A logo must convey a brand’s image, message, or process at a glance. It can do so using short text, shapes, symbols, colors, and basic images. A logo must be versatile. Logos are used in all manner of media. This includes commercials, print ads, pamphlets, websites, web banner ads, social media profiles, products, packages, T-shirts, business cards, stationery, and more. A logo needs to be usable and recognizable on all these different platforms. A logo should be unique and recognizable. It should stand out from the competitor’s logos. A logo should be memorable. Think about McDonald’s, Nike, Coca-Cola, etc. All of these brands have logos that are memorable and instantly recognizable. Ideally, you want your logo to do the same thing.
What does the company/brand name mean? Why was it chosen? Where does it come from? What is the primary purpose/mission of the brand? What is the process the brand uses? What do you want people to think and feel when they think of your brand? What types of images do you think to represent the brand? What colors represent the brand? What are the brand’s competitors? What do the competitor’s logos look like? What did they do right? What did they do wrong? What makes the brand different from its competitors?
Avoid using photographs or detailed images in your logo design. Complex images can be much harder to reproduce and may limit the logo’s versatility.
Red: Boldness, excitement, passion, urgency, danger, stimulates appetite. Green: Nature, tranquility, harmony, health, relaxation. Blue: Masculine, peace, tranquility, security, reliability, and productivity, suppresses appetite. Purple: Royalty, respect, wisdom, creativity, and problem-solving. Yellow & Orange: Optimism, warmth, adventure, caution, youth, impulsiveness. Pink: Feminine, gentile, creativity, energy, friendly. Black: Formal, elegant, power, authority, stability, darkness, mystery. White: Purity, cleanliness, safety, neutrality. Grey: Practicality, old age, solidarity.
Serifs: Serifs are the small lines you see at the bottom or top of a letterform. Serifs can be bracketed or they can be completely flat. Lots of fonts have serifs and some do not. Old Style fonts: Old style fonts are serif fonts. They were widely used throughout the 1500s and 1600s. Old style fonts have much more formal, professional, and conservative look to them. They are also easier to read in print format. They are characterized by their bracketed serifs. They have a diagonal stress to the thin part of the letterform. Old style fonts include Garamond, Times New Roman, and Goudy. Transistional fonts: Transistional fonts were widely used in the 1700s. Like old-style fonts, they have bracketed serifs. Unlike old-style fonts, they have a vertical stress to the thin parts of the letterform. There is also a much greater contrast between the thin and thick parts of the letterform. Transitional fonts include Baskerville, Bookman, and Centura. Modern Fonts: Modern fonts emerged in the 1800s. They have very thin serifs with no brackets. They also have an extreme contrast between the thin and thick parts of the letterform. These fonts tend to be more decorative with a vintage feel to them. Modern font examples include Bedoni, Fenice, and Didot. Slab Serif: Slab Serif fonts emerged around the turn of the 1900s. They tend to be a little thicker with the same line thickness throughout the entire letter form. They have flat serifs that are usually the same thickness as the letterform. Slab serif fonts tend to be less decorative than modern fonts, but still have a vintage feel to them. Slab serif fonts include Egyptian Slate, Rockwell, and Clarendon. San-serif: San-serif fonts emerged in the 1900s and are still widely used today. They are characterized by not having any serif at all. They usually have the same line thickness throughout the entire letter form. These fonts convey boldness and practicality. They are also much easier to read on computer and smartphone screens. San-serif fonts include Helvetica, Arial, Impact, and Bell Centennial. Script fonts: Script fonts try to mimic human handwriting. They often have a cursive style with the letters being connected to one another. These fonts tend to be more decorative and convey elegance and creativity. They can also be harder to read. Script fonts include Brush Script, Blackadder, Comic Sans, Mistral, Papyrus, and Lucida Handwriting. Blackletter fonts: Blackletter fonts have been in use since at least 1100s. They are very thick and highly decorative. They often have a gothic or medieval look to them. Blackletter fonts include Cambridge, Monmouth, and Engravers Old English.
Click Create new on the title screen. Alternatively, you can click File followed by new to create a new document at any time in Illustrator. Click the Print tab at the top. If the logo will primarily be used for online services, you can click Web or Mobile instead. Enter a name for the document at the top of the panel to the right. Enter the height and width for the document. It doesn’t really matter what size the logo is, but remember that logos work best when they fit into a square-shaped area. Click Create.
If you don’t see the Artboards icon in the panel to the right, click Window in the menu bar and then click Artboards.
If your logo has a shape with a line around it, you can use the stroke color to create a line. Click the icon that resembles a colored (or black) border at the bottom of the toolbar on the left. Then click the black swatch. Click the Fill color square (the white or colored square at the bottom of the toolbar) and click the white swatch with a red line through it to turn off the color. Use the drop-down menu next to “Stroke” at the top of the screen to select how thick you want the line around the shape to be.
To keep the size of the shape consistent (i. e. a perfect square or circle), hold Shift while you click and drag. To open the menu for the shape, select a shape tool and then click once in your artboard. This opens the shape menu. Different shapes have different menu options. The Polygon tool allows you to change the number of sides in a polygon. You can change the number of points the Star tool uses, or change the size of rounded corners in the Rounded Rectangle tool.
Click the icon that resembles two squares joined together to combine the two selected shapes. Click the icon that resembles a dark square cutting into a light square to subtract from the bottom shape using the shape on top. Click the icon that resembles two dark squares overlapping with a light area in the middle to remove all except the overlapping area of the two shapes. Click the icon that resembles two light squares overlapping with a dark area in the middle to remove the overlapping area of the two shapes.
Click the icon that resembles two squares joined together to combine the two selected shapes. Click the icon that resembles a dark square cutting into a light square to subtract from the bottom shape using the shape on top. Click the icon that resembles two dark squares overlapping with a light area in the middle to remove all except the overlapping area of the two shapes. Click the icon that resembles two light squares overlapping with a dark area in the middle to remove the overlapping area of the two shapes.
Click the icon that resembles two squares joined together to combine the two selected shapes. Click the icon that resembles a dark square cutting into a light square to subtract from the bottom shape using the shape on top. Click the icon that resembles two dark squares overlapping with a light area in the middle to remove all except the overlapping area of the two shapes. Click the icon that resembles two light squares overlapping with a dark area in the middle to remove the overlapping area of the two shapes.
Click the icon that resembles two squares joined together to combine the two selected shapes. Click the icon that resembles a dark square cutting into a light square to subtract from the bottom shape using the shape on top. Click the icon that resembles two dark squares overlapping with a light area in the middle to remove all except the overlapping area of the two shapes. Click the icon that resembles two light squares overlapping with a dark area in the middle to remove the overlapping area of the two shapes.
Click the icon that resembles two squares joined together to combine the two selected shapes. Click the icon that resembles a dark square cutting into a light square to subtract from the bottom shape using the shape on top. Click the icon that resembles two dark squares overlapping with a light area in the middle to remove all except the overlapping area of the two shapes. Click the icon that resembles two light squares overlapping with a dark area in the middle to remove the overlapping area of the two shapes.
Click where you want a line or shape to start. Click and hold where you want the line to stop. Drag the mouse to adjust the curve of the line. Click the point where a line ends to change the direction of a line in a shape. Click another point to continue the line using the same curve as the previous line. Click the starting point of a shape to complete the shape.
Type tool: This is the standard Type tool. To use this tool, select it and click where you want to add text and then start typing. Area Type tool: The Area Type tool can be used to fill a shape with text. To use the Area Type tool, first, you need to create a shape that you want to fill with text. Then select the Area Type tool. Click the edge around the shape you want to fill with text and start typing. Type on a Path tool: The Type on a Path tool allows you to add text on a line or around the edge of a shape. This is a good way to create text that curves. To use the Type on a Path tool, you first need to have a shape or a line that you want to add text to. Select the Type on a Path tool and then click the line or edge of a shape you want to add text to. Then start typing. Vertical Type tool: The Vertical Type tool is similar to the regular type tool, only it types vertically from top to bottom instead of from left to right. To use the Vertical Type tool, select it and then click where you want to add text. Then start typing to add vertical text. Vertical Area Type tool: The Vertical Area tool works the same as the Area Type tool except it adds text vertically from top to bottom instead of from left to right. Vertical Type on a Path tool: The Vertical Type on a Path tool works the same as the regular type on a path tool except it adds vertical text from top to bottom instead of from left to right.
Use the drop-down menu next to “Character” to select the font you want to use. Use the second drop-down menu next to “Character” to select the font style (i. e. Bold, Italic, Regular). Use the third drop-down menu next to “Character” to select the point size of the font. You can also enter the exact font size in the drop-down menu.
Leading: The leading menu is next to an icon that resembles two “As” stacked on top of each other. This adjusts the line spacing between lines of text. Kerning: The kerning menu is next to an icon that resembles an “A” and a “V” moving closer together. This adjusts the spacing between text characters. Tracking: The Tracking menu is next to an icon that resembles an “A” and a “V” moving further apart. Tracking adjust the space between characters throughout the entire word. [8] X Research source Horizontal Scale: The Horizontal Scale menu is next to an icon that resembles a “T” with two arrows pointing left and right. This adjusts the width of the character(s). Vertical Scale: The Vertical Scale menu is next to an icon that resembles a “T” with arrows pointing up and down. This adjusts the height of the character(s). Baseline Shift: The Baseline Shift menu is next to an icon that resembles an “A” with a smaller raised “A” next to it. This adjusts the vertical position of the characters. Character Rotation: The Character Rotation menu is next to an icon that resembles a “T” with a curved arrow above it. This adjusts the angle of the character(s). Underline: If you want to underline the text, click the icon that resembles a “T” with a line below it in the Character menu. Strikethrough: If you want to add a line through the text, click the icon that resembles a “T” with a line through it in the Character menu.
Leading: The leading menu is next to an icon that resembles two “As” stacked on top of each other. This adjusts the line spacing between lines of text. Kerning: The kerning menu is next to an icon that resembles an “A” and a “V” moving closer together. This adjusts the spacing between text characters. Tracking: The Tracking menu is next to an icon that resembles an “A” and a “V” moving further apart. Tracking adjust the space between characters throughout the entire word. [8] X Research source Horizontal Scale: The Horizontal Scale menu is next to an icon that resembles a “T” with two arrows pointing left and right. This adjusts the width of the character(s). Vertical Scale: The Vertical Scale menu is next to an icon that resembles a “T” with arrows pointing up and down. This adjusts the height of the character(s). Baseline Shift: The Baseline Shift menu is next to an icon that resembles an “A” with a smaller raised “A” next to it. This adjusts the vertical position of the characters. Character Rotation: The Character Rotation menu is next to an icon that resembles a “T” with a curved arrow above it. This adjusts the angle of the character(s). Underline: If you want to underline the text, click the icon that resembles a “T” with a line below it in the Character menu. Strikethrough: If you want to add a line through the text, click the icon that resembles a “T” with a line through it in the Character menu.
Click the Selection tool in the toolbar to the left. Click the text you want to outline. Click Type in the menu bar at the top. Click Create Outlines in the Type menu.
Click the Selection tool in the toolbar to the left. Click the text you want to outline. Click Type in the menu bar at the top. Click Create Outlines in the Type menu.
Select a letter using the Selection tool. Click the subselection tool in the toolbar to the left. It has an icon that resembles a white mouse cursor. Click one of the white dots or vector points around the shape of the letter. Click and drag one of the blue connected dots (bezier handles) to adjust the curve of the line. Click and drag a vector point(s) to change the shape of a letter.
Use the Selection tool to select a shape that has a stroke around it. Click Object in the menu bar at the top. Click Path Click Outline Stroke.
Click the fill color box at the bottom of the toolbar to the left. Click the shape you want to add spot color to using the Selection tool. Click Window followed by Swatches (or click the Swatch icon to the right) to open the Swatch menu. Click the icon that resembles a bookshelf in the lower-left corner of the Swatches panel to open the Swatch Libraries menu. Click Color Books. Click one of the Pantone+ color books. Click the color swatch you want to use. You can also use the search bar to search for the exact color number you want to use.
Click File in the menu bar at the top. Click Save as. Select Illustrator EPS next to “Save as Type. " Click Save.
