot of questions when it comes to logo design.
In this post, I’m going to answer the 10 most popular logo design questions people have.
Let’s dive in.
What is a logo?
How does a logo design process go?
How is a logo made?
How do you draw a logo?
Why is a logo important?
What is a logo maker?
What makes a successful logo?
What is a wordmark logo?
What are logos used for?
What is a personal logo?
What is a minimalist logo?
What is a monogram logo?
What makes a bad logo?
What is a business logo?
What makes a good logo design?
What is a logo?
The word ‘logo’ is an abbreviation of the word logotype. Technically speaking, all logos are logotypes. ‘Logotype’ comes from combining two Greek words. ‘Logos’ meaning word, and ‘typos’ meaning imprint. Combine them and you get the word ‘logotype’.
So there you have it, the word logotype means ‘word imprint’ – makes sense.
According to Wikipedia numerous inventions and techniques have contributed to the contemporary logo, including cylinder seals, coins, coats of arms, watermarks, silver hallmarks, and the development of printing technology.
Today’s modern logo is usually made up of one or two things. A wordmark being the words or letters of your logo. And an ideogram, which is an icon.
A logo can be a combination of both of these things put together or just one of these things. For example, the Nike Swoosh is an example of an ideogram. And the Airbnb logo is an example of a wordmark and an ideogram combined to make a logo.
How does a logo design process go?
Traditionally the logo design process would involve several steps.
Step one would be briefing a graphic designer to design your logo. The designer would need to know the words you need in your logo and information about your business. The brief would also contain colour preferences and any style preferences you may have.
The next step would involve the graphic designer designing your logo on their preferred software. The graphic designer would then present you with several logo design variations for you to choose from.
Other forms of a logo design process involve things like logo makers. With logo makers online you can streamline the process by using software to guide you through the process of making a logo.
How is a logo made?
How a logo is made depends on your process. If you employ the services of a graphic designer, they will create your logo on their computer using their preferred graphic design software such as Adobe Illustrator.
Another way of making a logo is to use a logo maker online. A logo maker will guide you through the process of creating a logo yourself online using a browser and a special app created to make logos.
Either process will get you similar results. The logo maker is often a preferred method as it’s cheaper and faster to create a logo.
How do you draw a logo?
Logos can be drawn by hand using just a pencil and paper.
You don’t need any skill to draw your logo on a piece of paper.
You just need the name of your company or product and some creativity.
You can also draw a logo on your computer using any number of graphic design software packages. Software typically used to draw a logo on a computer is Abobe Illustrator, Sketch or Figma.
Most modern graphic design software packages will allow you to draw your logo.
Why is a logo important?
A logo is important as it shows everyone that you are a serious, established brand or business.
Having a logo is important as it’s also a way to distinguish yourself from your competitors in the same space.
From a practical level having a logo is important as you can use the same logo across all of your communications. It’s important to have a consistent look across everything you do.
So rather than just writing the name of your company, business or brand on your products and services, you can ‘stamp’ the same, consistent logo across everything. In turn, this makes your product or service professional in the eyes of your customers.
What is a logo maker?
A logo maker is a piece of software usually found online that allows anyone to create their logo quickly and easily without any skill.
Logo makers have become a popular way for entrepreneurs to quickly create a professional logo themselves in minutes without the help of a professional designer. Logobly is an example of a logo maker.
What makes a successful logo?
What makes a successful logo is several things. Firstly a successful logo should be easy to read. A successful logo should also work in all sizes, big and small.
A great logo should also use colours that are attractive and work together.
A well-designed logo should instil confidence in the business when someone sees the logo. It should be simple and of clean design.
What is a wordmark logo?
A wordmark logo is a logo that is made up of letters or words only. There is no icon, graphic or extra element that makes up a wordmark logo. The Google logo is a great example of a modern wordmark logo.
What are logos used for?
Historically ‘logotypes’ were used to mark the names of different tribes in war.
Today logos are mainly used for business purposes. To represent a business name or brand name. Logos are also used to represent people such as artists, musicians and sports teams.
Logos are used to ‘brand’ anything from advertising campaigns to album covers, to food packaging.
A logo is often seen as a valid way of determining if the product or business is who they say they are. It’s a stamp of approval of sorts.
What is a personal logo?
A personal logo is a logo that is used for a person’s name or initials.
For example, Roger Federer has his logo. Personal logos are often used by sports stars to create their ‘brand’.
Other examples of personal logos are the logos artists including musicians.
What is a minimalist logo?
A minimalist logo is a very simple logo. Often minimalist logos are just a very simple wordmark. Or a very simple graphic mark.
Examples of minimalist logos include Burberry, Microsoft and Uber.
One advantage of a minimalist logo is it stands the test of time. When something is so simple it often looks current for a long time. It does not age.
What is a monogram logo?
A monogram logo is a logo made up of someone or a companies initials. For example, Donald J. Trump’s monogram logo would be made up of the letters D.J.T.
Monogram logos often appear on people’s items. Things like shirt collars, towels or any type of personal possession.
Monogram logos are a great way to brand your possessions in a fancy way. The Warner Brothers logo is also a great example of a monogram logo for a business. The initials W and B making up the logo.
What makes a bad logo?
Many things make a bad logo. One of the most common things that makes a bad logo is not being able to read the logo.
Colour is also a factor in a bad logo. Is the do the colours work well together?
Can I read the words of the logo? Another thing that makes a logo bad is the complexity of the logo.
The logo should be able to be read in small sizes. For example, you could create a complex logo that works great on a huge billboard. But when it’s on a phone screen it is unreadable.
What is a business logo?
A business logo is simply a logo that is used to represent a business.
For example, the Amazon logo is a business logo. In most cases, the brand and business logo are the same things. A brand logo is no different from a business logo.
In some cases, the business may choose to use a different logo for their business and a different logo for their brand.
Facebook is an example of this. They use a different logo for Facebook Inc. and a different logo for Facebook, their product.
What makes a good logo design?
Many things make a good logo. Clarity is one key thing that makes a good logo design.
Can you read the words of the logo? When you’re a new company it’s important everyone can read and pronounce the name of your company.
Colours are also something that makes a good logo design. You should use complementary colours in your logo design so it looks attractive and is easy to read.
Also, complexity plays a part in good logo design.
Your logo should be simple and work in all different sizes.
For example, your logo should work on a billboard, but also work on a small phone screen.
That’s a wrap
So there you have it. The 10 most popular logo and logo design questions answered.
If you have any more burning questions about logos or logo design be sure to ask me on Twitter, I can be reached here.
Lastly, if you’re looking to create your logo, be sure to check out DesignBro.
Head of Design at DesignBro and is responsible for UI/UX Design, managing the global designer community, and ensuring quality levels of both designers and designs remain high.
