For any type of business, may it be a flower shop, a gadget store, or a service center, logos are a big deal. In the best way possible, you try to make your mark in the industry and create an identity that your company will be known for. Creating a logo will make or break your business. It will be your trademark that spans across your products and services. You want a logo that would be embedded in the minds of your customers, one that is recognizable anytime and anywhere. This tutorial provides tips on how to make a logo using Adobe Photoshop CC. But before that, remember that there are three things that your logo should embody: simplicity, readability, and meaning.
Most of the world`s famous logos are simple but striking. You do want to go overboard in designing your logo that it would obscure its significance. Nike, Adidas, McDonalds, and such all have simple logos but are elegant in their own way. You want to risk sophistication by putting so much details and graphics in your logo. A simple but memorable one would do the job.
Next, make sure your logo is readable and recognizable. Using complicated fonts and abstract graphics would confuse people. You don’t want that to happen.
Lastly, a good logo comes with meaning; it must signify why your company exists and why people should trust your products and services. Sometimes others are keen are to criticize and judge your business based on the logo. And all you want is to make a good impression as you present your business using a single image.
Now, let`s head on to creating a simple but striking, readable, and meaningful logo.
Here`s what we will create:
Step 1: Create a New Document
Under File, click New or press CTRL+N in Photoshop. Determine the right size for your canvas. Logos are ideally made as vector art so it would resolution-independent. Vectors are ideal when working on logos for projects ranging from websites (low res) to billboards and banners.
But a good working canvas should be large enough so a 1000px width by 800px height canvas will do. Also, it`s better to create logos on a transparent background rather than opaque so it blends well with different web backgrounds. Color mode should be set to RGB Color.
Step 2: Select your Icon
If you want to save time in creating an icon for your logo, there are hundreds of icons online for you to choose from. Head on to http://www.123rf.com/ and search among over 50 million royalty free stock photos, vectors, and illustrations for your graphic needs. For this task, we`ve downloaded the vectorial illustration of a funny chimpanzee with headphones on. Download the appropriate size and resolution and open the file in Photoshop.
To remove the white background you can either use:
a) the quick selection or magic wand tool.
Adjust the size of your tool to your choosing. You can do this directly from your keyboard by clicking left bracket key ([) to decrease size and right bracket key (]) to increase it. Click and drag over the area you need to select like you were painting with a brush.
Once selected, invert the selection by pressing Shift+Ctrl+I which will deselect the main subject and select everything around it instead. Then press delete to remove the white background.
Copy and paste your image in your canvas.
Step 3: Type in your company name
To make your logo interesting, choose and download a really cool font. Next, decide on the best location on your canvas where to place your text. Take note that your font size and font colors should blend in with your icon or photo. While selecting your text, open the color picker and choose a color that sits well with your photo.
Also, take note of the alignment. The text should be properly aligned with the icon.
You can add in your tag line or contact details or other graphics that suit your liking. Just don`t go overboard as to confuse your audience.
Lastly, crop out the blank and unwanted areas by selecting the needed area, choose Image > Crop.
Save it as a .png file. Your logo is now complete.
Best of luck in creating your own personalized logo! Let us know if you would like to read more about any other topics relating to brand identity and design, we’re just a comment away!
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