I’ll let you in on a secret. My current logo isn’t the one I had at the start of my rebranding process. Far from it. And it’s not the first logo I ever had. I think it’s version four- maybe five? So when I tell you how to create a logo- keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be forever. Things change, and that’s fine too.

My first logo

My first logo was simply my name in Arial font. Was it flashy? Nope. But I was starting a new business and it didn’t need to be flashy. It just needed to be something I could build my business around and told people what I did (hence the PR bit afterwards). I wanted a flashy logo, I really did, but I couldn’t decide on what to do and in the end it was actually holding me and my business back. How stupid is that? Not having a logo shouldn’t hold you back. But it did for me. So I settled for Arial and that was fine.

Logo inspiration comes from the strangest places

Then I was having lunch in a pub and I remember seeing a really nice font on the menu. I can’t remember whether I photographed the font or ‘borrowed’ a bit of the menu, but if was the beginning of logo v2. We added more layers this time (I say we because I worked with a designer). We added different colours to the mix that complemented the original aubergine and green I’d used, which was inspired by a design on moo.com and formed my first ever business card. It was nice. It was ‘proper’ I liked it.

A new website (and a revised logo)

I then had a new website- v3, and the logo, although it stayed largely the same, did evolve slightly as the green was dropped and we focussed on aubergine as the leading colour. Different shades to add interest, but we stuck with aubergine. The funky font stayed as that had become part of the brand and there was nothing I liked better.

The last change (for now)

Then came a change. I had taken the first steps into coaching people, with a big focus on social media, video, content marketing and working with collaborators. A kind of digital coach. Or a social media coach. Or even a marketing coach. Having run my own successful PR, marketing and social media agency for a number of years, it was hard to define exactly what I could do as I have a kind of all round knowledge. But definitely a specialism in all things social. So we decided to knock out the PR from the logo. And put ‘Social. Media. Marketing’ underneath my name. To give people an idea of how I can help them. Will this change in the future? More than likely, but that’s ok too. The first version of this logo was designed by yours truly. I’d managed to match the colour by eye and created a really formal logo. There were just two things wrong with it. The colour wasn’t the same (noted when my business stationery arrived and I really hated it!) and I’m not formal. I’m professional and I know my stuff, and I can and do help businesses achieve great things each day (honestly- I know it sounds arrogant but I have a really high success rate as the right kind of people seem drawn to me- but that’s another story!). But I’m not formal. Hell no. I swear. I’m usually covered in mud as I live in the back of beyond. There’s so much more I could tell you but I won’t. So, anyway, the formal logo didn’t work. And the colour was wayyy too girly. So I spoke to my designer and we had a chat.

And then the current version you see was born. I have a thing about branding and design and fonts. I drink them in. I love them. So when I speak to my lovely designer I’m able to tell her that kind of thing I want. And so we chatted fonts and colours and we arrived here. And that’s how to create a logo.

How has this helped?

‘But you haven’t told me anything?’. But I have. See, creating your logo is a process. Font change, styles change. Find me an established brand who has had exactly the  same logo since they launched and I’ll be amazed. And that’s completely fine. The best thing to do is simply begin. If you can afford a designer, brilliant, and if you can’t, there are some excellent bits of software available for free and things like Fiverr and Peopleperhour that can help. A logo doesn’t make your business. And while it may feel like it is the thing you’re waiting for, set a time limit, move on and then revisit it whenever you like. This is just my take on how to create a logo, based on my experiences and how I created my logo. You might have a very different take on it. I’d love you to comment on the blog below with your take on how to create a logo.