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Logo Design 101 - Part 3 - Finalising your logo

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After having come through the entire logo design progress, the third stage is really a victory lap of sorts. This part of the process deals with the final touches and getting your logo out there. I promise there will be no more long tutorials to sift through and no more steep learning curves to climb. Once you have mastered all the concepts dealt with in the first two parts of this mini-series, this third part will be an absolute walk in the park!

If you are only seeing this series of blog posts on Logo Design 101 for the first time, or you haven't completed everything discussed in the first two posts, please go back and read Logo Design 101 - Part 1 - Brainstorming and Logo Design 101 - Part 2 - Transferring your ideas to the computer.


This third stage of the process, finalising your logo, is generally the act of putting your symbol and name (typography) together - assuming they are not one and the same.
Even though it is an easy step, there are some things you may not have considered, so please read on to make sure you complete all your hard work thus far properly.


Putting the symbol and name together


Now that you have created your own, unique symbol and come up with a font that represents your business/brand, it is time to put those two elements together to form your complete "logo".

When doing this, if your logo comprises the abovementioned two elements (as opposed it just being one element: Think Coca-Cola logo) I would suggest making a version of your logo using two different layouts: Horizontal and Stacked/Vertical. You may find that a specific format is more appopriate for some purposes.

1. Horizontal Layout

This layout is simply your symbol with your business name alongside it. It's probably the most common format and is generally used on business cards, letterheads and websites. It is most advantageous for use on stationery/items with limited vertical space, such as on lanyards.

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2. Stacked/Vertical Layout

This layout is basically your symbol with your business name underneath. This can work well if you have a short business name, or if your symbol and name are of similar sizes. Obviously this layout works best on items with limited horizontal spacing, or if your logo needs to fit into a square block.


Print it out!

It is always a good idea to print your logo out once you have completed the design. Often, the colours or font may look a bit different once printed. If necessary, go back and make a few adjustments to the colouring etc.


Get Feedback

It's always advisable to ask for objective feedback from family or friends. When you're designing a logo your perspective is extremely biased. You need to be able to accept criticism, and encourage the people you ask to provide that criticism, regardless of whether it will bruise your ego or not. If your feedback is mostly positive, then you're all set to finalize the logo!

Keep in mind that to receive decent feedback it would probably be best to ask people who are similar to your ideal customer. Remember we said that you can't design a logo to appeal to everybody, but that it needs to appeal to your target market.

Embrace the feedback that you receive.
Chances are, if you have followed the process accurately and put the required amount of effort into designing your logo, you are going to receive positive feedback. Positive feedback usually means you have a good logo!

If you don't get great feedback, don't be discouraged, you may just need to reassess some aspects of your design and adapt them. A logo isn't the be all and end all of your business, so don't be disheartened if the logo that you have designed yourself (as opposed to getting a professional designer to do it) isn't perfect. As long as you put that logo and your brand in front of your target market enough so that they remember you and you manage to gain a reputation for yourself, it won't really matter whether you have a picture-perfect logo or not!


Save your logo

Once you have decided on your final logo you need to save it in a few different file formats. Different formats are used for different purposes:

  • .PNG file - These files have no background, so they can be used on for just about any purpose, or on any background colour. Save your logo in different sizes (small, medium, large) for different purposes.
  • .EPS file - This format is the vector format, which makes your logo scalable. You would use this format to make any changes to your logo, if you need a different size to what you have saved before.
  • .JPEG file - These are the most common file types for pictures. Jpegs have a solid background, so it's best to make the background white. If you need to use the logo on a coloured background, you should use the .PNG format. Jpegs are smaller (file size) than .PNG files.



Apply your logo!

This is it, the final stage! In fact, it's in here just for completeness and to give you that sense of achievement.

Apply your logo to your all your corporate branding efforts and stationery. Have your business cards, letterheads etc all reprinted with your new logo.

And AT LAST, the final act - Sit back and savour the great feeling of satisfaction and achievement. You have just done something that really isn't easy to do, and the best thing about it? You probably haven't spent a single cent! If you have gotten to this stage, congratulations!


If any of you decide to follow, or have followed, my Logo Design 101 course and complete your very own logos, I would love to take a look at your creations. Please don't hesitate to email me, PM me or simply comment below if you need any advice or have any questions. I promise to give you objective feedback and constructive criticism on your efforts.


Have any of you attempted creating your own logos? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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Comments

  1. apprepcen's Avatar
    Privet Mark, this is very interesting. Would you like to design a logo for my company? You will have some interesting stuff to play with, I promise. :D
  2. Mark Atkinson's Avatar
    Thanks!

    We would love to design a logo for your company. Drop me a PM or email and we can discuss further.
  3. Sparks's Avatar
    Thank you for the great blog. It certainly was informative. Very well laid out with all that was required but nothing unnecessary. It was also an easy read due to the lack of jargon. Thank you very much. Writing tutorials is not a joke but I believe you have mastered it.
  4. Mark Atkinson's Avatar
    So glad you found it useful, Sparks. Thanks for reading.