Today sharing 7 Steps Logo Design Process to create professional logos for businesses. It’s a practical guide for beginners who started logo design as a professional. This will help you to create a brand identity for your client and make them distinguished among competitors.

As you know, logo design is the most important and vital part that plays a big role in business success.

What makes a good logo? is the most important question that every designer needs to understand before starting design.

A logo is the identity of any brand so it’s not a quick and easy job. It involves lot of research, planning, conceptualization, sketching and then drafting to get the final design that can attract the market attention.

SEE ALSO: How Much for a Logo Design – Logo Design Cost

What Should a Good Logo Design Process Involve?

In my last post, I discussed making a good logo that should be simple and minimalist, memorable, engaging, competitive and timeless. These are basic attributes or you might call characteristics that a good logo design should have. Regarding the step by step logo design process to include these attributes is a brainstorming job that needs commitment, dedication, and experience to create a perfect logo that can attract the target market with strong call of action.

Let’s delve into it and make it simple so the beginners can easily understand and learn the process to create a professional logo with ease and convenience.

LOGO DESIGN PROCESS - 7 STEP LOGO DESIGN - logo infographics

1) Get Logo Details – Logo Design Specifications

The very first step is to gather the design details that can help you to create potential design matched with client/customer requirements.

For, we have to ask some concrete questions from the client to create a masterpiece. This is compulsory to get a design brief before starting a design.

Many times, I saw the new designer just take the business name, tagline, color requirements and start making the logo and in the end client doesn’t like it so it’s a waste of time, effort and money.

So, it’s a good idea before starting design you must collect related information about the brand. In this way, it will be a two-way communication process and the client will directly involve with the designer during the process.

To ease this process, I have created a logo design questionnaire that helps me to collect details. And, I noticed the client get comfortable with this step and fill the questionnaire to share details.

On a personal note, when I shared this logo questionnaire on the Youtube tutorial, many new designers ask me why are you getting so many details as it’s a waste of time.

No, it’s not!! In fact, It will help you to save your time and effort to create the right design for your clients and customers.

So what are the Main Questions that you should ask to get the design brief:

  1. Ask about the logo theme or brand vibe. (Masculine, feminine, semi masculine)
  2. What should be the logotype? (Lettering, abstract, vintage, mascot, emblem, monogram)
  3. Attributes of business that logo should reflect
  4. Detail about the brand scope, brand age, and brand demographics.
  5. Color Preferences
  6. What message the logo will convey to the target audience?

Above are the few questions, that will help you to understand the design model.

logo design questionnaire

2) Brand Research

After getting brand details, now it’s recommended to do brand research like how the brand stands in the market. How a successful competitor is operating? and the interest of the market audience towards the brand. This information is important to create a perfect logo design.

Take Time For Substantial Brand Research

To create an impactful brand, you have to indulge your insights to translate a model that communicates target market interest, give it a sustainable market position and stands out among competitors.

All this happens, if you take time for substantial brand research based on qualitative and quantitative market analysis.

It means you have to understand the brand voice, brand theme, and brand psychology in terms of colors and typography.

Let me give an example if you have to create a brand logo for a fast-food pizza company, so the first model that you get is the Pizza hut but here you have to make a research about your brand like;

  • is it a global brand?
  • how it’s different from other brands?
  • about the demographics of the target market,
  • and the suitable age of customers.

All this information should incorporate into the logo design. Also, make sure to know about

  • company goals,
  • vision and
  • values

Now the question is, how to incorporate all these details in a logo design?

Here the designer will take help through iconic concepts, lettering, and colors. These are the main areas where the designer will play to create a masterpiece.

Make sure, the logo you design should have a design history or concept to relate the business.

3) Concept Building – Sketching and Modeling

Another step after gathering all the related details is ‘modeling’.

Here you will sketch your model to give it a design form.

Sketching is one of the best ways to create unique concepts.

Every designer thinks about a unique concept then sketch it on paper by giving different ideas. It’s a great way to create innovation in design by adding variation in ideas and concepts. Sketching is one of the best techniques to create unique concepts. So if you are a beginner and looking forward to starting logo designing as business then sketch your concepts on paper then draft it on software. It’s a simple, easy and quick way to design.

On a personal note, when I started logo designing I was used to designing directly using the software and always feels incomplete because I was not fully drafting my concept as I wanted. Once I start drafting concepts on paper, It was a mind-blowing experience as I never thought it would add so much creativity and innovation in my design. So it’s a recommendation for new designers to start by sketching the concept. You will notice a big difference in your designing experience.

Check out the amazing Sketching Tips for Beginners

So through sketching, you can create different concepts on paper and then scan the best that you want to digitize to create a final product.

4) Create Vector Design Using Graphic Software

Once you have done the sketching part then scan the best concept that you want to make in the shape of the final logo. Here you can use graphical software.

In graphical software for logo design, I prefer Adobe Illustrator as it creates a vector design.

And, the pen tool is a great asset here as it gives you the freedom to draw your concept in digital format.

Here is the step by step video to create a vector logo through a picture.

You can digitize your concept here in different ways by adding colors and some other embellishments to create a perfect logo.

Here you can create different mockups of logo and choose the best to send your client.

5) Design Selection/Revision

Logo design selection is an important part, as you send the design mockups to your client then the client will choose a specific design and ask for revisions if it’s required.

Many designers get critical if the client asks for lot of changes but believe me this is the great way to make a perfect piece.

The best idea is to collect feedback about the design and talk with the client like how do you want changes. What are the areas that need to fix? So after getting the update, you can fix the design accordingly and send it your client.

This is my personal practice that I am sharing and it works for me to design the logo by saving time.

6) Final Execution

Yes, now the final execution phase comes up where you will create a final mockup of design logos. Here you will create all the logo files required by client.

The logo should be web and print friendly so you have to create files compatible with print and web.

For web compatible logo files,  it should be:

  • RGB
  • 72 PPI

Recommended file formats:

  • PNG (Transparent)
  • JPG

For print compatible logo files, it must be:

  • CMYK (Recommended for professional printing)
  • The resolution must be around 300 PPI
  • Make sure all layers are vector

Recommended file formats:

  • AI
  • EPS
  • SVG
  • PDF

logo file formats

Recommended Logo File Formats

7) Delivery

Now the last phase is the delivery. Here you can create a license based on your terms and policies to deliver the logo. You will deliver logo with the complete logo kit that will include:

  • Logo design in the recommended file format.
  • Read me a file about the font and related logo information.
  • In a logo kit, you will also add color code.

The above information is necessary to share with clients as it would be used for business branding purposes.

Send the complete logo design kit to your client with the download link.

Conclusion

So here you can see that all the steps and phases in a professional logo design process are important to make a successful brand. It involves brainstorming from start to end to create a masterpiece.

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