How to Make a Cool Logo: A Guide for Dummies

You’re probably at that stage of your business where you’re laying the foundation bricks. Then, you thought, “Oh, I need a cool logo befitting for my business. Something my prospects will have an immediate connection to.”

You soon found out that creating a logo is headache-inducing, especially because there are a lot more things to think about than the technicalities that go into a logo design. In search of a guide, you got here.

In this article, we’ll show you in the simplest terms possible, why you need a cool logo for your business, how to make one, and mistakes to avoid when making one. We explain the various options available when creating a logo.

If you stick around long enough, we’ve also included an inspiration gallery for you. Shall we?

Why does my business/company need a cool logo?

Your professional logo plays a critical role in your business. It isn’t just a mere symbol or icon. Among other things, your cool logo serves as the base of your brand identity. It is the first thing that cements your brand recognition. So, you want to make sure your logo design is captivating.

Among the many other reasons, here’s why you need a cool logo:

Create an impression: cool logos are used to captivate the mind and create an impression. Before your sales pitch, your logo goes forth to tell your prospective customers what you’re about. It tells more than just your company name. The design elements such as your fonts, colors, logotype, and shapes show your personality and philosophy.

Branding: Your cool logo is an important part of your branding process. Your logo design serves as the foundation for your identity and personalization. The colors and fonts in your logo design will inform your graphic design colors, website layout, business card, newsletter design, social media identity, marketing & advertising materials, and branded merchandise.

Exude Professionalism: Without a logo, you run the risk of being considered illegitimate, shady, and unprofessional A cool logo establishes that you’re a professional, trustworthy brand. It may not necessarily carry your company name, but it’ll help you establish legitimacy.

Stand out from the competition: A custom logo helps your current and potential customers and associates identify you in a sea of many others in your industry. Consider a logo as a face to a name.

Imagine describing a John without a face. You can easily ask, “which John? the one that lives next door, or down the road?” With a face, you save yourself stress. That’s how your logo works.

Although your name would be different from others in your industry, there’s a chance that your name is similar to another business from another industry. Your logo speaks in places where visuals are used.

Generate customer retention: Humans are hardwired to love familiarity. Once customers have been able to identify your logo, they will not only have the irresistible urge to choose yours above others, but they’ll also key deeper into your message. They’ll easily tell others about you and show them your products.

Now that you know why you need a logo, let’s get to business.

What makes a good cool logo design?

Before you begin to create your cool logo, you need to understand the features of an outstanding logo.

The following are the characteristics of good logo design.

Simplicity

A cool logo is a simple logo. However, you shouldn’t mistake simplicity for run-of-the-mill design. Simplicity means that your logo is easily identifiable and can be easily executed in print or digital.

Memorability

You have 3-5 seconds to make an impression with your logo. If a prospect sees your logo within this time, would they remember it afterward? A cool logo is the bedrock of brand recognition and will stick for the right reasons while a wishy-washy one will not or most likely stick for the wrong reasons.

Uniqueness

Does your logo stand out? Is it easy to find something similar enough to confuse prospects? The best logo is a unique logo- the one that clearly differs from other logos in your industry. To achieve uniqueness, avoid cliche elements in your logo.

Timelessness

A good logo is one that remains above trends and is not relegated by them. It is an important part of your business. Just like you won’t change your business name every now and then, you don’t want to change your logo every time there’s a trending design.

Accuracy

A logo isn’t just a sign or mark, it is a representation of your brand personality. So, your logo has to match your brand message and evoke the right feeling in your audience.

Flexibility

A good cool logo will retain its essence when printed in any size on any material. Whether on solid or transparent background; billboard or business card; t-shirts or book covers; flyers or web banners, your logo will have the same striking effect.

Check out this article to learn more about logo design.

How can make my own logo?

Here are a few professional logo design tips to keep in mind when creating a cool logo design.

Know your brand

The first step to take before designing your logo is to map out your brand identity. Your identity is who you are and what you want people to think about you. and this is what you want to reflect in your logo design.

If you don’t know where to begin with mapping out your identity, consider the following questions:

• Why did we start this business?
• Who are our potential business partners and competitors?
• What problem does our business solve?
• Who’s our target audience?
• How should our customers feel when they think about us?
• What values are important to us?

The answers to these questions are key considerations that go into your cool logos.

You need to create a logo that has meaning, advances your brand strategy, captures your prospect’s attention, and support your brand message. Thus, you need elements – color, shape, typography, icon, and style – that are related to your brand personality.

Know your competition

Once you map your identity, you also have to find out what your competitors are already doing. This is a great way to identify trends, cliches, epic fails, and standout designs and get inspired.

You might have different values and history from your competitors but might use similar elements in your logo design. You’re observing your competitor so you don’t come off as a copycat in your logo.

Copying isn’t only bad for your reputation, it can also cause you legal trouble. Your customers might confuse you with others or you end up fighting for your business at the law court. If you notice that your competitors are all using retro logo style, consider using a minimalist logo design.

Understand basic design principles

Understanding the importance of elements that go into your logo goes a long way. The elements that go into your logo have principles that guide them. That’s why professional designers are intentional when they choose fonts, colors, and shapes.

Colors are vehicles of emotions

Among the several design elements you’ll use in your cool logo, colors play a very critical role in your message. The colors you choose add meaning to your logo. For instance, if you’re a playful and energetic brand, using orange in your cool logo will be more appropriate than black.

Different colors convey different emotions which may be related to color psychology or cultural affiliations. For example, while the Chinese think black is a symbol of high quality, general color psychology sees black as a portrayal of boldness.

However, it is certain that you won’t be designing a monochromatic logo. So, you need to learn how to combine colors to convey a comprehensive message and elicit the right emotions.

Pay attention to typography

Typography in logo design isn’t something to joke around with. There are several fonts and typefaces but you don’t just use a font because you love it. Each font and type has its one unique purpose and personality. Learn more about logo fonts.

While a font might appeal to you, you have to consider its function in your brand message. For instance, if you’re a professional brand, serif fonts or sans serif fonts will be greater than script fonts. Check out this article to learn how to nail typography in logo design.

At this point, you should understand that your cool logo will be a product of the combination of several elements. So, rather than jumping into all the elements at once, you need to take each element apart, deciding on the role each will play before mixing them all together. This will help you remove redundancy in your design.

Choose your logo design style

After studying and identifying the colors, shapes, and fonts, you need to decide on the best style to make out of these elements.

There are many styles to consider when creating your logo. Knowing them will help you make an informed decision. Here are a few styles to consider:

Classic style

Classic has become synonymous with longevity. Most classic style logos you’ll find out there do not use colors that you might consider fun, yet they remain captivating, functional, and timeless. An example is the Mercedes logo.

A good classic logo is one that isn’t affected by trends and retains its essence all through different periods. However, classic logos are often cryptic and subjective. So, you need to have a convincing explanation for your cool logo if you use a classic style.

Retro or Vintage logo style

Vintage logos are a representation of the “good ol’ days”. This is an ideal style if your brand is the type that’s rebelling against the trend. You can also choose this style if you want to make a statement of individuality or nostalgia.

Modern and minimalist style

Consider minimalist and modern logo designs when you desire functionality in your logo. Minimalist designs are focused on communicating brand ideas in the quickest way possible. So, designers use reductive elements to keep things neat and simple.

However, it might be challenging to execute. That’s why you need to understand design principles so that you only use elements that matter in your design. Once achieved, you can show your prospects that you’re modern and up-to-date.

Handmade and handcrafted style

Handmade logos are great portrayals of meticulousness and honesty. The care that goes into creating handmade logos helps them communicate honesty and uniqueness. They tend to pack heavy punches when mixed with other styles.

Quirky & Playful style

This logo style is popular among new-age brands. They have a playful and cartoonish context plus cute illustrations, quirky fonts, and fun colors. If you run an ice cream shop or kids’ entertainment business, this time would be ideal for your logo.

What logo style should I pick?

There is no one-fit-all style for any industry, only the one fit for you. If you feel indecisive, you can mix and match all the different logo styles to find the ones that best suit your brand. Your logo can be both quirky and retro at the same time. What you want to avoid, is overdesigning and mixing styles that don’t blend to avoid confusing your customers.

Choose the right logo design type

Now that you’ve known the different styles that you can use, how do you intend to structure the style?

Familiarizing yourself with the different logotypes can help make informed decisions in your design.

Here are the styles you can consider for your logo designs:

Word mark, letter mark, or monogram

This logotype is typography-oriented. While wordmarks use the company name as the logo, letter marks (monograms) are either abbreviated business names or initials of the company name. While this style may not deeply portray your company’s personality, they’re powerful to make your brand name stick.

Brand mark

This logo type is a pictorial representation of the business. With this style, you can create instant familiarity in the minds of your customers. Usually, this type of logo will include a pictorial representation of your industry. For example, using a chef’s cap in a restaurant’s logo or using a. Oftentimes, that will be considered a cliche. So, a better way to execute such type of logo is to use an image or graphics that symbolizes your brand name rather than your industry. Get the perfect branding ideas for business.

Pictorial marks

This type of logo is similar to a brand mark logo. Only a pictorial mark could be unrelated to your brand name or industry. Still, they do well to leave an intriguing impression in the minds of your customers. The Lacoste logo is a prime example of pictorial mark logos.

Abstract logo marks

An abstract logo mark is common for classic and minimalist logo styles. They involve the use of geometric shapes or symbols to create unique designs that represent your business. The tricky part about this type of logo is that it may not instantly make sense to your customers. As such, it is better to pair this type of design with your business name until you’ve gathered enough brand recognition to make your symbol stand solo.

Mascot

A mascot is a symbolic representation of your brand. It could be a real-life character, an illustration, or an animal related to your industry. Using a mascot puts a face to your company that customers can relate to.

Emblem

An emblem is a unique representation of your business. It might be a banner or crest type of logo. Either way, an emblem is an excellent way to use shapes to create an amazing logo.

Combination marks

A combination mark logo as the name suggests is a type of logo that combines graphics with a wordmark, letter mark, monogram, and other elements to create a stunning logo.

Which of the logo options should you choose? Experiment with different styles till you find the one that is great for you.

Find inspiration

You have a style and type in mind and you’ve decided on the elements to use but you can just get the design started. You feel a block in your head. It happens to the best of us and you’re not alone. So, it’s time to find inspiration and we’ve got some tips to help you get the ideas flowing.

• Start with a brainstorming session: Brainstorming is an effective way to generate creative ideas. The key to brainstorming is to not overanalyze things to avoid analytical paralysis. Just let them flow. When brainstorming, you want to remove all distractions, so that you can stay focused on the goal. Also, you don’t have to do it alone. Magic happens where diversity exists. Bring in trusted people who you think are conceptual, business partners, experts, and newbies. The broader the spectrum, the more creative ideas you can generate.
• Create a mood board: Whether you’re actively brainstorming or just scrolling through the internet, a mood board is a perfect tool to collect your ideas. You can either use an actual board where you paste cut-out printed images or use a digital board with Pinterest. This board will be a collection of graphics, illustrations, logos, color palette, and several random images that you feel drawn to or suits your personal style.
• Check out inspiration websites: Inspiration websites are a great place to find out what people are already doing and what you can do. Some of the websites where you can find great logo designs include:
  • Dribble
  • Logoed
  • Behance
  • Logospire
  • Desiggnspiration
  • Logo Design Love
  • Logoseum
  • Brand New
  • 99% Invisible
  • Logo Lounge
  • Vintage Logos
  • World Brand Design

Create your logo

Now that you’ve gathered all your inspiration and desired style, it’s time for the real action. Put your design skills into creating a logo.

Oh, wait. You’re not a designer? Don’t get too far. There are several ways to create a cool professional logo. You can go the DIY route, organize a contest, or choose a professional logo designer. Let’s go through the options.

Use a Cool logo maker tool

A logo maker or logo creator helps you ease the logo-making process, especially if you don’t have the design talent. You can find a free cool logo maker which will provide you with easily editable logo templates. With just a few clicks, a free logo maker will get you a new logo within just a few minutes.

• Some popular free logo makers include:
  • Canva
  • Logo generator
  • Brand crowd
  • Tailor Brand

Organize a logo contest

A logo contest is a great option if you’re unsure of the values and direction you want to go. However, you still need to provide background. You can use a site that allows you to hold contests or announce the contest on your social media page. You’ll have to create a detailed brief from all that you’ve gathered so far to guide the design process. Then, put a good prize to it and sit back as you watch professional designers from all over the world make you beautiful logos to choose from. Once you’ve chosen the best logo, you can have the designer transfer the copyrights to you as well as the vector files for easy printing.

Hire a professional designer

There are many options when looking to hire a professional graphic designer. You can look through portfolio websites and contact a designer you’re impressed with. You can also use freelance websites like Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, or People Per Hour among others. You can also contact a design agency.

At All Time Design, our professional designers are battle-tested to create the perfect logo that fits your brand’s personality. The interesting part of our services is that our designers create your logo within 24 hours of your request. Also, you’ll get as many modifications as possible within a month for a fixed monthly subscription.

Mistakes to avoid when designing a cool logo

Regardless of what process you choose to adopt for your logo design, there are some common mistakes you need to avoid, especially when using free logo templates:

• Avoid generic symbols
• Stay away from run-on-the-mill logos
• Avoid overdesigning
• Don’t skimp on quality
• Stay unbothered by trends

Need some inspiration? We’ve got you covered!

Cool logo design inspiration

Bottom Line

Overall, you need to understand that using a free cool logo maker tool isn’t good enough for your business. If you don’t already possess the design skill, your best shot at having a perfect and unique cool logo is to let a professional handle it for you. As for professionals, we’ve got a lot of them at All Time Design waiting to deliver your stunning logo designs.

Book a demo now!