No Logo Yet? A Practical Way to Start Your Brand Identity

Name first, logo second

If your brand name is not final, settle it before you commission a logo. A logo is built around the letters, length and meaning of the name, and a rename later usually means starting the design again.

Start with your audience

Before colors and fonts, work out who you are speaking to and how you want them to feel. A logo for a children's brand and one for a law firm need very different directions, and no amount of polish fixes a wrong direction.

Know your competitors

Look at the logos of five to ten competitors and note the colors, styles and symbols that keep repeating. The aim is not to copy them. It is to understand what your audience is used to seeing and where you can stand apart. If every rival uses blue and a shield, a different color or shape may help you get noticed. Share these notes in your brief so the designer avoids directions that would blend in.

Collect references

Save logos you like, from any industry, and write down why. Patterns in your choices give the designer a head start. It also helps to save one or two you dislike, with a reason.

Choose a logo type

• Wordmark: your name in distinctive type, good for short, memorable names
• Lettermark: initials, useful when the full name is long
• Emblem: text inside a badge or crest, classic and bold
• Mascot: a character that becomes the face of the brand
• Abstract mark: a unique symbol with no literal meaning
• Combination mark: a symbol and wordmark that work together and apart

Color and type basics

Colors carry associations. Red suggests energy and urgency, blue suggests trust and calm, green suggests growth and nature, and black suggests luxury and authority. Choose one main color and one or two supporting ones rather than a crowd.

Type matters as much. Serif fonts feel traditional and established. Sans-serif fonts feel modern and clean. Script fonts feel personal but can be hard to read when small.

Think about where it will live

• Small sizes: app icons, favicons, social avatars
• Light and dark backgrounds
• Print: business cards, signage, merchandise
• Motion: intros, reels and ads

Test at every size

A logo has to work as a tiny social avatar and on a large sign. Ask to see yours at 32 pixels wide and again on a full screen. If details vanish when it is small, you may need a simplified version or a standalone icon.

“A great logo is not just a symbol, but a statement.”

Write a logo brief

A solid brief covers your business name, a short description of what you do, who your customers are, three words for your brand personality, colors you like or want to avoid, and any logos you admire. If you have ideas about symbols or shapes, include them, but stay open to suggestions. Some of the strongest logos come from directions the client did not expect. The checklist in what to send before you order covers the same ground for animation projects.

How our logo design packages work

Every package includes a 100% custom logo, a dedicated expert designer, a dedicated project manager, unlimited revisions on the logo design and a turnaround of 1 to 5 business days. Packages run from logo design only at $70 up to logo design with 20 animation videos at $150. Where a package includes animation, that work begins after you approve the final logo. Details and current options are on the logo design page, and the pricing page lists the rest.

Design and animation together

Designing a logo with motion in mind gives you shapes that move well. Strokes can draw on, parts can assemble and colors can sweep in. Doing both together also gives you one consistent identity from the first static file to the animated intro. Our logo design packages include the option to add 1 to 20 animation videos. For a closer look at the brand side of the work, see brand identity design.

Giving feedback on concepts

When concepts arrive, look at each one on its own before comparing. Ask whether it would make sense to a new customer seeing it for the first time. Check it small and in black and white, since a strong logo still works without color. Then give specific feedback: what to keep, what to change and why. With unlimited revisions on the logo design, you can keep refining until it feels right.

What you receive

You get 100% ownership of all final files, including JPG, PDF, transparent PNG, editable AI and PSD files. Use the transparent PNG for websites and social media, the vector AI file for printing and scaling, and the PSD for mockups and graphics. Store them somewhere safe and hand each supplier the right format: vectors for printers and sign makers, PNGs for web developers.

If your package includes animation videos, you then pick the styles you want, and animation begins once the final logo is approved.

Frequently asked questions

Key takeaways

Start with your name and audience, gather references, choose a logo type, and keep colors and fonts simple. Test the logo at every size and design it with motion in mind so it is ready to animate. The result is an identity that works everywhere your brand appears.