15 Powerful Custom Logo Design Tips For Beginners

Startups are the backbone of modern innovation. They provide a platform where creative ideas are changed into successful businesses. Many famous internet based companies such as Facebook and Google are the results of successful startups. Having a really good logo is essential for a Startup. Custom Logo Designs are the establishment of a stronger brand identity and separates you from the rest.

Startups are new businesses and hence benefit from having a stronger appeal and a better brand recall and by using a logo that is custom designed, it gives a Startup better branding opportunities.

Designing a logo might seem an easy task, but in order to get a custom logo design for a Startup, one has to keep certain things in mind.

So whether you’re a beginner or starting a new company, follow these powerful custom logo design tips and tricks to help you get really good logos.

Below are the top 15 custom logo design tips to help you design a professional logo for your company:

Ready to get started? Check out our top 15 custom logo design tips and tricks below:

1. Define Your Brand Identity Goals

Before starting with the design, the foremost custom logo design tips is that you must know what your brand identity goals are? Ask yourself, how do I want people to see my brand as? Your brand needs to have an identity before you design something that is related to that identity. You need to imagine a certain image of your Startup and work towards building that image in a logo.

2. Research about Your Competition

Another custom logo design tip is to have a strong idea about the competition before starting a business. It works the same way for designing a custom logo. Your potential clients are mostly buying their products and services from your competition. Their logos have been in the market far longer than yours and your potential clients are used to seeing their logos on a particular brand or product. So you have to make sure that your custom logo is designed in a way that explains your brand better than your competition.

3. Establish your Target Audience

A Startup becomes successful when it knows well about its target audience. After all, only consumers can make or break a business. So before designing a logo, you can start by establishing your target audience for your business. Also, it is one of the most important aspects of establishing a Startup and should be done at the planning stages of your business itself. Put yourself in the shoes of your customer and imagine what kind of person you are. Note down all your likes and dislikes, along with demographic attributes to have a better visualisation of your target audience.

4. Finding Inspiration

One thing about finding inspiration is that it can come from anywhere. The name Apple was coined by Steve Jobs as it was called the fruit of invention. Similarly you can also look for inspiration near you. As long as it can be related to your Startup idea and helps in showcasing the identity of your brand, it is a good inspiration.

Also, you should be noting these inspiration ideas somewhere so that you know what works the best for you. If you are struggling with finding inspiration, you can search on the internet using Pinterest or Behance to see some of the templates and have an idea of what is trending in the design world.

5. Choosing the Right Font

A right font is like putting on your finest suit to an occasion where you will be seen by hundreds of people. Just like it is important to dress for the kind of people you want to impress, it is important to choose a font that looks good and relevant to your brand identity. There are plenty of font options to choose from and each font has a different usage and can be used to showcase a particular trait about the brand.

Fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman depict that your Startup is a trustable name which is more traditional and values tradition more than anything. Similarly, a Comic Sans font is used to showcase the light humor side of a brand and can make the brand seem cool and approachable.

If you are looking for trending logo fonts that goes well with your startup brand identity?

Check Out 50 Free Logo Fonts (FREE DOWNLOAD)

6. Experimenting with different Colours

Colours play a vital role in a custom logo design. Different colours elaborate different feelings. Startups are using relative colours now more than ever to convey an emotion with their brand. For example, brands making grooming products for men may use shades of blue and other dark colours as blue is preferred by most men and convey calmness or serenity. The colour white signifies peace, innocence and empty spaces.

7. Sketching Before Designing

It is a great idea to sketch some of the logo designs before you get on with designing a custom logo. Trying out to see how your ideas look on paper would surely help you save countless hours in terms of chasing for a digital design that may or may not be beneficial for your brand. Also, sketching helps in accessing the more creative side of the brain which can lead to more creative inputs for your brand’s logo.

We’ve got you covered with 7 custom logo design tips, tricks. Before moving further, let’s understand how you can successfully get an awesome logo design for your business.

Watch this video:

8. Using Templates

If you are still unable to find a starting point in terms of design you can also consider using a logo template to get inspiration or to actually design a logo. You can take the help of design and creative platforms such as Pinterest or online logo design platforms that can guide you towards free templates that can be used to design amazing logos.

9. Copyrights and Trademarks

Before publishing your logo, we would also advise you to get your custom logo legally protected. Getting copyrights for your logo prohibits other brands and individuals to use the exact same design for their use. The fight to be a successful Startup is constant and sometimes unfair. So it would be really bad for business to put your time and effort into a logo design only to get it stolen by your competitors.

10. Originality over Anything Else

Authenticity in a logo speaks more than anything about a brand. If you simply copy a logo for your brand, you would be called an imposter or a fake. Your brand recognition goes down the drain and it affects your image very badly. So, choose a logo that is fresh and does not look like a famous brand that you like.

11. Think Long Term

While designing a logo for your Startup, you may also keep your long term goal in mind. You need to know which direction your business is headed and where do you see yourself in 5-10 years from now? If you think your base of operations might increase and you might work across different sectors, you might choose doing that because it would help in saving a ton of money on rebranding. It would also future proof your logo based on your vision.

12. Consider Formatting and Usage

When you are about to save a newly designed custom logo, consider its usage. You have to find out about the kind of files you would require so that you do it once for all. You should also be saving the project file of your logo so that any future changes can be done. Also, consider creating SVG files along with transparent background logos that will help you be future proof in terms of your usage.

13. Get Feedback

Well, having an external perspective about your custom logo design would give you an instant public reaction about the custom logo design. You will get a fair idea if you require any changes or your logo is good to go. You can start small by asking your family and friends. But if you are confident about your logo design you can also ask your Startup employees and your stakeholders for an honest, constructive feedback.

14. Try using Logo Maker Apps Online

If you don’t know how to use any professional software to design a logo, you still have a chance! There are plenty of logo maker apps available on various design websites. They contain thousands of logo templates which can be edited by you to choose your favorite design that works according to you. However, you would have to pay a small fee to download high-res copies of your logo but you can download a low-res version for free!

Once you’re done reading these custom logo design tips, check out our graphic design gallery to get inspiration.

15. Consider Hiring a Professional Designer

If you are spending countless hours on designing a logo and feel that your time is more valuable than a logo design, than you are probably right. While you might not have time, there are professionals who dedicate their lives to designing and know how to deliver a professional logo in no time!

You can hire a professional logo designer near you or you can use creative graphic design services like Designfier to help you launch a custom logo design contest to help you get a lot of creative ideas for your logo! While this may seem an expensive option but always remember that your time is more valuable than money and you can always make more money but your wasted time won’t come back.

The above custom logo design tips will definitely make for your startup a successful brand!

If you have any other custom logo design tips, or just want to share your experience, please let us know!

So what are you waiting for? Get a new logo for your business today