Create a logo in five minutes or less.
There may be a time when you need a logo, or a symbol to represent a part of your business or event, fast. For example, a magazine or website wants to write about you and asks you to email a logo – by return please. But your business is just getting off the ground, you don’t have logo yet. Create one quickly and easily.
You have hundreds of hidden logos on your computer
Don’t head off to those dreadful clip art sites and get something that so many people have used before you. Everything you need to create a simple (and stylish) logo is right there on your computer.
Simplicity is best
Think about some of the most famous logos in the world. The Nike one probably comes to mind. It could be Apple. The Google logo is a good example. Or Chanel. Or even Target.
The professional designer
Ah, yes. Himself is a designer and so am I, so if everyone designed their own logos, we’d be put out of business. Therefore, I can’t go any further with this article until I assure you that a corporate identity, a brand, should be created by a pro. But if you’ve no funds available and you need something now …then yes, you can create a logo quickly and easily.
Glyphs & character maps
Every font you have on your computer has hidden characters that you can’t simply type in from the keyboard. By accessing these, and using classic, established fonts, you can make a great – and simple – logo.
Examples
Great fonts have ligatures.
These are two letters that have been joined together to make one single character, like the one you see on the right. These are often used for decorative effect.
If you find a combination that uses your initials, or the name of your company, product or event, then you have a ready-made logo.  Check the character map or glyphs on your computer and see if you have  ligature that’s right for your business.organisation or event.
For greater simplicity and a consistent look, you can use the same font for any description or tag line. This is the humble Arial.
Many fonts have the ‘No’ symbol, indicating ‘number’.
Maybe this is for the ninth annual film festival. Perhaps it’s jewellery store that’s located at number nine.
Or maybe it’s the name of one of your products (think Chanel Number 5).
This example uses Caslon – a splendid font – and is used for both the symbol and the number. Selecting the colours is fun too. – be simple ans striking.
Ideally, you want people to remember your company name – only large brands who have paid for expensive branding projects can use an icon only.(Nike, for instance).
Who is Peg and why is she square?
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I rather imagine that she’s got a clothes store selling retro items from the 1950s but the square and the circle – a square peg in a round hole – could be used for so many things.
This lovely little symbol is lurking in the depths of Franklin; the same font that has been used for the lettering.
Play around with the colours to make sure that they represent your company correctly. Keep the number of colours to a minimum and always be sure that your logo looks as good when it’s seen in black and white.
Often, you’ll find that local publications will print their newsletters, event programs and soon in monochrome. This is because colour printing can be much more expensive.
This is a truly beautiful ligature from the splendid font Garamond.
If these are your initials, it’s tailor made for you.
Or maybe you’re holding a charity party and CT means ‘cocktail time’. Search your fonts for beautiful ligatures like this one.
This is so very elegant.
Consider that your new logo might be used as a tiny icon (on your Twitter account for example) or on a huge banner – so be sure that it will look good in various sizes.
How will it look on a t-shirt, on the side of a building, as an illuminated sign or as a piece of jewellery?
Impact is an excellent, solid and steady font.
Hidden in the background, you’ll find all sorts of useful items, such as words with lines top and bottom.
Because the font is so solid it has a reliable look and would be wonderful for a handyman or anyone involved in the construction industry.
It looks solid, bold and confident.
Note that the symbol is sized to fit perfectly above the F. Again, if your business relies in any way on precision, choose a font such as the beautifully created Impact. It’s easily readable and perfect for short, sharp,but precise words.
Many fonts have characters from other alphabets hidden in the character map
.
I believe that this is a Malaysian character.
In this instance, I was reminded of a piece of yarn or rope. By creating an oval shape I was able to ‘color in’ the loop and used both the red and the black in the wording, making the most important word bold.
This symbol also suggests continuity by the way it flows. Curves suggest a softness that is not seen in a font such as Impact (above).
Comparing the two shows you how your font selection is an important part of your brand. When large companies develop their style guides, fonts a respecified for printed materials, letters, email – all uses.
The font here is Kartika.
Sometimes, the font itself is enough without any special characters.
This features Trebuchet. I find this rather playful – the j and the i almost become human – maybe it’s two people playing with a ball (the letter o).
I love the symmetry created by the two dots.
There’s so much you could do with this by using a different colour for the dots or for the centre of the letter ‘O’.
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Every day we read words. And yet a lot of the time we don’t notice – and certainly don’t appreciate – the typefaces that are used.
Type is fascinating and a passion for me. Click on the image to find out more about this book at Amazon
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