Have you ever wondered what makes the symbol of Apple, McDonald’s, and Nike so special?

Is it the beauty? color? Or the fact that it explains what the company does?

All these things are considered during a logo design process but, they are not that important.

Some logo designs are beautiful and some are meh, few hint what the company does and others don’t bother. Plus if you look at the colors, there are no rules.

You might think, if none of this matter, then what makes a logo design memorable?

It’s uniqueness.

The single most important quality of a professional logo.

If the logo design truly stands out from the rest and makes the brand memorable, while still upholding some essential design principles, it passes the greatness score.

How to design a logo that don’t suck?

1. Discover the client

A great logo will articulate the company values, culture, and people. You must always kick start the process by having a good, quality conversation with the client. Learn as much as possible about their company culture, values, and the way they do business. Insert these messages when you design a logo.

British Petroleum logo was designed based on understanding the company’s value, culture and what the company wanted.

The logo blends well with this message too

2. Discover their industry

After you know about your client, find out about their audience and competition.

For example, if your clients target in teenage market, your graphic design must be loud and catchy.

The more you know about their audience, the easier it will be to create a perfect logo.

Next, you must learn who their competitions are, to know what their logo looks like to avoid creating something identical.

As your job is to set your client apart from the rest, you must ask your client to give you a list of their key competitors.

Subway redesigned its logo to stay fresh, forward-thinking and to meet the changing tastes of their customers.

3. Application of logo

You must find out the answer to this simple question, ‘how and where the logo will be used?’. It is important to know about this because you can find out what you can and cannot include in the design.

For airline companies, a specific logo application is required as the logo has to be placed on the tail fin and body.

4. Start sketching

Sketch as much as you can. Only then you will be able to rule out the wheat from the chaff.

It is not a hard and lengthy process. Sketching with a paper and pen takes less than a minute and can draw nearly 10 in an hour.

Designer David Airey shows many sketches from when he worked on his personal identity.

5. Draft the design

Once you complete the sketching process, pick 5 and design it again. Don’t play safe and choose the designs that look nice. The idea you have must really make your client stand out from the crowd.

The main objective behind this is to get your clients feedback on your rough ideas and to find out what they are looking for.

Anusha Sankar shows her drafts for iprotecs logo.

6. Modification

Modification takes a lot of time because you have to make a lot of improvements and changes in your draft.

Colours, font style, and others are changed to see how the design will perform in different situations. In some cases, the design will look good on paper but won’t be as appealing on a building.

Which is why constant refinements happen.

New England Breeze shows their logo development & modification process.

As you can see the stages of creating a distinctive logo design is a serious one. The main aim is to craft a unique and memorable symbol which will add value to your client.

Be it a small business website or big agency, everybody can benefit from following these steps.

Remember, if you work like a professional, you’re definitely in for some sweet success.