Creating a logo for your business, 13 tips
Your logo is the face of your company, it should stand out, be recognizable and convey the right feelings. Here are 13 concrete tips from brainstorming to final delivery.
Criteria for a strong company logo
The logo, or logotype as it is technically called, is one of the cornerstones of your company. It is the "face" you show outwards and should make recognition easy while conveying the right feelings.
Bo Bergström, a well-known art director and author, lists some useful criteria in his book Effective Visual Communication:
1. The logo should be easy to read in both large and small formats.
2. It should stand out and be easy to recognize.
3. The logo should also work in pure black or pure white.
Different types of marks
4. Choose between an ideogram, a pictogram, a figurative mark or a wordmark.
An ideogram shows the idea of the company (e.g. Nike's Swoosh). A pictogram is a simplified, stylized image (e.g. Apple). A figurative mark symbolizes the business (e.g. Instagram). A wordmark is initials or abbreviations of the company name (e.g. Facebook, IBM).
Technical requirements to keep in mind
5. Build the logo in vector graphics, not pixels. Do not use Photoshop. Vector graphics (SVG, AI, EPS) scale infinitely without quality loss, pixel-based files get blurry at larger sizes.
6. Create the logo in different color formats. RGB for digital, CMYK for print, Pantone (PMS) for exact color matching. Create the logo in several formats from the start for consistent color reproduction.
Tools for making your own logo
7. Try Adobe Illustrator for a week. The pro tool. 7-day free trial. Adobe also has a guide for logo design.
8. Try Figma or Affinity Designer. Strong 2026 alternatives to Illustrator. Figma is free for individuals and vector-based. Affinity Designer is a one-time purchase instead of a monthly subscription.
9. Use AI-based tools. Since 2023, AI logo generators have become genuinely good. Looka, Logoist, Namelix and Brandmark quickly produce hundreds of suggestions from keywords. For fine-tuning: ChatGPT (with DALL·E or GPT-image) and Midjourney can be used for concept imagery, but the final delivery should be done in a vector graphics program.
10. See what you can get on Fiverr and Upwork. Freelancer marketplaces where you can order logos from around $10 and up. Quality varies, check ratings, examples and references carefully.
Hiring a design agency? How to get a great result
11. Ask for recommendations and references. Find agencies via other founders. Ask for references on previous logos.
12. Reach out in good time. Stressed projects rarely turn out well. Be early, the relationship gets better and the result stronger.
13. Be clear about what you want. Describe what the company stands for (freedom, expertise, quality, modern). If you have an idea about the look, share it, this often lowers the price compared with the designer having to handle both concept and execution.
With a company logo in hand the brand starts to take shape. The next step is approaching, launch.