To begin with, we will describe the most essential tools that any designer uses and without which one can hardly make a logo at all. The second part of the article features additional resources that will help you work faster and make a more unique, impressive, and recognizable logo.
Indispensable tools
Having skipped such obvious things as pencils, sketchbooks, and a computer, we get to the following two:
1. Vector graphics software
Adobe Illustrator is the industry standard, so it should be your preferred choice if you are a professional designer. As of 2019, it costs around $30 per month. The list of free (and less efficient) alternatives includes Inkscape and Vectr, to name just a few.
2. Font collections
First, there are quite a few free fonts. A font can be used in a logo for free only if it has a commercial license. Many fonts are free only for personal use, so you will not be able to use them in your design. You may try such tools as the Google Fonts library, Font Squirrel or CreativeBloq to find a free font with a commercial license.
If you are considering buying fonts, you may use such online resources as MyFonts, HypeForType, FontShop, and Design Cuts.
Additional tools
– WhatTheFont
If you need to figure out what font is used in a logo, this collection of over 130,000 fonts will help you. Upload a graphic file containing the typeface, and the tool will show you a list of typefaces resembling the one you have uploaded. The service was created by Myfonts.com.
– 1000 logos
Here, you will find a vast collection of popular famous logos. What makes this tool especially useful is that you can trace the history of each of the emblems and read an explanation regarding the visual characteristics of the designs.
– Logo Inspiration Generator Tool from Courtright Design
You choose the style and color from the list and receive lists of successful designs meeting your criteria. For instance, you may get a list of abstract, vintage or monogram logos, a list of multicolor or black-and-white logos. You can even find such categories as origami-inspired or punctuation-inspires logotypes, as well as overviews of current logo design trends. The most important thing is that the lists were created by experts, which makes this online tool different from a random list of logos Google can provide.
– Wordmark.it
Enter the brand name and see how this word looks like when given in every font installed on your computer. The Wordmark tool places all the versions side-by-side, which makes comparing them easy.
– Cymbolism
This tool helps you understand which words are associated with specific colors, and vice versa. For instance, if you need to pick a color that conveys “reliable,” click the word “reliable,” and you will see the list of colors associated with this meaning based on votes from the website’s visitors.
– Logo Rank
Having uploaded your logo, you will get an artificial intelligence assessment and analysis. You may find the uniqueness assessment feature very useful as it will let you see whether there are any similar logos already.
There are quite a few other popular tools for logo designers. Which are your favorites?
