5 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before Designing a Logo
So when I first started my blog, I got my logo from a random logo design website. It was pretty cheesy, I must admit. The name of my blog a the time was "The Queen Life" so I asked for a logo with "Queen Life" in calligraphy pink letters with a gold clipart crown on top on the letter "Q." It was functional at the time, but it quickly became outdated. I honestly got it designed on a whim and I didn't put any brand strategy into it at all.
After taking web design courses and learning more about brand design, I learned that a logos communicate meaning about businesses and blogs, visually. Logos represent your business everywhere...on your website, on your business card, on social media, in brochures, EVERYWHERE! Something as simple as a tiny little image has that much power to shape the perception that people have of your business. When you think about it this way, you'll understand how important it is for you to be purposeful when designing your logo, whether you're doing it yourself in a tool like Canva or Photoshop, or if you're hiring someone to do it for you.
“It’s important for you to be purposeful when designing your logo for your blog or business.”
Your logo can consist of text only, a symbol only, an image only, or text and a symbol, or an image and text. The sky is truly the limit with logos! With so many options, it’s great to do some reflection first to get clear on what you want. Be sure to ask yourself the following questions before beginning your logo design.
1. Exactly what type of business or blog do you have?
You'd be surprised at the number of people who start businesses and blogs without a clear focus on what type of business or blog they will have. When you aren't clear about what you're doing and the benefits you're providing to customers or readers, it will be hard to design a logo that makes sense. Take some time to write out a business or blog mission and purpose and make sure it's clearly defined. This makes your design process faster and easier.
2. Who is your specific target audience?
Once you’re clear on your business and blog mission, consider who your target audience is. Be very specific and keep in mind that your logo design must appeal to the people who you are targeting. You want them to see your logo and feel like your business or blog is just for them and you want them to understand the message that you're trying to convey without any confusion.
3. What words/phrases would you associate with your business or blog?
Write out the words and phrases that you’d associate with your blog or business. Be sure they’re descriptive adjectives. This will help you to design a logo that communicates effectively. Think about the feeling that you want someone to have once they see your blog content or when they receive your services or products. Think about what you stand for and why you started your blog or business in the first place. Think about how you’d want someone to describe your blog or business to someone else. Jot down all of the random words and phrases that come to mind and then look for a common theme.
Related: 4 Steps for Branding Your Business or Blog
4. Are there any symbols that you want to incorporate into the logo?
Consider the symbols that you’d want to incorporate. If you’re fashion blogging, do you want to incorporate a high heel shoe? If you’re a healthy food blogger, do you want to include an apple? If you’re a programmer, do you want to include a computer screen? Having a symbol is completely optional, but if you want one, be sure it ties in with your business and blog perfectly.
5. What types of colors and fonts convey the right meaning for your blog or business?
Finally, you will want to do research on color meanings so you’ll know what color options to use. All colors have subconscious meanings. Think about the colors that you’re gravitating towards and then do research on them to be sure they align with your business mission, target audience, and the descriptive words and phrases that you wrote out. You can check out articles like this one to learn more.
Related: 5 Benefits of Choosing Intentional Colors & Fonts
That’s it! Once you complete the answers to these questions, you’ll be ready to design your logo or to hire a designer.
