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Designing a logo is an exciting step in building your brand or business. When it’s done right, your logo design will make your work memorable, say something about your brand identity, and distinguish you from competitors. Whether you plan to hire a designer or create your own logo, it’s important to think through what you want your custom logo to achieve, and how design elements can bring your vision to life.
We asked Michelle Scully, co-founder of Spark & Pony, a boutique creative marketing studio and Squarespace Circle member, to outline the key steps behind designing a professional logo that works for your brand. Once you have an idea of your brand identity and target audience, you can focus on the elements that make up a high-quality logo, like color combinations and typography.
What is a logo?
A logo is a visually recognizable mark for your brand that can take the shape of a name, letter(s), or a symbol. Your logo is the first and often most lasting impression you’ll make, and it has the potential to visually convey your brand’s purpose.
There are three core types of logos:
Wordmark: A wordmark features your brand name or small business name, designed to convey specific values or brand attributes.
Lettermark: Similar to a wordmark, a lettermark uses the initials of your brand name, making it a monogram.
Logomark: Also called a pictorial mark, a logomark is a symbol that is synonymous with your brand and business name.
Logos can also be combinations of the core logo types. For example, you might design a logo that incorporates a standalone symbol (logomark) into your wordmark.
What makes a good logo?
“If a logo is done well, it should communicate who you are to your audience immediately,” Scully says. This includes signaling your mission, brand personality and values, and even the industry you’re in.
Whether someone finds your brand on social media, through organic search, or through your products in a brick-and-mortar store, a great logo mark will build your brand identity across every customer touchpoint, from your business cards to your social media accounts.
Before you start designing
It’s tempting to dive right into designing, but making the best logo for your brand requires background research, brainstorming, and preparation. It will all pay off when you do start the design process, because you’ll have a strong framework and perspective informing your decisions.
Before you start working with a graphic designer or designing it yourself, consider how you’ll be using the designed logo, have a strong grasp on your brand values and aesthetic, and get to know your audience and competition.
Personal logo or business logo
First, consider whether your logo is for a personal brand or a business. A personal logo is “typically more representative of the individual,” Scully says. “Their personal taste, style, favorite colors and tidbits of their personality should shine through.” If you’re building a personal brand, think of your own logo as a refined reflection of who you are.
Identify your brand values
This can be as simple as brainstorming words and character traits that feel reflective of your brand. Maybe you’re a business that thrives on teamwork, or a creative who values quality and craftsmanship in your products. Think about how you want people to feel when they interact with you or your business. If you want them to feel calm, for example, the perfect logo might look airy, light, and warm.
If you hit a roadblock, try identifying the values of other brands you love, and of competitors in your industry. Then, think about how those values translate into a different logo for each brand and how that thinking could translate into your own logo ideas. Your brand values will help guide the rest of the decision-making process for your logo design.
Understand your audience and competitors
Lastly, do market research to understand your audience and competitors. “The more you know about who your audience and customers are, the more tailored and effective your logo will be in the long term,” Scully says. Squarespace users can use Profiles for a holistic view of their audience and how they engage with them, and use Squarespace Analytics to better understand their site visitors’ behavior. Understanding factors like which of your products or services your audience values most, or what other brands they gravitate towards, can all help inform your new logo creation process.
Spend some time researching what your direct and indirect competitors are doing. Are their logos type-driven? Symbolic? Do they use multiple brand colors or opt for a monochromatic design?
Identify what you like and dislike about your competitors’ approach to logo design, but also pay attention to trends. Aligning your design with industry standards brings your logo one step closer to helping people quickly identify the kind of brand or business you’re running.
5 tips to to create your own logo
Once you’ve completed your background research and identified your brand values, it’s time to consider the design elements of your logo. Whether you’re designing a personal logo or a business logo, Scully encourages clients to focus on five key elements.
1. Color
Is your brand serious? Friendly? Playful? All of these attributes can inform your logo colors, and color selection for your branding as a whole. You can also use the brand values you’ve already identified to guide your color choice. For example, a brand that values creating joyful experiences will want to use bright colors, rather than a heavy, dark palette.
With Squarespace, you can easily create and update a color palette for your website, and test out colors to decide which combination best represents your brand.
2. Typography
“Fonts can bring you to a place in time, add legibility, bring a hint of creative flair or help you stand out from the crowd,” says Scully. When choosing a typeface, it can be helpful to narrow it down by categories like serif or sans serif font, cursive, or old style. Reviewing your brand values and competitor research will help you identify a typeface that feels truly representative of your brand and industry.
3. Simplicity
Many of the most recognized and time-tested logos share this trait. Scully notes that aiming for simplicity “doesn’t necessarily mean that your logo can’t have graphic complexity to it.” For example, a business with a recognizable mascot might include it in their company logo—visually simple but not necessarily a simple graphic.
A simple logo is easy for people to understand and remember, which is why less is often more with logo design.
4. Flexibility
A simplified design will also be easier to size and reuse for multiple platforms. That means that whether someone views your logo on their mobile device, on a larger printed label, or on t-shirts, your mark will look recognizable and consistent.
Learn more about uploading logo files and resizing your logo.
5. Logomark
A logomark is a symbolic image or icon that makes up part of your overall logo. When it’s done right, a logomark can become a standalone symbol for your brand. While a logomark isn’t a requirement, Scully notes that “it can be really handy to use as a unique identifying piece that can strengthen your branding.” It’s useful to determine at the outset of your design process if you’d like a logomark to be a component of your branding.
Once you’ve thought through the questions and factors above, you’re ready to start designing. You can find a user-friendly online logo maker and design tool made to walk beginners through the process step-by-step using logo templates, or you can partner with a professional to get the job done.
Squarespace Logo is a free logo creator that will help you to explore your ideas and even generate your own logo. Just add your company name, select an icon, and tweak your typeface, colors, and more. You can preview how your logo will look in different formats and contexts, like on a business card and website. When you’re happy with your design, you can download your logo files, including a full-color, white-text, or black-text version of your logo.
Looking to hire a professional? Browse qualified designers through Squarespace Marketplace.
This post was updated on January 23, 2023.