A good logo can make a huge difference to a company’s brand awareness and bottom line. But logos are so much more than just an image or text, and a unique logo can help differentiate you from your competitors and communicate your brand’s message to customers. It’s a good idea to research competitors’ logos to see what your target audience is used to seeing in the industry and even how they respond to it. This will offer important insights that you can use when you design a logo for your business.

Let’s take a look at a number of criteria to consider when designing a logo so you can be armed with all the information you need in order to choose the right logo design company for your needs.

What a logo represents

A strong logo should convey three things: who you are, what you do, and your brand’s values. You want people who see it to get an idea about the industry you’re in, the services or products you provide, your target audience, and the benefit or value you offer customers. This can be achieved through the strategic use of colors, abstract shapes, or even just a specific font. For example, a brand that wants to convey luxury may use gold tones and script fonts, while an eco-friendly brand might stick to green tones and a more minimalistic design.

Sounds like a lot of weight for a small image to carry, and that’s exactly why you need professionals to help you through this process.

Where to start with logo designers

There are three main ways to design a logo for your business:

DIY (Do It Yourself)

Unless you’re a logo designer, you’ll need various do-it-yourself design tools to create a logo. There are a number of online logo design services that you can use for this purpose. The obvious advantage to the DIY method is that it’s quick and inexpensive. The downsides are that your end result may be less professional and unique than you hoped for. A good example of DIY is Logojoy.

DIFM (Do It For Me)

The Do-It-For-Me option is the most recommended and involves hiring a professional logo design service to create a custom company logo design for you. This is a lengthy process that involves meetings, brainstorming, and back and forth with drafts until you’re happy with the result, but it’s worth it. The advantage to this method, exemplified by companies like Deluxe and 48HoursLogo, is a professional, memorable logo that properly represents your brand. The downside is the lengthy process and the higher costs. Because of this, it is important to hire someone with a lot of experience and positive references.

Designer marketplaces and contests

Websites like 99Designs allow you to hold a contest where many designers create logos for you, and you choose the one you like best. The cost of using a marketplace is higher than DIY but lower than hiring a designer. This method allows you access to different logo designers and their styles, so you’re more likely to find something you like. The downside is that it’s a one-off, so you don’t have meetings, can’t request edits, etc.

The method that’s best for you depends on a number of key factors. Ask yourself:

• What is your budget, and what are you willing to spend?
• Are you up against a deadline? How quickly do you need this done, and is this flexible?
• Do you have any design or branding skills that you can bring to the table?
• How important is the logo to you? How unique and professional do you want it to be?

The answers to these questions will help you understand what method you should choose based on the time, effort, and money you are willing to invest.

How to design a logo with the right tool or business

Step 1: budget

Before you start searching for a design, firm, or tool, you need to set your budget and define the deadline. Basically, how much do you want to spend on this and when do you need it to be ready? Knowing this information up front will make it easier to filter out options that are not relevant from the get-go.

Step 2: how will you use the logo?

You’ll need to have a few basic versions of your logo for things like social media, banners, landing pages, and profile images.

1. The default logo in two versions: one should work on a black background and one should work on a white background.
2. A perfect square shape of your logo: Some companies just use an icon if their logo is a combination of an image or design, while others move the image around for a different square-shaped version.
3. One color: Usually, one version completely black and one completely white.

While these are the basics, there are a few more things to consider when it comes to how you’ll use your company logo design. Will your logo be printed on clothes or products? Will it appear in an online interface? You need to make a list of all of the places you expect your logo to be used, including marketing materials and online campaigns, to ensure the end result is consistent with your needs.

Step 3: How much creative control do you want to have?

Another thing to think of before looking at logo designers and tools is how much you want to be involved in the creative process. A website like Deluxe, for example, gives you full creative power over each aspect of your business logo design. Others may be more automatic, with less involvement on your end. If you prefer to leave the design process to the experts, you can purchase logo design services online or hire a designer that knows how to ask the right questions to get the information they need for the right logo.

Step 4: what aesthetic do you have in mind?

Do you already have a few ideas for your business logo design? Whether it’s a sample image or specific colors you’d like to use, it’s important to write these things down. This gives you a clear brief to use during the design process.

If you need inspiration and ideas, start by taking a closer look at your competitors to see what their logos look like. Next, look at logos of companies that aren’t competitors but have the same target audience. This can help you get a better understanding of what your audience responds to. Do some research into images and symbols related to your industry and business, as well as colors and what they represent.

Even if you hire a designer, you can use a free logo generator to get more inspiration and ideas. Try running a Google search for the greatest logos of all time, which can help you get a feel for the types of logos that are memorable and iconic. You’ll notice a theme of simplicity and cleverness in most of these logos that you’ll want to implement in yours, too.

Step 5: choosing the right logo design company or tool

Whether you choose a logo design company, use logo designing software, explore a marketplace like 99Designs or Fiverr, or hire a professional logo designer, always take the time to do a bit of research on your options before making a final choice.

There are various business logo creator tools out there – look into the best ones, prices, results, and reviews before making a final decision. If you’re going for Fiverr or a similar marketplace, check the available gigs and what they’ve done in the past before ordering. Even if you’re holding a contest on 99Designs, be sure to check similar websites first to see which ones have the best designers.

If you hire a professional designer, begin by getting recommendations from friends and colleagues. While you can always see a portfolio and end results, it is best to talk to someone who’s worked with them to get feedback on their work ethic and process. Creating a company logo design is a lengthy process and you’re going to be working with this designer a lot, so you want to make sure that they are not only talented but also professional and able to meet deadlines. Get offers from 3-4 designers to compare, and speak to references before hiring.

The logo design process

DIY

If you’re going the DIY route, the steps are pretty straightforward:

1. Choose logo styles, colors, and shapes you like. This is a good time to look at competitors and generally iconic and timeless logos for inspiration. Generators will usually use this information as a guideline for creating your logo. If you’re using a free logo creator like Logojoy, it will guide you through this process and let you choose from existing logos you like, colors, etc.
2. Once a logo generator is done, you’ll get a bunch of custom logos to look at and consider. If none of the options work for you, you can always generate more. Consider changing the colors, shapes, and styles you entered in the beginning if you aren’t getting the results you’d like.
3. Many logo generators let you favorite the options that you like most so you can see what they look like on business cards, products, and more. This will help you get a better idea of which logo works best for the ways you’ll be using it.
4. If you’re using a logo maker that lets you make edits, like Wix, the final step is to choose the logo you prefer and adjust the fonts, colors, etc. until you’re satisfied with the result.

Marketplace

When using a marketplace like 99Designs, the process is very simple. First, create a brief to help logo designers understand what you need. Then start a contest and wait until designers submit their ideas. Once you see a design you like, you can release payment to the “winner.” You can also use a marketplace to hire designers. It can be pretty convenient, since you have a wide selection of portfolios to browse in one place.

DIFM

Whether you’re purchasing a custom business logo design package from a website like Deluxe, 48HoursLogo, or hiring a freelance designer, the process here is pretty much the same:

1. Create a full brief with all the relevant information about your company, including details like target audience, industry, competitors, likes and dislikes, any ideas you have, and what you want your logo to convey.
2. In some cases, you’ll have a meeting to brainstorm ideas with the designer, though this is not the case if you are purchasing a design package or hiring remotely.
3. Get a few draft design options and review them. Some logo design companies send their initial drafts in black and white and then move on to the colors as a final step. This is the stage where you give feedback, express which ones you like and which you don’t, and (ideally) choose one of the options to move forward with, pending any adjustments you’d like.
4. Once the final shape is designed, you’ll move on to seeing it in different shapes and color variations to decide on a final logo.
5. Once everything is complete, the designer will provide you with the logo in all of the shapes and sizes you need, as well as the original design files so that you can adjust them in the future, if necessary.

Whichever method you choose, be sure to take time to think it through. Your logo is important and should be created for the long-haul. Make sure it’s timeless, memorable, unique, and represents your brand message.