Why Make A Logo?

When you are considering all of the factors that go into building a business, creating a logo might not seem like a top priority.

To be honest with you, its not the most important thing.

If you read books like The lean startup and Start it up they defintely don't spend the whole time talking about spending hours making a pixel perfect logo.

The perfect logo is not everyones first port of call. That being said, here are the main reasons I chose to start here:

1. It Grabs ATTENTION

Attention spans are short these days (especially consumers).

A good logo is the split second opportunity to grab someones attention and communicate your brand. Having a stand out logo among all the others is a solid method of getting someone to give you a chance.

2. It's a great way to start thinking about your brand

When creating a logo, it obviously has to fit your values, your market and stand out against your competition. Creating a logo is a great way to get the cogs turning and allows you to think in more detail about what you want to build.

3. It's Fun

I'm probably biased because of my interest in all things art and design; but flexing those creative muscles is definitely something I love doing. If I had all the time in the world I could easily spend it coming up with new ideas!

Alright I'm convinced! How do I start?

I'm hoping by this point you have been convinced, here are the steps to making a logo for yourself:

What are people doing in this space?

The best products are a combination of familiarity and novelty, you don't need to start from scratch and you don't need to reinvent the wheel.

Have a look around at some of the brand leaders, legacy brands or challengers in the space you want to enter. What do you like about them? Some real inspirations I found for game development are Team cherry and Studio MDHR. Their game styles and company values are things that I really felt a connection with during my search.

Where can I get my creative juices flowing?

If you want to see how creative professionals create innovative logos, check out Dribbble, Awwwards and Behance. If you find those intimidating or pretentious then Instagram works too. You'd be surprised where else you draw inspiration from.

Some places to look for images are Pinterest and Unsplash.

Once you've got all your inspiration lay it out into a moodboard and you are ready for the next step...

2. Ideation

Time to put pen to paper and sketch out some designs. Choose the medium you are the most comfortable with and get started. You could use pen and paper, Procreate or another tablet.

A method I sometimes use for sketching rapidly and coming up with ideas is Crazy 8's.

3.Refine

Once you have a solid concept its time to get that bad boy into Adobe Illustrator!

Once I have a design I like I usually photograph or scan the sketch and use the pen tool to make the graphic. (A good tip for logo design is to always work in black and white so you aren't distracted or influenced by colour, flipping the image can also help identify where needs to be balanced.).

4.Revel

Give one glance, to make sure it's really happening. This is your moment. Soak it in, you've earned one glance. F*** it! Fully behold your creation. You've earned this. Months of planning. It's all happening. Feel the warmth. Tweet the picture, you've earned one tweet. Tweet a picture of you next to the logo. Defiant and proud. This is your moment.