Logos form the foundation of a strong brand identity—but what exactly is logo design and why does it matter? Consider this guide your ultimate introduction.
When you visualise your favourite brands, you can probably conjure up their logos from memory. At the very least, there are certain logos that you’d recognise anywhere—like the universal McDonald’s logo or the iconic Twitter bird.
These logos don’t just happen. Logo design is its very own art form, requiring specialist know-how, a careful process, and adherence to specific principles.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about logo design, including:
- What is logo design and why does it matter?
- What are the main elements of a logo?
- What are the different types of logos?
- What are the 6 key principles of effective logo design?
- An introduction to the logo design process
- The best logo design tools and software
- Learn more about logo and graphic design
Let’s begin.
1. What is logo design and why does it matter?
Logo design is a core tenet of graphic design—and, more specifically, of graphic design for branding. Logo designers are tasked with creating unique, memorable logos that capture the brand’s identity and spark instant recognition in the viewer.
A logo is, quite simply, a visual representation of the brand. But logo design itself isn’t simple! It requires a deep understanding of the brand’s core values, and the ability to translate those values into a timeless yet versatile visualisation.
Think about the famous Nike “swoosh”, the iconic Google “G”, or the elaborate two-tailed siren that we immediately associate with Starbucks. All of these logos form the basis of the brands’ identities—and have no doubt played an integral role in their success.
You can’t cultivate a strong brand identity without a strong logo. A well-designed logo provides consistency, builds familiarity, and helps the brand connect with its target audience.
The importance of logo design is not to be underestimated—and you can’t always expect to get it right the first time. But, when you do finally nail it, you’ll have laid the foundation for a successful brand.
Now that we know why logo design matters, let’s take a look at what actually goes into the process—starting with the individual components that make up a logo.
2. What are the main elements of a logo?
Most logos are built on three core elements: Colour, text, and imagery.
i. Colour
Colour plays a critical role in logo design. First and foremost, different colours can evoke different emotions and associations in the target audience. For example, a bright pink logo might exude a bold, fun, playful air, while a soft green logo might evoke a sense of calm, closeness to nature, and freshness. At the same time, colour is essential for creating balance, harmony, and contrast—ensuring that the logo is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also easy to read and understand.
ii. Text
The use of text in logo design varies greatly from one logo to the next. Some logos contain no text whatsoever—think of the Apple logo, which is simply a picture of an apple. Some logos comprise just one letter, like the McDonald’s logo featuring the iconic “M”, while others include the full brand name, like the famous FedEx logo.
If you do incorporate text within your logo design, it must be clear, legible, and styled in line with the brand identity. That’s where the art of typography comes in—another core tenet of graphic and logo design.
You can learn all about typography in this guide: What Is Typography? Everything You Need To Know.
iii. Imagery
Imagery in logo design can range from simple outlines and icons to abstract symbols, right through to elaborate illustrations—and anything else in between. Sometimes, letters are used to form imagery. And, of course, some logos don’t contain any imagery at all. It all depends on what type of logo is being designed, and on the brand personality and values the logo designer wants to convey.
As with colour and text, it’s crucial that the viewer can easily make sense of any imagery used. Ideally, they should be able to decipher the imagery at a glance and recognise what it’s trying to represent. As such, logo imagery must be meaningful and relevant to the brand in question.
3. What are the different types of logos?
There are seven different types of logos you can design:
- Wordmark logos
- Lettermark logos
- Pictorial mark logos
- Abstract logos
- Emblem logos
- Mascot logos
- Combination logos
Here’s an overview of each.
i. Wordmark logos
Wordmark logos, otherwise known as logotypes, comprise just one word—typically, the brand name. Famous examples of wordmark logos include the Coca-Cola logo, the Cadbury’s logo, and the L’Oréal logo.
ii. Lettermark logos
A lettermark logo, otherwise known as a monogram logo, is a typography-based logo featuring just a few letters—usually the brand initials or some kind of abbreviation of the full brand name. IBM, NASA, and Louis Vuitton all have iconic lettermark logos.
iii. Pictorial mark logos
Pictorial mark logos are based on a single icon or graphic. Consider the famous Twitter bird, the iconic Apple apple, or the panda that represents the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature); those are all highly effective pictorial mark logos.
iv. Abstract logos
Abstract logos are a type of pictorial mark logo. While pictorial mark logos are based on something obvious and instantly recognisable (for example, an apple or a bird), abstract logos comprise an abstract shape or form. While it’s not immediately obvious what these shapes mean, they do become synonymous with the brand over time. Think of the five rings of the Olympics logo, or the green circle with three frequency waves inside—the iconic Spotify logo.
v. Emblem logos
Emblem logos contain text and/or a symbol or icon within a geometric shape. Badges, seals, and crests are all examples of emblem logos—like the NFL logo, the Paramount logo, and the Superman logo.
vi. Mascot logos
Mascot logos revolve around a mascot or a caricature, usually in illustrated form. Famous examples include the KFC Colonel, the Slush Puppie dog, and Freddie the Mailchimp monkey.
vii. Combination logos
Combination logos are made by combining two different logo types together, usually text and an image. You might combine a wordmark or lettermark with a pictorial mark or emblem, for example. Among the most iconic combination logos are the MasterCard logo, the Rolex logo, and the Burger King logo.
4. What are the 6 key principles of effective logo design?
Logo designers have plenty of creative freedom. You’ll notice that no two logos are the same! But, no matter what kind of logo you’re designing, there is a guiding set of principles that all logo designers must follow.
These are:
- Simplicity
- Originality
- Versatility and scalability
- Clarity and legibility
- Timelessness
- Brand alignment
Let’s explore each of these principles in detail and consider how they contribute to effective logo design.
i. Simplicity
Logo design can be tricky because you have limited space. Logos don’t typically take centre stage; they’re usually tucked away in the corner of a website or competing for space alongside other crucial information.
Often, the most impactful logos are the simple ones. They make a powerful statement with just a few key elements; a simple icon like the Nike “swoosh” or a bold wordmark.
Ultimately, the simpler your logo, the easier it will be for people to decipher and understand—and the easier it will be to reproduce in different sizes and contexts.
ii. Originality
A logo is the very cornerstone of a strong brand identity, and you can’t forge a strong brand identity if you’re not creating something unique.
The target audience should instantly recognise a logo as belonging to a particular brand. At the same time, it must be unique enough to be memorable—something that stands out and sticks in people’s minds.
While it’s useful to take inspiration from competitors, you don’t want to fall into the trap of replicating their logos or creating something too similar. This will only lead to confusion and ‘forgettability’.
iii. Versatility and scalability
When designing a logo, you’re never just designing for one single context. That logo will be used across the company website, social media, digital and printed marketing materials, product packaging, signage, internal documentation, email signatures—anywhere the brand has a presence!
It’s therefore crucial that the logo be versatile and scalable. It must look great and accurately convey the brand identity regardless of where it appears, how big or small it is, across both digital and print media, and in different colour combinations.
iv. Clarity and legibility
The best logos seem to seep into people’s consciousness without requiring them to ever really study or scrutinise the logo. That’s because the best logos are instantly clear and easy to comprehend—no second glance or closer look needed. You can ensure your logo design is clear and legible by keeping it simple, leaving plenty of whitespace between elements, and creating sufficient colour contrast.
v. Timelessness
A great logo is for life. You can’t change your logo every few years—that defeats the purpose of building familiarity and recognition. The best logos stand the test of time; they don’t go out of date or lose relevance with the passing of trends. The goal is to design something simple, iconic, and evergreen that will be as powerful in twenty years’ time as it is right now.
vi. Brand alignment
Last but certainly not least, effective logo design must consider the brand. Every choice you make when designing a logo—from colour and typography to imagery, spacing, and texture—should be informed by the brand values and personality you want to convey.
Compare the Cartier logo to the LEGO logo. The former is for a luxury goods brand; the latter for a toy production company. They’re totally different, but they each do a stellar job of capturing the essence of the brand.
Now let’s consider how you might approach the task of designing a new logo from scratch.
5. An introduction to the logo design process
An effective logo must capture the brand values, evoke the right tone, and resonate with the target audience. As such, the logo design process starts with understanding the brand identity. Logo designers will spend time getting to know the brand story, learning about the company’s target users, and brainstorming how that might be captured in visual form.
Next comes the research and inspiration phase. This step is all about looking at competitors and figuring out what seems to resonate within that specific market or industry. At this stage, logo designers might create a mood board and start thinking about the general look and feel of the logo, taking inspiration from some of the most popular logo design trends.
Once you’ve decided what type of logo you’ll design (think back to the seven types of logo we outlined earlier), you can start sketching out initial ideas and concepts. You might do rough sketches with pencil and paper first, or go straight to basic digital mock-ups.
As your logo starts to take shape, you’ll finalise the outline using your chosen logo design software—or at least a few different versions thereof. Your logo will move through various iterations as you experiment with different colours, typography, spacing, and compositions.
Happy with how your logo is shaping up? The next step is to put it in front of key stakeholders for feedback and to test it in different contexts to make sure that it’s versatile, adaptable, and scalable. You’ll refine and improve your logo design until it’s ready for launch.
That’s the logo design process in a nutshell. Learners enrolled in AND’s Graphic Design courses explore these principles comprehensively and are provided with a Brand Identity project to implement their knowledge. Although, it is important to note that in this project learners explore much more than logo design and learn to design iconic and functional visual design systems for brands from scratch.
6. The best logo design tools and software
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the most popular logo design tools to get you started:
- Canva: a free and easy logo maker tool featuring customisable templates, an extensive library of icons, photos, and illustrations, and a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface throughout.
- Adobe Illustrator: a popular and versatile vector graphics design software offering all the tools you need to design a unique logo. Create your logo from scratch or begin with a template.
- LogoMakr: a free online tool for quick and easy logo design. Start with a blank canvas or edit an existing template, and browse the extensive library of icons and fonts.
- Smashing Logo: a tool for non-designers (or those who don’t want to be as hands-on with the logo design process). Smashing Logo simplifies the process of creating a logo, taking you through each step—from choosing brand keywords to selecting colours and icons.
- Looka: an AI-powered logo design tool that generates custom logo designs based on your preferences. Again, this is a shortcut for those who don’t want to go through the process of designing a logo from scratch.
Learn more about logo and graphic design
Logo design is just one tenet of the broad and varied field that is graphic design. If you’re learning about logo design with the goal of becoming a graphic designer, consider a graphic design course. This will equip you with the full spectrum of skills required to work in the industry—from the fundamentals of visual design right through to brand narratives and communication, campaign design, motion graphics, and everything else in between.
Check out the AND Academy Graphic Design Course here, and see how it compares to other programs in our graphic design course comparison guide for 2023.
Not ready for a course? Continue learning with these guides:
- An Introduction to the 8 Different Types of Graphic Design (With Examples)
- A Complete Guide to Motion Graphic Design
- The Fundamental Graphic Design Principles and How to Apply Them
Next Steps
In case you’re still not entirely sure, here are some of our own resources to help you make your decision:
- Watch this session by design veteran and AND’s Academic Head, Prachi Mittal, and our Course Lead, Soumya Tiwari.
- Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
- Pursue our Graphic Design courses - all courses are taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and some even offer a Job Guarantee.
- Take advantage of the scholarship and funding options that come with our courses to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.
Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.
