This article is from Shopify, and was republished and shared through Elksourcing with the permission of Shopify.
Original link:https://www.shopify.com/blog/online-logo-makers
Your logo is more than just a group of symbols, letters, and colors. It’s the most recognizable brand identifier of your business, followed only by visual style and brand colors, and can be the driving force behind the success of your business.
In fact, 60% of consumers avoid brands that have an unattractive logo. So even if you have a great product or service, you can hinder your marketing and sales efforts without a good logo.
As a new business owner, it can be hard to cough up the money to pay for a professional logo designer. If you have little design experience, how can you possibly make a logo by yourself?
If this sounds like you, don’t sweat it. This article will walk you through the best free online logo makers, plus a few affordable options if you have a little extra room in your budget.
- Why a professional logo is important to your brand
- Best free logo maker apps and generators
- Best paid logo makers online
- Free logo design templates
- Logo design tips
- Design your logo today
- Free logo maker FAQ
Why a professional logo is important to your brand
Your logo says everything about your business. If it looks good, it leaves a lasting impression on potential customers. A bad logo, on the other hand, can leave customers with a bad taste in their mouth. It can also hinder your brand across different channels—like social media, web, and print—if the colors or layout are done poorly.
A well-designed business logo can:
- Grab potential customers’ attention. People have short attention spans. A great logo can attract the eye and communicate your brand values quickly.
- Make you recognizable. Logos are the foundation of your brand identity. It can differentiate you from competitors and help people remember your business across any channel.
- Build customer loyalty. A professional logo can build trust with people before they even interact with your brand. If they have a great experience, they’ll likely return and continue to buy from your business.
As you can see, a small business won’t get far without a good logo. It can make you memorable, express your unique selling proposition, and connect with your audience, which can lead to better retention and sales over time.
Let’s look at some of the best paid and free logo makers to start designing your logo now.
Best free logo maker apps and generators
Coming up with a well-designed, unique logo can be challenging. It can feel like you don’t know where to start and you’ll have to hire a professional designer to get the job done.
To help you find the perfect logo (without breaking the bank), we’ve put together a list of the best free logo makers online to make sure your brand is memorable and differentiates you from the competition.
- Hatchful by Shopify
- Canva
- Logo Maker by Ucraft
1. Hatchful by Shopify
If you’re looking for the best free logo maker online, Shopify has got you covered. Hatchful is a mobile app for iOS and Android that helps you build a brand from scratch, right from the palm of your hand. It’s also trusted by 140,000+ business owners.
Just answer a few questions about your business and Hatchful will suggest logos from hundreds of available templates. From there, you can take advantage of the following benefits:
- Save time and money. The logo maker is free to use, so anyone can create incredible branded logos in minutes.
- Hundreds of templates. Choose from hundreds of distinct logo templates designed by professionals—all for free.
- Full brand packages. You don’t have to stop at your logo. Download brand assets for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to grow your brand on social media.
- Intuitive design studio. Customize colors, add icons, edit layouts, and more to build a unique brand.
- Tailored for your industry. Discover logos specifically for your industry. Provide Hatchful with your brand values and the tool will take care of the rest.
Hatchful is free to use, whether you’re a Shopify merchant or not. There are premium logo templates you can buy within the app. You’ll only be charged if you decide to download them. Overall, it’s a handy tool if you’re looking for a free, unforgettable logo that represents your brand.
2. Canva
Canva is probably the most hands-on logo maker on the list. You can click through from the homepage into Canva’s logo editor. You won’t be asked any questions about your business, but will have access to hundreds of templates. The templates are broken down by niches such as badges, art/design, fashion, sports, food and drink, automotive, and more.
Some of the logos in this creator are clever and fun, but you’ll have to do the editing on your own. Canva’s design tool makes it really simple, plus, it has a ton of support articles to help if you get stuck on anything. Once you finish your design, you can download for free and use it as you please.
3. Logo Maker by Ucraft
Logo Maker by Ucraft is a free logo generator that helps you create a professional logo in just a few clicks. You’ll find a selection of icons, fonts, and shapes to use for designing a logo from scratch. Then you’re free to export your new logo in PNG format for free or in SVG or EPS format for $7.
The result? You’ll get a transparent, high-resolution PNG file, so you can reuse it everywhere—and it’s completely free.
Best paid logo makers online
The following online makers are free to try. Some of them will allow you to download a low-resolution JPEG of your logo, but you’ll have to pay to download the vector files.
- Looka
- Tailor Brands Logo Maker
- Logomaker
- Designhill
- BrandCrowd
- GraphicSprings Logo Creator
- Placeit
1. Looka
Looka is an interactive, AI-powered online logo maker. When you visit Looka’s website, you enter your company name and click Get Started. You’re then prompted to type in your industry, be it consulting, restaurant, beauty, etc.
Once you input your industry, you’ll choose five or more logos for Looka to use as inspiration for your own. You can then pick your favorite color palette and give a little more information about your company. Lastly, you’ll select symbols for your logo, or you can have Looka pick the best symbols for you.
The tool suggests 12 logos at first, but you can click Load More Logo! to get more ideas. Once you choose a logo you like, Looka will take you to an editor where you can make any last minute changes before downloading it. You can download the logo for a small fee or pay for an entire brand kit (with letterheads, social media icons, invoices, etc.) for $7.99 per month.
2. Tailor Brands Logo Maker
Tailor Brands Logo Maker offers a great free online logo maker. It asks you to enter a logo name (or any business name idea) and a tagline that describes your brand. You’re then prompted to answer questions about your business including:
- What you’re offering
- Your industry
- A business description
It then asks you a few questions about your style preferences. You’ll be asked to choose which logo types and font styles you prefer. By answering these questions, you’ll have a more targeted list of logos to choose from. It’ll also display your logo on business cards, social media profiles, t-shirts, and other branded assets. One thing to note: you’ll have to sign up for Tailor Brands’ email list to see your logo options.
3. Logomaker
Logomaker allows you to make a logo online in minutes. Simply select your industry and add your brand name on the first screen. Then click Make A Logo, and you’ll be prompted to choose three logo types, font styles, and layouts. Then you’ll see a list of logo design ideas you can edit and save to make it your own.
If you want to own the copyright and download the vector files, you’ll have to pay a minimum of $40.
4. Designhill
If you’re looking for premium logos, this online logo maker will give you dozens of high-quality options to choose from. Designhill asks you a series of questions about your brand, then provides tailored options based on your answers. You can tweak colors, slogans, symbols, and other customization options to determine which style best fits your brand.
Designhill offers different payment options for your company logo, too. You can buy the logo file for $20, or you can buy logo files for your website, social media, print, packaging, and branding for a $65 one-time payment.
5. BrandCrowd
BrandCrowd is another logo creation site for business owners. This one gives you logo ideas once you enter your business name and click Make Logos Now. You can also browse BrandCrowd has designed for inspiration before giving away any information. Once you find the perfect logo, you can personalize it in BrandCrowd’s editing tool. You’ll be able to tailor the layout, colors, text, shadows, and other design elements to fit your brand.
When you’re happy with your design, you can buy it for $45 and get high-resolution files and multiple logo variations.
6. GraphicSprings Logo Creator
If you’re looking for a powerful do-it-yourself logo design software, GraphicSprings is a good choice for you. You just have to enter your business name and tagline (optional) and an editor will appear. You’ll have access to a library of logos to start from, then you can customize any part to make it your own.
One of the great features it has is the ability to break down logo types depending on your business. Here are some examples:
- Food and drink
- Abstract
- Letter-based
You can also hire someone from the GraphicSprings team to create a totally custom logo for you, if you aren’t satisfied with its logo creator. The logo generator is free to use, but you’ll need to pay $19.99 to save the design files.
7. Placeit
Placeit offers over 13,000 different logo designs for you to choose from. All you need to do is enter your business name and industry into the generator and a list of cool logos will appear. Each logo has its own color scheme and aesthetic.
They’re also fully customizable. Simply click the logo you want and you’ll end up in Placeit’s editing tool. You can change text, symbols, color schemes, and more to create the best logo for your brand. Once you’re finished with the design, you can buy your logo for a one-time fee of $39.95.
Free logo design templates
A free logo design template can help build a memorable logo in minutes. Hatchful’s pre-design templates include all the color schemes and design elements you need to create a professional looking logo in minutes.
Hatchful offers hundreds of templates and designs that fit any brand. You can access all of them for free, letting you create beautiful logos that stand out and connect with potential customers. Even if you don’t have design experience, you can still build a business logo you can be proud of—Hatchful makes it super easy.
Logo design tips
DesignBuddy analyzed the world’s top brands and what their logos have in common. Here are some key insights from the research, which you might want to consider when designing your logo with one of the above logo design tools:
- 95% of the world’s top brands logos use one or two colors.
- 41% of those brands use stylized type as their logo.
- 93% are simple enough to be recognized at much smaller sizes.
When thinking about which colors to use for your logo, read this article from Buffer, which explores why Facebook is blue as well as the science of colors in marketing.
There are also a few important design rules to remember before diving into these logo makers. These tips are taken from the design pros at Creative Bloq:
- Keep it simple. A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be versatile and memorable. Effective logos feature something unexpected or unique without being overdrawn.
- Make it memorable. Following closely behind the principle of simplicity is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable and this is achieved by having a simple yet appropriate logo.
- Design for the long-term. An effective logo should endure the test of time. The logo should be future proof, meaning that it should still represent your value proposition in five to ten years.
- Make it versatile. An effective logo should be able to work across a variety of mediums and applications.
Common mistakes to avoid when designing a logo
Here are some common mistakes that we’ve come across when digging through thousands of ecommerce logos. Be sure to avoid these critical design errors when using one of the above online logo makers:
- Avoid using unattractive clip art.
- Don’t make your logo overly complex.
- Make sure it looks good in black and white.
If you’re ever in doubt when creating your logo, you can always hire a graphic designer to help. Head to the Shopify Experts to find one and make your business stand out.
Design your own logo today
Now you have a great idea of where to get started with your startup’s logo. So get inspired and get creative! With all of the logo design tools and resources above, you’re well on your way. If you have any tools or resources we may have missed, let us know in the comments below.
Illustration by Rose Wong
Free online logo maker FAQ
How can I create my own logo?
- Create your brand identity.
- Look for design inspiration.
- Generate a logo with a free online app.
- Pick colors that represent your brand.
- Choose a font.
- Create a few rough versions of your logo.
- Get feedback.
- Refine your best design.
How can I make a logo for free?
- Find a free logo maker app online.
- Enter the requested information, like business name, visual style, fonts, and colors.
- Let the logo builder display options according to your input.
- Choose a logo and customize it.
- Download your logo for free.
What are the best free logo makers?
- Hatchful by Shopify
- Looka
- Tailor Brands Logo Maker
- Canva
- Ucraft
- GraphicSprings Logo Creator
- Logomaker
- Placeit
- Designhill
- BrandCrowd
