Business Franchise Australia

6 Logo Creators That Are Changing Logo Design

Logos have been around for a long time – think family crests and signs on medieval shops – but they took off with mass printing in the early 20th century. During that century, logo design became more sophisticated, and artistic people such as graphic designers specialized in creating attractive and memorable logos. Today, every major company uses a logo to represent its brand. Apple has the apple with the missing bite, Pepsi-Cola owns the red, white and blue ball and Starbucks has its siren.

As we move into the 21st century, more and more functions are becoming automated, and logo creation is no exception. First, there were tools that made it easier for a professional designer to turn a concept into a logo. More recently, however, logo design has fallen within the realm of artificial intelligence. AI-based logo design tools now solicit some input from the user and then actually kick off the creative process themselves.

With these tools, contemporary logo design is a partnership between the software and the person using it. You don’t have to possess artistic talent or creativity to build an impressive logo. The tools are quick, offering design ideas within minutes, and the cost is within the reach of every small business owner. Here are six logo design tools that are in the forefront of the movement to make logo creation accessible to everyone.

1. Tailor Brands

Tailor Brands is a site that helps you complete several of the tasks required to launch a new business, and one of its key features is its logo maker.

You can try out the logo maker for free and see if you like what it produces. You start by entering your company name, the industry and a few words about what the company does. You then choose a logo style and some favorite fonts, and the logo maker produces some samples. You can customize the samples and, once you’ve chosen a subscription package, download them in a variety of formats including vector files, which can expand or shrink without losing definition.

There are a total of 21 resized logo files. Along with these files, you get an entire branding kit, including a brand book, branded letterheads, business cards and even seasonal versions of your logo for holidays. The Tailor Brands tool is flexible and easy to use. How much you get depends on which package you purchase, and some customers may find the pricing model a bit confusing.

2. Freelogodesign.org

Freelogodesign.org does in fact offer a free logo, but their website encourages you to get something you’ll pay for. You start by entering your company name, and it gives you the choice of requesting a professional designer for $349 or continuing down the DIY path. If you go DIY, the tool shows you a number of sample logos with your company name embedded. You can select an industry or category such as automotive, agriculture or children, and it will show you samples specific to your selection.

You can then pick one of these samples and edit it. You can add text and icons, can drag and drop objects and can change colors. When you go to download your logo, the free version gives you only low-res files. You’ll have to buy the hi-res version to get scalable files that are truly useful or the premium version if you want the complete branding kit.

3. Fiverr

Fiverr is best known as a platform that connects freelancers to jobs, but it also offers a suite of online design tools. One of these is a logo maker.

To create a logo in Fiverr, you start by selecting a style: minimalist, cartoon, 3D, signature, hand-drawn, vintage or watercolor. When you make your choice, Fiver immediately presents you with multiple offers from freelance visual designers; you see samples of their work and their “starting at” prices.

If you choose to ignore these offers and make your own, you enter your industry and some other keywords, and you get some samples. You can add your business name and a slogan. Ultimately you’ll have a selection of samples. You can customize one or just buy one as it is.

This isn’t the most advanced logo maker ever. If you start working on your logo, you can’t save it to finish later; you have to design, customize and purchase it all in one session. However, it’s quick and inexpensive, and many users will find that it produces a reasonably good logo.

4. Logomakr.com

Using logomakr.com isn’t as intuitive as some of the other products, but there is a brief instructional video. You can start by selecting a graphic from a lot of choices. You can also work from one of the provided design templates. After you’ve made your choice, you use the editing tool to add text such as a company name or motto. You may also add more shapes. You can move and resize the objects and add colors. One of the buttons on the screen invites you to click it to hire a professional.

Logomakr truly is a free product. You can “upload” your file (the other vendors call it downloading) in .png, .jpg or a scalable vector format. If you’re not done with your design, you can save your work and come back to it later. Some users think that the canned graphics look dated and the resulting logos aren’t as unique as you might like them to be.

5. Squarespace

Squarespace is known primarily as a website builder, but it does offer some tools that can be either used standalone or integrated with the site you create. One of them is a free logo maker. You don’t have to be building a Squarespace website in order to use it.

You start by entering your company name. Then you pick a geometric symbol or a simple icon. You can add a few items in the editor, but the outcome is likely to be a fairly simplistic logo with your name, a slogan and a symbol. You can move components around on the editing page and resize them, but you can’t rotate them. You can choose any color you want, but there aren’t color gradients.

Downloaded files are in .png format. There are no scalable vector files. You can integrate your logo into a Squarespace website, but its use outside of the site is limited by having only one file format. However, you can’t beat the price – it’s free.

6. Renderforest

Renderforest supports the creation of videos, animations, presentations and even websites. One of the tools is a logo maker.

As with so many such tools, you start by entering your company name and a tagline. What’s different is that Renderforest gives you a freeform text field where you can enter anything you like, e.g., “I’d like a logo that features deep sea creatures.” The tool’s AI will use that request in the design. You can pick a style such as flat, watercolor, emblem or gradient, or you can let the AI pick the style for you.

Renderforest will then present you with several samples. You can modify the color and the text before you download. Renderforest proclaims that their logos are free, and they are if you’re willing to accept limitations. If you want a file in a scalable vector format or you want to use animation features, you’ll have to pay.

Now There’s No Excuse Not To Have a Logo

A logo is one of the more important visual display elements that you can create for your company. It builds credibility, it keeps you and your company in the public mind and it sets you apart from your competitors. You no longer have to be a creative artist or hire a graphic designer to own a stunning logo. Several of today’s tools will come up with a logo idea and help you bring it to completion. Using a logo creator is like having an innovative assistant at your side whenever you need them.