Let us discuss six distinctive types of custom logo design that may suit unique requirements of various projects.

Type-based Logos:

Most commonly used logos are text-oriented and highlight company name using a simple or stylized typeface. FedEX and IBM have resorted to this style for brand identity development.

Symbol-based Logos:

Sometimes, a company name is not enough to create an impact.So appropriate symbols are used in the form of a mark, a figure or a pictogram that may demonstrate perfectly what the company is all about or depict perfectly the literal meaning of the organization. Shell, Jaguar and  Puma have adopted this style to create a corporate identity.

Abstract-Logos:                                                                                                                                                        In some cases, an abstract connotation is implemented to convey a specific message or idea to the potential customers. Nike and Starbucks have adopted this style and have been successful in creating solid allusions and strong analogies for their respective  brands.

Initials-based Logos:
                                                                                                                                                          Sometimes, companies prefer to incorporate initials instead of the full company name in the design. The intention is to attribute a specific acronym to an individual brand. You may opt for a single letter like McDonald’s and Honda or you may use a combination of letters like DKNY and FCUK.

Badge-style Logos:

Popularly used for sports or automobiles, these include a design resembling a badge or an emblem. These have been successfully employed by renowned car companies like Mercedes and BMW.

Mascot Logos:

In case a company is aspiring to develop its own cartoon characters or mascots, it can  include a mascot in its design. These mascots may be animals or human figures as well. A famous instance is the black and white panda that was used successfully by WWF.

In conclusion, you must wisely consider your company’s specific and unique requirements before deciding on the type of logo. A well-chosen and deliberated graphic goes a long way in the development and retention of company identity.

Take a look at the different brand logos and you will realize that same symbols have been used in various companies’ logos. Here is a list of most commonly used symbols in logo design.

1. Shields and Crests- Mostly sports teams use these symbols in their logo. Shield and crests are associated with tradition and aristocracy.

2. Animals- Designers use almost every animal to relay a brand message to the audience. Meaning of the logo depends on the animal used in it. For instance, if you see a horse, then it stands for progress and indomitable spirit. On the other hand, a lion stands for courage and royalty.

3. Simple Geometric Shapes- Some of the simple geometric shapes that you can see are squares, rectangles, circles, triangles and polygons. Each shape conveys a different meaning to the viewers.

4. Arrow- Arrow stands for forward movement. Generally, arrow is placed either horizontally or vertically in a logo and it can point both upwards and downwards.

5. Globe- AT&T uses a globe symbol in their logo. It shows that the company serves consumers all over the world.

6. Heart- Companies related to medical industry use heart shape in their corporate logo. It conveys a sense of caring.

7. Tree- Environment related businesses use tress in logo design. Tree stands for strength and longevity and it also gives the company a “nature friendly” brand identity.

Benefit of Using Common Symbols- When viewers see certain symbols, they associate it with certain objects and feelings. A symbol based logo helps you establish your brand value quicker and communicates with people all over the world. Even if you don’t tell people what services you offer, they can understand your business seeing your logo. For instance, using a coffee mug in your logo, you can immediately inform people that you have a café.

Disadvantage of Common Symbols- A brand logo should be unique, but common symbols are used in several companies’ logos. Therefore, if you design a common symbol based logo, your company may lose the brand USP. For instance, both Pan Am and AT&T use a globe symbol in their logo.

However, that does not mean you should avoid symbols altogether. Use relevant symbols in your corporate logo, but set it apart from other companies in your niche. If your company doesn’t have a logo yet, hire a company for affordable logo design services.
 

1. List in Yellow Pages- Contact a yellow page publisher and enlist your name in a reputed yellow page. Local clients check yellow pages to find logo designers and some of them may notice your name.
    
2. Take Part in Logo Designing Contest- Some people may disagree with my suggestion, but when you participate in business logo design contests, it gives you an opportunity to present your skills in front of a global audience. Even if you don’t win an award, you can easily grab potential clients’ attention by participating in these contests.
    
3. Give Your Business Card- Whenever you go for a business meeting or visit a seminar, give your business card to the people you meet there. They may not need your services right now, but when they will look for a logo designer, the card will help them contact you immediately. You can also give the business card to your present clients and request them to refer you to the people they know.
    
4. Start a Blog- Clients always look for a knowledgeable designer. Therefore, you should create a blog and start posting interesting logo designing articles to prove your expertise. When your clients will read those articles, they will appreciate your designing knowledge and contact you for their projects.
    
5. Join Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn- Social media sites are a great platform for marketing and self promotion. Every day people look for professional designers and programmers in Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Therefore, you should join these social media sites and start promoting your services. You can design a custom Facebook fan page and start sharing sample logo designs with your fans to earn popularity social media networks.
    
6. Consider Giveaways and Promos- Start giving some services for free to catch your potential customer’s attention. For instance, you can offer free brochure design services for every logo design project.

You can also share a promo code in web and give flat 10% discount for logo designing services. This marketing technique will encourage new clients to try your logo design solutions and if your designing skills impress them, they will offer you regular projects.

At the early stage of your career, self promotion is very important. However, when you prove your designing expertise and establish a loyal client base, new clients will start chasing you.

• Creating them is easy: The most interesting thing about vector graphics is that they are easy to create but they provide a look that is similar to complex designs. Use Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand. Unleash your creativity and provide your clients with a design like never before.
• Small files: Vector image files are small in size. They are not dependent on color depth and due to their small size, they can be shared and viewed easily. This is one of the reasons why, vector graphics are a good choice for your logo design.
• Re-editing is easy: There's no telling that the design you create will be perfect in the first try. You may need to re-edit it to fit the needs of your client. The components are so flexible that when you edit, there's no need to re-do the whole design. You can edit the areas which needed to be edited.
• Scalable drawing: You can scale vector graphics to whatever size you feel fit, without compromising with the quality. This is a real flexible aspect which makes it a great choice for company brand logo design.
• Look attractive in print and are more aesthetically appealing: Vector graphics look gorgeous in print and because of their clarity and precision, they provide an aesthetically pleasant appearance to the logo you are creating. This is why, when you print them, vector logos look good, irrespective of the size.
• Zero image distortion: You can forget about distorting images when you work with vector graphics. It lets you enlarge images the way you want to and use them in different sizes. There is no pixelation or blur when you enlarge them.
• Suits detailed illustrations, animation and presentations perfectly: Vector graphics use lines and they provide a clarity of look. If you want to create detailed illustrations, presentations or animations, they are a good choice because they allow you to easily convey what you want to convey. In short, they make things more understandable to the audience.
   

Conclusion

Vector graphics can be saved in various formats other than the default EPS such as PDF, AI and PSD. As you've just found out, they are great for using in corporate identity design. However, if you are creating font based logo design, you can get something creative from the web to juice it up.
 

For instance, you can use green in a logo to show “growth”, but viewers may mistake the company/product for being eco-friendly. Green means both growth and nature and thus, creates confusion. Every color has multiple meanings and so, too much emphasis on color can result in target consumers never understanding the real brand message.

As a graphic designer, you should focus on designing a logo that has the potential to build a distinctive image. Of course, these must associate with a company's products/services and be meaningful, but this is not always the sole ruling factor behind designing. For instance, can you describe the meaning of a half-eaten apple and its relation to hi-tech services? Does Apple's logo associate with its products?

No.

In fact, it’s impossible to guess Apple’s products/services from their logo's design, and yet, it is one of the most widely recognized logos in the world.

Point is, sometimes, a meaningless logo can make a brand successful. A logo does not always have to showcase brand history or products of a company. If it adds value and makes a company easily recognizable, it has served its purpose. Take for instance KFC – Kentucky Fried Chicken...where's the chicken in the logo? Ideally, you'd expect a chicken instead of Col. Sanders' smiling face, wouldn't you? The fact that you, or anyone else, don't see a chicken...has it diminished brand value in any way?

Which brings us to the point...do consumers care?

May be not. Here's why....consumers don’t really care what message or meaning logo designers are expressing through a logo. They will aim at developing meaningful logos, but if consumers don’t get it, they don't get! Period. People use logos to identify brands. They don’t have the time or patience to decode your “meaningful” logo.

So, instead of designing a meaningful logo, try to design something that has a look that fits perfectly with your client’s brand image. If there is no branding strategy behind your design, even a flawless design will fail to appeal its audience. It’s the uniqueness of the logo that makes a brand popular, not the message behind it.

If you have started a company and want to create your brand logo, hire a company for affordable logo design services, but make sure you mention your aim – meaningfulness that one may or may not understand OR something catchy that will appeal to the multitude.

All the best!
 

1. Wal-Mart- Wal-Mart is world’s largest retailer and they have changed their logo design quite some time in the past 50 years. Their first logo had a wild west look and later they started using sans serif font in the logo to give it a corporate look.

However, at the end of last decade, they changed their logo once again. The current design shows the word “Wal-Mart” in a bright blue color and uses a sun icon. This new logo gave Wal-Mart a more approachable corporate identity and helped them connect with all parts of society. However, some people think the sun icon does not suit with their brand image. Wal-Mart is a retailer and a sun icon goes well with technology oriented companies.

2. General Electric- GE logo is one of the most stylish logo ever. The hand drawn letters are simply gorgeous and they lead your eyes to the famous byline “imagination at work.” This timeless logo was created in 1892 and in the past 120 years, it saw only some minor changes. Its timeless aesthetic beauty is a testament of GE’s brand value. If you want to give your client an immortal brand identity, then GE logo should be your inspiration.

3. General Motors- GM’s logo has nothing fancy in it. Their company brand logo has just has two letters “G” and “M” and the letters are sitting above a line. The large letters and deep blue color assures their target customers that they are here to stay.

General Motors is such a big corporation that most people don’t know how many brands they own. For instance, world famous car brands such as, Chevrolet, Opel, Buick, Cadillac are all created by GM. Can GM logo be your inspiration? It can, if your client has such a massive market presence.

4. Bank of America- Bank of America loves their country. At least, their logo tries to display their patriotism. It looks like the flag of USA and it’s shaped like a football field. The logo symbolizes honesty and hard work. Does your client love his country? Show him the BOA logo and take his opinion.

5. Ford- The famous blue color oval shape logo of Ford did not change since 2003. They don’t use any icon in their logo like other famous car brands. The stylish fonts proudly reflect their brand heritage and invoke a sense of trust in customers’ mind.

6. Hewlett-Packard- Whether you are a computer enthusiast or not, you must have heard about HP. Their logo is recognizable, simple and effective. HP logo flaunts a square outer structure with a circle inside and the letters “hp” is placed inside the circle. As soon as you see the logo, it creates a sense of security in your mind.

7. AT&T- AT&T logo proves that a large corporation can have a “cool” image. Their globe shaped logo is bright, original and bold. In the crowded market of telecom operators, the logo enhances AT&T’s brand value and helps them stand out from the competition.

8. Citigroup- Citigroup has a history of 200 years and they are one of the largest companies in USA. They redesigned their brand logo quite some time in past 200 years. However, the new logo looks very cute and friendly. The red arch over “iti” part of Citi logo symbolizes their all encompassing services.

Logo is the face of a company and you should design it carefully. Take inspiration from the aforementioned logo designs, but don’t just replicate them. Talk with your client; know the history of his business and try to come up with a design that will establish his corporate identity. Offer custom logo services to your clients and help him capture target audience’s attention.

Crowdsourcing has its negative aspects as well. In fact, crowdsourcing and logo designing contests are creating ethical controversy among logo designers.

What Is the Fuss About Logo Design Trends? - A good logo should be distinctive, meaningful and usable. If your logo has all these qualities, then don’t worry about trends. In fact, “trendy logo” is an oxymoron. Every designer says he wants to design a timeless logo, but trends are temporary. So, how can you design a timeless, yet trendy logo?

If you design a trendy logo, then after a few years it will go out of fashion and you have to redesign it. Trends are not bad, but you should study them for inspiration, not for replication.

When you design a logo, think about the client and try to fulfill his expectations. Generally, every client gives a design brief and you should follow his guidelines.

However, some clients may say you that he needs an “eco-friendly” logo for his business. In that case, you should take a look at the “eco-friendly” trend and sort out the elements that you can use in his business logo design.

Following a trend can be harmful for your client’s corporate identity as well. Trends are generally popularized by famous brands such as Nike (Swoosh), Audi (Olympic circles) etc. Therefore, when you use those elements in your client’s logo, viewers think that your client is following Nike or Audi. Those companies can also file a copyright infringement complaint against you.

Crowdsourcing, Contests and Marketplaces- Crowdsourcing may seem relevantly cheap, but in reality you get what you paid for. Still, crowdsoucing is a good option for those companies who have budget limitations.

Design contest is probably the worst option for a brand logo design. Normally, novice designers take part in logo design contest and they don’t maintain quality in their designs. Some designers submit the same design in multiple contests and therefore, the chances of plagiarism are extremely high.

Marketplace type sites are however not that bad. They offer all in one branding packages at an affordable rate. Small companies can buy those packages and establish their brand identity without burning a hole in their pocket.

A custom logo design can only be successful if the designer has an original idea and uses his skills to shape that idea into a recognizable graphical symbol. Trends may help you in the process of designing, but finally, you have to apply your own concept.

Experiment with Alphabets of the Company Name

An interesting strategy is to experiment with different alphabets of the company name. Alternatively, you can tweak fonts of the company name to come up with affordable logo design ideas.

Study Designs of Your Competitors

If you are suffering from creative block, consider studying designs of your competitors. This will provide you with an idea about the current trends and help you to understand what you should not design (because your competitors have already implemented these ideas).

However, irrespective of anything that you do, do not solely use designs created by your competitors as your sources of inspiration. Otherwise, your designs will be similar to that of your competitors.

Research About the Target Audience

Gathering information about the target audience can refresh your mind and help you to come up with innovative ideas. Ideally, you should research about educational qualification, income level, and gender of your target audience. This will allow you to utilize the time productively and acquire relevant information. All these in turn, will help you, while actually creating the design.

Study Interesting Designs

Famous designs can serve as good sources of inspiration. However, as stated earlier, avoid copying these designs. Otherwise, the concerned company can sue you on charges of plagiarism.

Pay Attention to the Tag Line

If you cannot think about any design currently, leave it. Rather, pay attention to the tag line. Remember that tag line also plays a critical role in creating awareness about a company and enhancing popularity of the design. Therefore, concentrate on developing the tag line and you may soon get rid of the creative block.

Write Down Your Thoughts

Sometimes, expressing your thoughts may help you to create intriguing designs. Let your ideas flow freely. Remember that you can always polish up your ideas, before presenting them before the client.

Understand Goals of Your Company

Researching about your company goals will bring you one step closer in fulfilling your goal of creating a design. This will also help you to come up with a design that reflects goals and values of your company.

Discuss

Discussing about your problems with your friends and family can be a good strategy for avoiding the creative block. Even if you have developed an unpolished design, you can show it to your family. This will also help you to acquire a fresh perspective about your design.

Think About Different Elements of the Design

To get fresh ideas, research about different elements of the design. These may include color, and typefaces. Paying attention to these aspects will help you to create a design more easily.

Finally, do not forget to develop a design that has a classic appeal. Remember that this will maintain popularity of the design, even after 10 years.
 

However, logo designers are professionals and they must meet project deadlines to satisfy the clients. You can’t take months to finish a logo. If you are facing problems meeting deadlines, here are some solutions for you.

Be Wise, Make a Plan- Some logo designers start working on Illustrator as soon as they receive a project from the client, but that is not the ideal way to tackle important projects. When you start working without a proper plan and guideline, you get confused at the middle of the project.

Therefore, you should make a proper plan, write down the step-by-step process and discuss with the client about your working style. Tell him how many sample designs you will show and make him realize the importance of feedback. Without proper client-designer communication, it’s hard to complete a project on time.

Don’t Work Hard, Work Smart- As a logo designer, you have to handle multiple projects at the same time and can’t afford to lose time. Hence, instead of wasting your time to design a custom font style for your client’s logo, you can use a free font.

However, free fonts can be used by other companies as well. Hence, you should inform the client about your decision. If he wants a custom font and is ready to give you some extra time to design it, then don’t use free fonts.

Break a Project in Small Parts- When you think of a logo design project as one single task, it makes you nervous. To stay on the right track, break every project into small parts and try to concentrate on each part at a time. For instance, segmenting a project into "concept", "color selection", "font selection", "sample design" and "final design" will certainly help you work more comfortably.

Review the Work at Day End- Check your daily work at the end of the day to effortlessly meet project deadlines. Make a list of your daily tasks and see if you have missed anything. This way, you can keep a track of every project and complete projects within the given timeframe.

Treat Yourself- Work hard, and party harder. Logo designing is a tiresome process and after a busy day, you deserve some relaxation. Meet your friends, go to a movie or enjoy the free time playing your favorite computer games. Do anything and everything that helps you fight stress. Following this lifestyle, you can rejuvenate your mind and get ready to face new challenges everyday.

Following the aforementioned guidelines, you can offer timely logo design solutions to your clients without compromising on quality.

What type of logo design leaves a greater lasting impression – simple or complex is a big question for a logo designer. While some designers would say 'simple is the best', 'the simpler the better' and so on, some other designers would always choose to create complex logos. They would say the more complicated the logo, the more appealing it becomes. This post is dedicated to solve the mystery by analyzing both simple and complicated logo designs.

Simple Logo Design: Using simple shapes and few colors makes it easy-to-remember for the eye, so much so that, people can remember it after only a single glance. There is a misconception that marketing simple logos is difficult. This is not true. If you do not believe it, look at the logo of Nike or HP. We all know who they are, what they sell and how good their quality is by just looking at their logos.

The bottomline is, a logo does not need to be intricate in order to be successful.

Intricate Logo Design: Using more colors, more shapes and more style variations make a complex logo. Some designers think these things make a logo more attractive. Though these logos are very attractive to look at, they do not stand out. Since such logos have many colors, shapes etc., it becomes difficult for people to perceive them and makes the message unclear. As a result, recalling these logos becomes difficult.

If a business owner wants to make his company logo a complex one, he can opt for custom logo design and get an intricate logo. But he should keep in mind that a stronger marketing approach needs to be taken in order to promote his business with such a complicated logo because the message would not be clear due to the intricate design.

Understanding the audience is greatly important in case of such complex logos because people would not come up to the company owner and say, 'Hey, I don't get your logo'.

Plus, complicated logos take more time to create. Which can be a downside if a business owner is in haste.

Conclusion

No matter what kind of logo you create, the point is to craft a unique identity of your client's business and leave an impression on the minds of the target audience that would last a long time. If you can ensure that, you know that you've won the heart of your client forever with your affordable logo design service.