How to Make a Logo in Photoshop

When you are building the brand for your business, you collect all your experience, ideas, and expertise to create what will make the pinnacle of your identity. When making your brand for your business, you have to set a lot of creativity to make your visions come to life.

Branding is the sum of all the impressions of how the company wants to be perceived. So every element that builds your brand is the tangible expression and visual identity that makes up your brand, consisting of your graphic design, logo, brand colors, and others.

These elements that make up your brand identity represent not only a company’s visual identity but set a strong foundation in the competitive market. And one of the elements that may not be on top of everyone’s mind is a visually aesthetic logo design.

However, for many entrepreneurs, creating logos may not be on their priority list. But needless to say, having a visually strong logo design is an integral part of branding – and making your marketing efforts effective and successful.

To create your own logo is to create what represents your brand. Thus, it has to be attention-grabbing, strong, visually aesthetic, and memorable simply because your logo design will have to stand out from the competition to raise brand loyalty as expected by your audience.

According to Nuanced Media, humans process images 60,000 times faster than words, so it is essential to create visually pleasing and memorable logos. That is why many businesses take logo design seriously.

Many startups opt to create their own logos. However, if you are not knowledgeable about graphic design, creating logos may be a daunting task.

Luckily, there are so many digital art software available in the market. One of the most famous applications there is today is – yes, you got it, Adobe Photoshop.

If you do not want to break the bank and you need a logo that speaks volumes, then read along, as this may just be what you need. This article will give you all the basics on how to make a logo in Photoshop through shape tools, color gradient application, and adapting font design right in the palm of your hands.

Basic logo design principles

So the question is, how to make a logo in photoshop?

Before knowing how to make a logo in photoshop and start drawing your actual logo, you have to know and understand that Adobe Photoshop was primarily designed for photo editing and not building logos. A logo design should be able to scale up or down without its quality being compromised. Thus, its vector-based version Adobe Illustrator is the preferred software by graphic designers for logo design.

But what makes Photoshop stand out for logo creation is that, given its popularity, you may get started and make a logo through this tutorial without having to pay for the software that you need.

Before starting out with this how-to make a logo in photoshop guide, you have to make sure that you have a keen understanding of your brand’s ideals to create a logo design that fully encapsulates what it stands for.

Brainstorming is one of the many ways that can help you visualize and create logos for what you want to achieve. You can create a sketch, check color palette options, and font ideas to make sure that what you will create will be well-designed and eye-catching.

Getting started with creating your Photoshop logo design

This tutorial is based on Adobe Photoshop CC. If you have other versions of Photoshop installed, do not worry, as Photoshop features and shortcuts remain the same. So, these steps will just almost be the same. Now, let’s get started with creating your first business logo.

1. Create a new canvas

Open Photoshop and start with a new document. You may begin with 500px x 500px as size, but you may go for a larger size as you wish. Note that Pixels (px) is the measurement that is generally used in the world of graphic design.

The canvas size does not really matter, as the logo in photoshop will be resizable without having the need to worry about image pixelation or being blurred.

You may also change the canvas size along the way. To adjust canvas size, you may do so by going to the canvas properties and adjusting its Height and Width.

2. Generate a save file

It is a must that you create a save file. Before anything else, you would definitely want to save your work in any circumstance that the Photoshop application crashes or your device unexpectedly shuts down.

The great thing about Photoshop is that your work can be directly saved on the Cloud. This means that you can still gain access to your work even in the worst-case scenarios.

To save your file, go to File, click Save as, and have it saved on Adobe cloud or your

computer drive.

3. Create a background of your choice

This step actually depends on your preference. If you want to have a logo background, then you may follow this step. If you prefer to make your logo transparent in background, you may skip this step.

To create a background, you can start with the Color Fill layer and fill it with the color of your choice. As a suggestion, pick light colors or any color that goes along with your brand color.

Once done, press right-click and select Convert to Smart Object.

When you convert an image to a smart object in Photoshop, it will allow you to add adjustable filters while retaining any possibility of changing its color mode.

You can double-click on the smart object to open the original Fill layer. Also, note that in any case, if you want to undo any action, just press CTRL + Z on your keyboard.

Now, let us say that you would want to add a filter to your image backgrounds, such as giving it a grainy feel; simply go to Filter and select Camera Raw Filter.

On the Effects tab, you may start setting the amount of texture you would want your background to have. Click Okay if you feel satisfied with how your background looks.

4. Start creating a basic shape using the Shape tool or Pen tool

Now that you want your logo to come to life, you can start creating a shape on your canvas. There are different shape tools available in photoshop. You can create a white box or a black circle that will be the foundation of your logo in photoshop.

To draw a basic shape, start creating a new layer by going to the Toolbar and double-clicking the Pen tool. You may also use the shortcut key by pressing P. Make sure that the pen tool is set to Shape and not Path.

Now, you may start off with the basic shape of your logo. You can start off using the Pen tool or Shape tool, depending on the base shape of your logo.

For beginners, you may also use the Grid tool. To access this, you may use the magnifying glass on the upper right-hand corner of the screen and search for the grid tool. As you can see the Grid is one of the align tools that can help in guiding you to create straight lines or

On the left side, you can find the menu bar where you can see the icon for the Shape tool or press U as the shortcut key. Right-click the icon so you can choose from the available shapes given. In this blog, we will be using the Pen tool.

Note: If you choose to use the Ellipse tool and are aiming to create a perfect circle, press down the shift key while clicking and dragging the cursor to create the shape. On the other hand, if you aim to draw an oval shape, there is no need to hold shift key.

To adjust the size of your shape, you can use the corner points of the shape box while holding down the shift button to maintain proportion.

Should there be a need to center the shape on the canvas, you may use the Move Tool or press V.

5. Duplicate your design to enhance the logo through the layers panel

Using the basic shape, you can duplicate the shape to create the design that you want. In this case, we can use the triangle shape and duplicate it, resize it, and rotate it to create your final logo.

Photoshop features use layers to make the logo-making process easier and more understandable. Basically, it allows you to use and place various elements on top of each other to achieve aesthetic effects.

In this example, the shape is one layer.

To duplicate a layer, go bottom right corner over to the Layers panel, right-click on the layer, and select duplicate. You will now automatically create two of the same shapes. You can adjust its height, alignment, and other details.

Now that you have duplicated your first layer, you have to move the image to create the needed adjustments. Use the shortcut key A for the Direct Selection tool to move the image based on where you want to have it.

6. Add color to your logo

Colors in your logo are essential for your logo to be able to convey the message of your brand.

To set the stroke color, you have to make sure to select the shape layer in the layers panel. Then, select the shape tool and assign No Color to the Stroke in the top-left part of the menu bar.

You may also add color to create an outline for your shape and adjust its thickness and stroke style.

Now to set the fill color, change the color of the shape through the Fill icon in the top menu bar. Either you pick a solid color or use a gradient by selecting it on the panel under the Gradient icon. You may also customize your gradient colors by selecting New Gradient.

After choosing your preferred gradient color, you adjust the gradient angle and customize it based on your preference.

7. Organize layers into groups and duplicate multiple layers

After you achieved your desired color, you may organize layers by putting them into groups.

To do this, you can select two different layers, and press the Group button or use CTRL + G on your keyboard as a shortcut. It makes handling multiple layers much easier at the same time.

Duplicate the new group by using the Free Transformation Tool or CTRL + T. Once the image is selected, you can press the shift key for the rotate symbol to appear. Once it appears, you may rotate the image or turn it in the opposite direction.

Do this as many times as you need to create your ideal logo shape.

8. Combine and merge other shapes

Using the shape tool, you can add other shapes that would compliment your logo in Photoshop. You can change colors and adjust its size.

To do this, simply add another layer through the layers panel in the bottom right corner of the screen. Create a new layer, then start adding shapes, and experiment with colors, strokes, and details that would help enhance your logo.

Many graphic designers use the rectangle shape or rectangle layer with a transparent background and place it in the center of the image to prepare a space for the business’s name. You may also freely use the direct selection tool to move and resize the image as you go along the way. Remove the background with this guide in Photoshop, how to remove background in Photoshop.

9. Link layers together

Once you are happy with the shape of your logo, you can link all the layers so that they stay in proportion on the canvas while grouped together.

To do this, hold shift and click all the layers. Right-click and select Link layers from the pop-menu.

10. Add in your business name

To add in your business or company name, create a new layer by clicking on the T icon on the toolbar or press T. Then drag a text box across the screen to create it. Type in your desired text with the type tool.

Choose the font style that suits your logo text the best way possible. To do this, highlight the text in the text box and select from the right menu bar under the Character heading.

Here, you may also select the text size, style, leading, kerning, and tracking parameters. You may also adjust text layers as you wish.

Adjust the position of your text by selecting the Move tool or V and dragging the text to your desired position.

In choosing your typeface, it is essential to remember what would represent your brand. Adobe fonts house various selections which you can choose from – Serif, sans serif, or cursive fonts will definitely make or break your logo design. So feel free to experiment until you find the perfect font for your logo. You can easily resize the image in Photoshop with simple steps.

11. Create adjustments and variations of your logo

Now that you have created the general structure of your own logo, you have all the time to edit and make the necessary adjustments that you need. You may experiment with trying out a different color scheme, adding more shapes, or duplicating some elements that you find useful.

You may also play around with layer styles, background colors, shape outlines, and other details to refine the elements of your logo.

When you finally reach the point of satisfaction with your work, export it in the format that suits your needs.

There you have it! That is how to make a logo in photoshop. Add the fonts in Photoshop and do your designs at great.

Photoshop is a great tool, but it will not work for me

Indeed, Photoshop is a great tool, but the concept of graphic design is not for everybody. For some, despite numerous ‘how to make a logo in photoshop tutorials’, doing your own logos may be quite difficult. And you would want a great logo for your business, right?

True enough, creating your brand’s logo can be a tough chore to do, especially if you do not know how to get started.

If you are someone who still does not seem to make it work after tons of tutorials, then there is another option for you!

All Time Design can help you and your business champion the best logo design that works for your brand ideals. With a great team that is made up of experts in the field, you can have the hassle-free life of having an aesthetic logo that will make a statement in a competitive field. Check out the guidelines for how to flip an image in Photoshop.

Check out All Time Design and start making your ideal logo become a reality.