Do you need to design a logo, but have no idea where to start? I got you covered.
Whether you’re someone looking to start from scratch or you’re a graphic designer needing to brush up on your skills, there are loads of great logo design tutorials on the internet.
In this article, I’ve rounded up my top picks of the best logo design tutorials for learning software, elements, and style.
There are many factors involved in logo design, such as your needs and the industry you occupy. Regardless, the best logos all share 5 major characteristics:
If you prefer listening rather than reading, check out Gareth David Studio’s video on what makes a good logo in which he discusses all these points in depth.
Since consumers only focus on your logo for a few seconds, keeping it simple allows your brand’s personality to shine clearly and concisely.
Simple logos highlight the most important aspects of a brand with limited space. This includes relying on color, font, shape, and icons, as well as distilling ideas into their simplest form.
The best logos stand out from the rest because they remain relevant and effective over the years. Timeless logos remove unnecessary elements and presently trending fads—they focus on what works.
The key is to target your brand’s core ideas and values to discover the most effective way to express them without adding any clutter.
Going back to point number one, opting for a simple design will make automatically your logo versatile. Too many colors, symbols, shapes, or any other elements can create a complicated design that will scale poorly.
A good logo must be memorable from the first moment you see it. After all, the goal of a logo is to create a connection with consumers and generate interest in your brand. Logos that are easy to remember will help your brand stick in consumers’ minds.
You can achieve a memorable logo by combining the elements discussed above and by always communicating your brand’s personality and tone.
When designing a logo, you should always strive to make it unique. Your logo should stand out from others in your industry as much as possible, while still expressing who you are as a brand and following the tips above.
That’s a tall order, I know!
With that being said, don’t stress about being unique. I know I just said all good logos have to be unique and that’s true! But don’t spend hours banging your head against the keyboard trying to come up with the most original design.
Instead, focus on the other logo design tips, strive to make it as unique as possible, and tweak it until you get the perfect logo!
With all the different logo design software tools available, it’s easy for business owners to create a professional logo without spending a fortune.
Let’s check out a few of the best logo software tutorials:
The first tutorial is a walkthrough of creating a logo in Photoshop from start to finish. Graphic design Avnish Parker takes you through the process of logo design, from selecting (free) fonts, alignment, color, and more.
This tutorial is for beginners but is a great refresher for even advanced designers.
When it comes to logo design, Illustrator is the go-to software. In Envato Tuts tutorial, they show you how to choose the overall logo style, the typeface, and how to sketch and vectorize designs for icons and frames.
Side note: Vectorizing is when you convert a pixel-based image (ex. JPEG and PNG files) into a vector-based version (SVG, EPS, and EMF files).
This video tutorial is suitable for those who have some understanding of Illustrator or design, but a beginner could also follow along.
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (otherwise known as GIMP) is an easy and affordable way to create high-quality logos.
Nick from Logos by Nick demonstrates how you can create a simple logo design using GIMP. He jumps right in with a step-by-step visual guide that’s easy to follow along. You’ll learn how to add borders, shapes, fonts, and correctly align each element to get the perfect logo.
Affinity Designer is, in their words, the fastest, smoothest, and most precise image editing software around. Design Art Studio’s tutorial takes you through the process of creating a logo from scratch. You’ll learn how to “sketch” shapes, select colors, make a customized gradient, add shadow for depth, and more.
This tutorial is good for beginners and intermediate designers.
Tailor Brands logo maker is a user-friendly, quick, and affordable way to create a unique logo online. This tutorial will teach you how to create a logo for free in just 5 minutes. It’s an easy to follow video, no design experience necessary.
The video takes you through the logo maker tool process, from typing in your business name all the way to the editor where you can customize your logo until it’s perfect.
Logo design elements include color, font, shapes, icons, and more. Check out the following tutorials covering each of these elements:
You might not have realized it, but the color of your logo can help forge a visual connection between your business and your target audience. According to color psychology, colors can stir up different emotions.
This walkthrough tutorial from Tailor Brands will help you figure out what colors to choose for your logo and how to know you’re giving off the right image of your brand.
You’ll find out the most popular logo color (spoiler: It’s blue), what each color means and how it affects people, and how to combine a few colors to convey the right message to your target audience.
You can watch the full video here:
Just like with colors, fonts are used to elicit responses and create associations with a brand. There are 4 main font families, each with their own unique characteristics that you should know before choosing a font for your logo.
This Tailor Brands tutorial helps you figure out how to pick the best font for your logo. It covers everything from what each of the 4 main font families conveys to useful tips such as sticking with 2 fonts max.
In logo design, an icon is a symbol that conveys values and ideas that are immediately recognizable. In Satori Graphic’s tutorial, he shares 7 golden rules of icon design when working in Adobe Illustrator. These 7 tips are meant to help you design an awesome icon for your logo.
The tutorial is easy to understand and demonstrates each step visually so you can follow along.
As you can see, there’s a lot to consider when making a logo. Luckily, graphic design expert Will Paterson created a tutorial sharing 5 logo design tips he’s gained throughout his career.
Learn about negative space, geometric shapes, and more in this tutorial. No matter where you are in your logo designing journey, these tips and useful advice will be beneficial for everyone.
Depending on your brand and industry, there are different logo styles to choose from. Check out the following tutorials on the different logo styles:
A vintage logo (also known as a retro logo) can say a lot about a business’s values and attitudes. This type of logo is a great choice for modern businesses that want to reflect their roots, tradition, and convey trustworthiness.
Dope Motions tutorial teaches you how to create a vintage badge logo design in Adobe Illustrator.
A logo sketch can range from finely detailed to a loosely drawn out shape that is open to interpretation. You might want to stick with a minimalist logo if you go with a sketch style logo design. The fewer details you have in a sketch, the better.
If you want to start sketching your logo but don’t know where to start or you don’t know how to draw your concept in a creative way, this is the video for you. This video tutorial by Design Easily provides logo design sketching techniques plus examples.
A signature style logo is also known as a logotype or wordmark. These types of logos are letter-based and usually feature the name of a business or person.
A signature makes a great logo since it’s so unique. That’s the reason why Ben Debayle used his signature to be his logo! In his how-to video, Debayle shows you how to take your handwritten signature and convert it into a logo. He also includes tips such as trying out different pens and markers until you find the one you like best.
Regular logos are 2-dimensional; a 3D logo has an extra visual dimension that causes the design to pop off the page.
If you already have a 2D logo and want to convert it into a 3D design, Layer Life’s video tutorial walks you through how to do just that. The tutorial shows you how to easily change your flat image into a 3D logo in Photoshop.
Motion holds our attention in a way that static images sometimes fail to, which is why you might want an animated style logo.
That being said, you might not know what to do or how to get started with custom logo animation. Check out SounduckFilm’s tutorial that covers 4 techniques for creating custom logo animation motion graphics. The tutorial will show you how to take a regular design and make it animated.
A gradient is a design element made up of colors that gradually fade into one another. Gradients either consist of many shades of the same color or multiple colors that blend from one to the other.
This tutorial by Dansky will teach you how to draw a colorful gradient logo in Adobe Illustrator. The video is really easy to follow along with so that you can make your very own gradient logo.
You now have all the tools and information you need to make a great logo. The only thing left to do is start designing!
As mentioned, always keep your brand and target audience in mind when designing your logo. If you remember that and follow these tutorials, you’ll be well on your way to creating a perfect logo design.
Carly Miller is a freelance content writer specializing in all things branding related. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her traveling, playing with her dog, or reading a good book.
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