Creating your business logo

Like McDonald’s golden arches and Nike’s swoosh, a logo is an image that represents your business. Your logo can be a graphic element, words or a combination of both. Whichever you choose, your logo needs to be immediately recognizable, understandable and memorable.

Your logo will appear on all your company’s collateral marketing materials—your business card, brochure, Web site and more. Depending on the type of business you have, your logo might also need to appear on store signage, employee uniforms or shopping bags. It needs to convey the essence of your business at a glance. Given all this, it’s clear why creating your business’s logo is a crucial step in creating your brand.

There are several options for creating a logo. If you’ve got design skills or an artistic eye, you may want to consider designing your own. The “Branding” tab at Microsoft’s Startup Center walks you through designing a logo (as well as business cards and letterhead). Another do-it-yourself option is to create a text-only logo by using distinctive fonts and colorizing them. Urban Fonts is a good source of unusual fonts that can work well as logos.

Doing it yourself can save money, but your logo is such an important branding element that if you can possibly afford it, you’ll want to invest a little more. A quick Internet search for “logo design” will turn up dozens of logo design services, such as Logo Bee, LogoDesignPros and Logo Design Works, that offer logo packages. Typically, these companies use a stable of freelance designers and charge a set price to have the designers create two or more sample logos for you. You can choose the logo you like, or make changes until you get the result you want. Be sure to ask what is included in the package cost, how many revisions you can make, and whether you own the rights to the logo.

The third option is working directly with a graphic designer. While more expensive than the other options, it can be well worth the cost. A professional designer experienced in your industry will be familiar with competitors’ logos and current design trends, and can avoid the DIY mistake of creating a logo that’s similar to someone else’s or so generic it doesn’t stand out.

Since designers typically work solo or freelance, they’re often more affordable than you may expect. Ask colleagues for referrals, or visit Elance, where you can browse professional freelance designers or post your project for bids. If a professional designer is beyond your budget, contact a local college or design school; perhaps a class can take on your logo as a project.

Whether you design your own logo or hire a pro, do some homework before starting the process. Grab your laptop and take notes on key elements you want your logo to convey. How do you explain your business in a nutshell? What differentiates you from the competition? What benefits do your products or services offer consumers?

Next, consider how your logo will be used. On business cards and letterhead? On brochures or fliers? On a Web site? On employee uniforms or store shopping bags? As signage or billboards? Your logo must be able to grow with your company, so imagine where you’d like to be in one, five or 10 years.

If you’ve got ideas for designs or colors you’d like to see, note those as well. But be willing to listen to the designer. Professional designers know which colors and shapes stand out best, reproduce well on a variety of media and in different sizes, and best convey your image.

Once your logo is created, you can have a designer create additional marketing materials—letterhead, brochures, business cards, flyers, postcards and more—or use templates to do it yourself. StockLayouts lets you download templates for all types of marketing materials. Customize them with your own words and graphics, then either print the results yourself or send them to a commercial printer.