How To Make a Logo? [4 Best Courses and 4 Best Tools for Logo Design]

A logo represents the visual mark for a business but, it’s much more than a symbol of identification. If designed right, a good logo tells the story of a brand. 

But, what does it take to create the perfect symbol? 

If you want to learn how to make a logo and what tools you can use to do it, read on.

How to Make a Logo?

Creating a logo is not as simple as it sounds. It takes a lot of brainstorming, reflecting, discussing, and fine-tuning. To help you avoid as many mistakes as possible, here’s a step-by-step guide on what you need to do to make a logo.

Defining brand identity

Your logo should reflect the individuality of your business. That’s why it’s important to capture the very essence of your company when designing a business logo. It will be a lot easier to make design decisions if you have a clear picture of what makes you unique as a brand.

Brainstorming words that describe the brand

A good brainstorming session may be exactly what you need to nail down the nitty-gritty of the design. The goal of brainstorming is to get all of your ideas out so you can later analyze and determine what best fits the brand personality. For example, you can write a list of terms that describe your company and the image you wish to promote. Don’t forget to think from a customer perspective.

Finding inspiration and checking the competition

Many successful business owners say that the best place to test the waters is to check your competition. Examine what’s presently available, what’s popular in your target demographic, and what you need to avoid. Then, consider how you can capitalize on the difference between your company and the competition for a good logo design.

Sketching your design

The next step when designing a logo is sketching. Start out by outlining some preliminary thoughts and basic drawings of the concepts you’d want to see in the logo, even if you don’t think you can sketch. Your brain will be compelled to think creatively, which is precisely what you need. This can work either on a piece of paper or a digital version on a tablet.

Selecting the right design style and logotype

When it comes to designing a logo, the first step is to choose the proper design style for your company. There is no one-size-fits-all style. Consider what kind of industry you’re in and what type of products/services you’d like to sell.

Colour options

Colours can represent different meanings and emotions. This doesn’t mean you have to hold onto a single-colour monochromatic logo, but it’s important to make sure you consider the kind of message your logo will send and how it will fit into your brand story.

Font options (typography)

Typographic logos are often misunderstood. Creating a logo with a good typographic requires choosing the right typeface, modifying the spacing, kerning, and going through plenty of individual letterforms.

Refining the result

Before making a final decision, look at every detail of your logo, regardless of how unimportant it may seem, and change anything that doesn’t quite sit right with you.

Making a final decision

At this stage in the process, you probably have more than two or three design logo ideas to choose from. It can be challenging to look at your logos objectively, so it’s best to ask for thoughts from friends, coworkers, and if possible, potential or existing customers.

How to Make a Logo in Photoshop?

It’s always ideal to keep things simple when inventing anything on your own. Fortunately, when designing a logo, less is always more. The following are the 5 simple steps when designing a logo in Photoshop.

• Instance A Background Layer

• Add Logo Shape

• Add Logo Text

• Reorganise Logo Text and Logo Shape

• Output Your Logo

Best Courses for Logo Design

Logo Design: From Concept to Presentation

Domestika has one of the best programs for logo design. The “Logo Design: From Concept to Presentation” class, presented by Sagi Haviv, focuses on how to steer clear from design clichés and what to look for when designing a logo.

The course lasts for 2.5 hours and will help you obtain the necessary skills you need to create a unique logo. You can even take the class on your mobile through their app.

Logo Design with Draplin: Secrets of Shape, Type and Color

This logo designing course by SkillShare takes you step-by-step through Arron Draplin’s (a popular graphic designer and entrepreneur) personal project: designing the family emblem. 

Draplin shares helpful ideas and tricks in Adobe Illustrator and explains the value and strategies of refining designs to produce captivating logos. It’s an ideal lesson for designers, artists, and anybody looking to learn from one of the best professionals in the field.

Logo Design Master Class: Learn Logo Design + Illustrator

This program by Udemy is meant for students who want to pursue a career as professional logo designers. 

During these logo design lessons, you’ll learn how to use Adobe Illustrator like an expert and how to make the software work best for you. Chad Neuman, the instructor, teaches logo design fundamentals using well-known, corporate logos.

The course also touches on research and negotiating skills and prepares students for contracting a logo with a customer. The remaining part of the class covers Adobe Illustrator skills.

Logo Design: Techniques

The best thing about this tutorial is that you can take it as a free logo design course since LinkedIn offers a one-month free trial membership. 

The instructor, visual artist Nigel French, goes into detail about the successful design stories of logos, such as Nike’s swoosh and Coca-Cola’s ribbon, making this one of the top online logo design programs.

You’ll also study complex logo design methods, such as how to make a multi-line art brush, how to make a modular logo from simple forms, how to make a halftone dot solution, how to use gradient effects, how to make a gloss, and how to work with opacity, among other things.

Best Tools for Logo Design

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is one of the most popular programs in the Adobe Creative Suite. This vector design software has all the tools that you need to create logos, draw sketches, and make icons from scratch. With the help of every advanced feature imaginable, you can do anything from outlining and playing with colors and shape, to scaling.  

Adobe Illustrator is available for both Mac and Windows users. A monthly subscription costs $20.99 monthly, but you can also get a 30-day free trial with 100GB of cloud storage and access to Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and Adobe Spark.

Canva

Canva is one of the simplest design tool that was launched in 2013 to help anyone that lacks Photoshop skills to create their own graphics, slideshows, posters, and logos.

Why is Canva one of the best logo maker software? 

The free logo maker from Canva has a user-friendly layout, thousands of templates, and plenty of customisation options for colours, shapes, and symbols. Users can also reorganise elements such as text, icons, and import images with a simple drag-and-drop tool. 

Most of the tools in Canva’s logo builder are free, but you’ll have to pay for graphic elements, each of which costs $1.  

Photoshop

When it comes to designing logos, Adobe Photoshop is the software to beat. It’s the go-to program for professional designers for producing stunning graphics, 3D paintings, icons, and logos. 

Why is it so popular? Because its features are unmatched. Adobe Photoshop boasts over two dozen colour palettes tools, artistic effects, textures, and you can use it for anything design-related.

Adobe Photoshop does have user-friendly tools, but it’s not for beginners. There are a lot of photoshop courses available if you’re keen on learning how to use this tool. It is available for $20.99 per month and offers a 7-day free trial. 

CorelDraw

CorelDraw is among the best software for logo design both for professional graphic designers and novices. 

What sets it apart from the other design tools on the market? CorelDRAW excels at remaining user-friendly while simultaneously providing a plethora of tools for creating logos (and other design-related work).

Another advantage is that the program is flexible and allows users to make tweaks on whatever they’re working on to meet design specifications. 

CorelDRAW has a 15-day free trial. You can then opt for a  one-time purchase for €719 or purchase an annual subscription for €29.08 per month.

Final Words

Logos are the face of any brand. If you need a logo for your business or simply want to learn how to make a logo don’t fret. You don’t need any advanced editing skills. There are plenty of tools, both free and paid, (like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, as well as Canva), at your disposal to learn, practice, and create as many logos as you need.