Tips to Generate the Amazing Ideas for Logo Design

Creating a perfect logo is a very daunting task, and who knows it better than the designer itself. And the hardest part of the entire process is coming up with a design that is beautiful, innovative, and most of all does not look as if it is ripping off another brand.

Although there is no specific process or method to generate good logo ideas, there are some ways we can use to make sure that we do our best to think up the best ideas. We will see what these ways are, but first, we need to understand what we mean by the perfect logo. Build trust and grow your business with your logo. And you’ll get a design that’s right for you with Logo Maker.

What Makes the Logo Perfect?

The entire purpose of a logo, according to Paul Rand, is to identify the brand or company it is representing. Nothing else. Looking back at examples of logos that have braved the test of time, we can see that the perfect logo should have the following features commonly found in those long-lasting logos:

• The logo should be simple and clean to easily convey its message. A cluttered or overly complicated logo will only confuse the viewer instead of being identifiable.
• The logo should be highly memorable, with simpler colors and lines so that people remember it easily. The logo should be easy to remember, while still standing out from the competition at a glance.
• It should be appropriate about the message it is portraying. A logo portraying a children’s brand will have a fun font and bright colors, such as the Lego Company, unlike a professional brand’s logo which would be austere and sophisticated.
• It should be versatile enough to be printed across a number of mediums easily. A logo needs to be used on something as small as a business card, or as large as billboards and the like. That means, big or small, color or monochrome, the logo needs to give off the same vibe every time, no matter what kind. That is why a simpler design works best, as complicated designs tend to lose details when printed smaller.
• It should be relevant for a long time. Many logos out there have stood the test of time, and passed with flying colors. Logos following the basic tenets of logo design will be able to design such logos, instead of following the current hot trend in the market, as trends have a high tendency to fail.

Now that we know what makes a logo perfect, let’s see what we can do to come with logo designs that stand true to them.

Have a clear idea of the logo in your mind:

While this may seem obvious, having a clear idea of the end result, the logo in this instance, is essential to creating the perfect logo. That is because unless you know or have a general idea about where to go, you will only end up running circles around the same old ideas instead of getting to the really innovative ones. So before getting to work, you need to create a client brief that contains all there is to know about the brand, its competition, audience, and the aesthetic they want to portray.

Find the aesthetic that works for you:

Having innovative ideas just for the sake of innovation is never great. Pitching and creating clever logos for a brand that requires simplicity and austerity will only end up with you wasting your time.

What you actually need to do is figure out the best approach to the company’s requirements. The ideas you come up with should feel right to the viewer as if they portray what the company is actually about. Experience a developed world view is essential for this task, as you will only come up with ideas that your mind has experienced. Therefore, study and research the designs for different successful brands, and try to understand the thought process that went into the design of their logos.

Gather all images that help you feel a connection with the company and look at them together:

This process means to create a “mood board”, where you collect all relevant images that invoke the brand’s essence, and combining them onto a single canvas, and then viewing them. It is supposed to help you come up with related ideas about the brand’s logo, as looking at all the images on a single canvas helps our mind create connections between obscure details, as the actual details of all the images tend to merge together in our brain when viewed together.

This will help you get clarity and vision about the brand, which will be helpful in creating the perfect logo.

Always sketch out your ideas on paper first:

In this digital world, sketching on paper is fast becoming a lost art. Any Logo designer will tend to jump directly onto digital tools to work out the logos, but they forget that hashing out some initial ideas on paper has far more value in the long run. It helps you jump-start the creative process without taking a lot of time, as you sketch and put aside ideas after ideas initially. And when you finally figure out a rough idea of what to design, then comes the time to take it to the digital tools.

Designers who worry that they are unable to sketch well, no need to worry. These paper sketches don’t need to be perfect. They are for your eyes, and their entire purpose is to provide you with the jump-off point for the perfect logo. It could be a single design you want to pursue, or it could be multiple designs which you feel might have the potential to be the perfect logo, but require work digitally before being solidified into the actual final idea.

Create extensive word maps to help figure out the best solution:

Creating a world map is an old tool that is widely used in many creative fields. It helps you get a fresher perspective and gets you to think outside the box.

To create a word map, you first need to write a word related to the brand in the middle of the board. Then around it, linked with arrows and lines, you write words that relate to the central word, and take its message further. This helps you figure out connections that would not be clear conventionally.

Doing this many times will help you come up with different word maps, all related to the brand. This can help you figure out a tagline or a motto, which not only goes along with the logo but also helps you round out your logo by giving it a specific direction to go to, creatively.

All in all, an important thing to consider when thinking up ideas for the perfect logo is to make sure that our mind takes proper rest. A tired mind does not think up good ideas, nor does it make connections that a fresh mind would. So whenever you feel tired or strained during the process, get up and walk around. If the time permits, go out and walk, or play a game, or read a book. The purpose should be to help unwind and relax your brain.

On a related note, always keep your eyes open to the surroundings. You never know when an idea might present itself from your surroundings, saving you a lot of hassle.

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