How To Draw Your Own Logo

How to draw a logo: a step-by-step guide I Logaster

Updated September 11, 2022

Contents:

1. Exploring the personality of a brand
ii. Making sketches
3. Digitizing sketches
four. Vectorizing a logo in Adobe Illustrator
5. Smoothing curves in CorelDraw
6. Creating a color palette
seven. Calculation a logo on a photo

As you all know, a logo is the eye and soul of a make. It'south responsible for establishing a communication with your audience and visualizing your company's values in an understandable way.

When it comes to drawing a logo, you're the boss. You can choose from a large variety of techniques for designing a corporate emblem. While each method has its peculiarities, all of them involve working with colors, fonts, geometry, and patterns. If combined in a smart way, these elements can outcome in a beautiful, constructive logo that will become the backbone of your business.

In this article, nosotros'll talk about drawing a lettering logos. An emblem created by using the lettering techniques is a truthful design masterpiece that will never remain unnoticed.

Lettering (written logo) is the art of inscribing with letters. It's a great way to make your logo dynamic and "breathing."

It'southward non surprising that lettering is an extremely pop graphic design technique. It'southward safe to say, lettering is at its summit nowadays. Small shops, boutiques, bakeries, family unit cafés, and art studios are choosing lettering to make memorable and unique logos. For small businesses, lettering is a truly versatile solution that can assist craft a 1-of-a-kind make identity and create a welcoming atmosphere. Lettering is used in menus, on chalk boards, and, of grade, in logo design. Accept we managed to stir up your involvement? Take a expect at the astonishing lettering designs we've establish on the web.

Obviously speaking, a lettering logo is a manually created emblem. It'southward a graphical composition that includes hand-written messages, symbols, signs, and other decorative elements. Lettering holds a special identify in logo pattern. It has the power to breathe life into whatsoever logo and marketing collaterals. What's more, lettering is a very flexible technique that tin can be applied to both individual letters and whole sentences. Also, lettering pairs well with other pattern methods. You can put your inscription inside a circle, square, or other geometric shape. Plus, you tin piece of work other symbols and signs into your lettering logo, making it look even more impressive. If you like experimentation, lettering is the all-time blueprint technique to use your creative powers! Nosotros won't be exaggerating by proverb that lettering logos stand up out from other designs. Lovingly written with manus, each line has its ain character and looks "alive." Equally a result, you get a one-of-a-kind emblem. Just imagine: there is no other logo like yours in the whole wide world! That's what every business wants, doesn't it?

Here are a few more lettering logos made by talented designers:

We bet y'all can't await to create a lettering logo of your ain! In this article, we'll show you how to describe a custom lettering logo. Feeling challenged? The job of creating a logo with your own hands shouldn't scary you. We'll be there every step of the way!

In this lesson, I'll be cartoon a logo for Jeans Chaplet, a jeans accessories brand.

While this is one of the advanced-level tutorials, in that location is aught to worry almost. Nosotros've made our best to provide every pace with detailed and like shooting fish in a barrel explanations. The only matter you'll need is the bones knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Corel Draw.

In this lesson, we'll cover the following issues:

Exploring the personality of a brand.
Making sketches.
Digitizing sketches.
Vectorizing a logo in Adobe Illustrator.
Smoothing curves in CorelDraw.
Creating a color palette.
Adding a logo on a photograph.

Permit's get started!

STEP 1. Exploring the personality of a make.

Psychology of fonts. When information technology comes to creating a lettering logo, typography is the well-nigh powerful solution in the toolbox of a professional designer. The font you choose for your emblem tin can have a major touch on how your brand is perceived by the public. With that said, you need to have a skilful understanding of different fonts and their graphic possibilities. While a lettering emblem incorporates a lot of creative freedom, in that location are a few gilt rules that ensure a smart issue:

You must know the psychological connotations behind different fonts and how they affect the audition.
You lot must know the major font families.
You shouldn't utilize more than than 3 fonts in your logo.
You lot should avoid inappropriate fonts (e.g., Papyrus, Viner, etc.) that have a tendency to evoke negative emotions.
Yous must know how to combine contrasting fonts.

These are just some of the many rules every designer must follow religiously. Typography is a multi-layered and complicated discipline that features lots of psychological tricks. If yous desire to know more about fonts and their secrets, nosotros recommend that you explore this topic farther by reading the books by Y. Gordon, R. Brinhurst, D. Felici, and E. Spiekermann.

Meaning backside a make. Inspiration and visual journey. Forth with having a beautiful, easy-to-perceive image, a logo must behave a meaning, both directly and hidden. The secret to creating an up-to-the-indicate emblem is to look into the personality of a company or individual the emblem is meant for. If you're a designer, be sure to come across with your customer and ask them most them and their business. Plus, yous need to make sure you sympathise what kind of a logo your customer wants. Does the customer accept a clear idea of their future logo? Or practice they rely on your creative powers? Discuss every detail, from colors to geometry to patterns. After all, asking questions is a part of your job.

After obtaining the necessary information, you need to clarify and construction it. Write down a few keywords that narrate the visitor and its possessor. You tin apply nouns, adjectives, verbs, and whatever words that assist you get a improve understanding of the brand personality.

Making a listing of keywords for Jeans Beads was an enjoyable feel. I drew inspiration from the brand's beautiful accessories and decorations. This is what I came upward with: artistic, unique, jeans, nature, warm, classical, simple, blithesome, hand-made, welcoming.

Of form, there are no two dissimilar lists of keywords, and yours can be completely different from mine.
Here is a useful exercise for yous. Take a close look at the keywords higher up and come up up with a few associations. What things come up to your listen when you lot hear the word "warm"? Or "nature"? The ability to visualize your feelings and emotions is a major skill that can be of great help to an aspiring designer. When working on a list of keywords, I look at the company'south products or remember about its services and doodle everything that comes to my head. It's a dandy way to stir up your creative energy. Plus, this will warm you lot up before getting down to the main phase of work, which is drawing a logo.

I'd like to share a pocket-size trick with you. To capture the visual fashion of the hereafter logo, I create a so-chosen "mood board." When creating a mood board for the Jeans Beads make, I was using the vintage font Script as an inspiration. Its characteristics will guide me in drawing the logo. Script is a frail, calligraphic font. It features polish line fabricated with a castor or plumage. I'd draw it every bit traditional, romantic, subtle, and soft. It'due south a perfect match for my futurity pattern.

At present to the mood board. I've picked the all-time lettering logos belonging to other companies. I recommend placing at to the lowest degree xv emblems on your mood board. You tin can print out your collection or store it on your computer. With a good mood board, you'll be able to track the latest logo design trends in terms of colors, geometric forms, etc. Hither are the artworks that caught my center:

What practice you think nearly the thought with a mood board? What inspiration methods are your favorite? Be sure to share your time-tested tricks in the comments!

Be careful with popular trends. It's a slippery ground. Such trends tend to pass away very fast, depreciating your logo overnight. Instead of trying to exist trendy, it'due south safer to choose blueprint techniques based on your brand'due south personality. Your uniqueness is something that will never go out of fashion.

Now it's fourth dimension for a well-deserved break. Give yourself 1 day to process and filter the information you've gathered. Your brain will use this time to come upwardly with fresh ideas. If you demand a petty more time, it'southward admittedly OK. Simply don't linger also long unless you want to lose touch with your artistic cocky.

Pace 2. Making sketches.

Later on a break, information technology's time to make the first sketches of your future logo. Aslope with a few sheets of newspaper, you'll need pencils, castor pens, feather pens with different tips, markers, crayons, and any graphic tools you lot prefer to depict with. The chief matter is that you feel comfortable and confident as an creative person. When it comes to sketching, experimenting is key. It's not uncommon that a drawing looks tedious in pencil but starts to shine when drawn with a feather pen. As for me, I was making my sketches with a circular brush and h2o colors. Oh the sheets of paper I've spoilt! Here are the resulting sketches:

My tip is to start drawing the keywords associated with the brand. Information technology'll help you lot make it the groove. Once yous experience your fashion, beginning adding new details, remove excessive elements, play around with the thickness of lines, combine lowercase and uppercase messages, and so on. I bet you'll have lots of fun!

At present it's time for another interruption. For a creative person, it's important not to overstrain yourself. Otherwise, you risk losing interest in your artwork. Have a good night'south slumber and resume working on your sketches the post-obit 24-hour interval.

When yous feel like you're out of ideas, browse through your sketches and pick the best samples.
As you lot can see, I've sketched split up words, letters, and even lines. What I hateful to say is that y'all don't demand to draw an entire logo at once. You tin can first with minor parts and gradually piece of work your manner to a fully-fledged drawing.

Ready that you'll have to redraw your sketches over and over again. Even the all-time designers can't become it correct the showtime fourth dimension. Information technology'south of import to remember that art is a continuous search. Moreover, it'southward the searching that makes logo design so highly-seasoned and inspiring.

Have a critical look at your selected artworks. Are you lot fully satisfied with them? Practice they need a few more than finishing touches? Don't exist impatient to proceed to the next footstep. The ameliorate your sketches, the easier it will be to digitize your drawing. Here are the lines, letters, and words I'll be converting into digital images:

STEP iii. Digitizing sketches.

Now I demand to catechumen my sketches to digital images. I'll be using Photoshop, Illustrator, and Corel Draw.
Erasing unnecessary elements in Photoshop.

one. I browse my sketches at 600 dpi.
two. I open the scanned image in Photoshop.
3. I need to erase all the unnecessary letters and words. (If you don't have such, get straight to Step 9.) I use the Lasso tool to select the elements I don't need.

4. In the upper carte, I get to Sеlect — Changed and so click Delete.

5. The unnecessary elements have been erased.

6. Now I need to add a new white layer. Why white? Because it makes ragged edges and other deficiencies stand up out. In the upper carte, I select Layer — New layer.

7. I want to fill up the new layer with white colour. I select white in the color scheme.

In the side panel, I select the Bucket icon and then click on the new layer. Now I have a new white layer.

viii. To put the messages on a white background, I but shift the new layer nether the messages.

nine. I select the layer with the letters. I go to Image — Adjustments — Levels and adjust the levels of black and white until the inscription is seen clearly.

10. I zoom in the inscription and run across jagged edges.

eleven. Now I demand to smooth the jagged edges to brand them wait abrupt and clear. I'm using a black round Brush to depict the missing elements and edges, the Eraser tool to remove the excessive parts, and the Selection tool to copy elements from one letter and add them to another i. You'll easily observe these tools in the tools panel.

12. I arrange the letters into ane word.

thirteen. I rotate the messages, add new lines, and smooth the edges to create a clean composition. Since I'm copying and adding new elements, the number of layers is growing.

14. If you take new layers added to your canvas, yous need to merge them into one layer. I select all the layers (except for the white ane) and click on Layer — Merge Layers in the upper menu.

15. Once I'k happy with the upshot, I use a small play tricks. I overlay black color on my letters and decorative elements. To exercise that, I make a double click on the layer in the side panel (run into the red dot in the image below).

16. The Layer Style window appears. In the Color Overlay tab, I choose black color and gear up opacity at 100%. I click ОК.

17. At present that the inscription is overlaid with black color, I tin encounter all the dots and other flaws that I didn't notice before.

18. I remove the dots and smoothen the edges.

19. At present I turn the logo upside down. This fashion, I tin can instantly see asymmetry and uneven letter spacing. I proceed with correcting the image.

20. I turn the logo in its initial position and click Save. Now we're all set for converting our image to vector in Adobe Illustrator!

Footstep 4. Vectorizing a logo in Adobe Illustrator.

Tracing.

To make the logo look more than realistic, I'1000 using the Live Trace tool.

one. I open the PSD logo file in Adobe Illustrator.

2. I select the logo and become to: Object — Image Trace — Make.

Doing this, I convert my logo from raster to vector. The reason why I need my logo in vector is that I tin can scale it without loss of quality.

3. Now I'd similar to play around with settings. In the upper panel, I click the Trace Panel icon and customize the settings.

4. Now I go to Object — Aggrandize. In a new window, I check the Object option and click OK.

Here is what my logo looks similar at present.

5. I salvage the logo in the EPS format to go along editing it in CorelDraw.

Theoretically, I could retouch the curves in Adobe Illustrator. My problem with Adobe Illustrator is that I notice its big pick of tools a little confusing. For me, it's easier to use the Bezier tool in CorelDraw.

STEP 5. Smoothing curves in CorelDraw.

1. I go to File — Import to import my EPS file to CorelDraw.

Working with guides and curves requires some practice. However, the Bezier tool in CorelDraw allows to use fewer points. Equally a result, yous get a make clean and cute emblem with less effort.

2. I'll be using the post-obit tools:
1. Bezier tool.
2. Shape tool (F10).
3. Pen Tool (P).
I'll be using the Bezier and Pen tools to adjust and smooth the curves of my logo.

3. I'll be using guides to conform the height of the letters and other elements. To add together the guides, I simply depict them from the ruler above. You lot can move and rotate your guides as you like. When moving the guide, call back to keep the Shift push pressed.

iv. I continue adding the final touches to the logo. I erase excessive lines and draw new scrolls to bring the letters to perfection.

5. I add the words "Джинсовая бижутерия" (Jeans Accessories) forth the logo edge. First I draw a one-half-circle and and then tie the inscription to information technology.

six. At beginning, I added a bluish heart just and so I changed my mind and removed information technology.
This is what I got. To convert the logo file in the PSD format, I get to File — Export. The Consign dialog box opens. I select the PSD file type from the drop-downwards box. I as well check the Transparent groundwork box. Then I click OK to salvage the changes.

STEP 6. Creating a colour palette.

While I think about the color palette for my logo equally early every bit at the sketching stage, I ever leave coloring for dessert.

When choosing colors for a logo, I normally go through the keywords I've come up up with at the kickoff. The ones that caught my heart were "jeans" and "hand-fabricated." Based on these associations, I chose black, white and blueish equally my chief colors. Plus, I selected a few complementary hues.

Step seven. Calculation a logo on a photo.

To add the logo on a photo, I import the PSD file in Photoshop and just drag it to the photo.

At this phase, you can play around with transparency and layer overlay modes.

This is what the concluding logo for JeansBeads looks similar.

Of course, in that location are plenty of means to create a lettering logo. While each designer has their own methods and tricks, the major steps are more or less the aforementioned.

In this tutorial, I shared my secrets to making a cute lettering emblem.
Designing the logo took me well-nigh a week:

gathering data – 2 days;
drawing sketches – 2 days (and a pack of paper);
taking a break and processing ideas – 1 day;
selecting the all-time sketches – 1 day;
editing the logo in graphic pattern programs – 1 solar day.

I recorded the terminal step and so sped up a 9-hour prune to a 10-infinitesimal video. In it, you can run into how I'm fitting together divide sketches into a lettering logo. Enjoy watching!

My tip to all amateur designers is non to be afraid to brand the start step. Take brushes, pencils, and paper, and off you lot get! Experience comes with exercise.

Can't effigy out how to describe a logo? Permit Logaster handle the design procedure for you! Our logo maker can create an middle-grabbing written logo logo in a few clicks, and you can download it for free!
Source: Logotype. Lettering. Ideas and realization.

Head of Marketing and mastermind at Logaster. Authored the book «How to Create a Make Identity Without Going Broke». Values the professional person arroyo while being able to explicate circuitous ideas in a simple mode.