7 Things to Consider When Designing a Blog Logo.

Image Credit

A blog’s logo is more than just a picture or graphic with a catchy slogan. It’s the embodiment of a brand – your brand. Your blog’s logo can attract your ideal audience to your website, or it can mislead potential followers. So, it’s important to have a clear objective when you’re designing a logo for your blog.

A blog’s logo is seen on every page of the blog/website, and is should be consistent. When your readers see your blog’s logo in its header, they will know they’re at the right website. And since it’s the first thing your readers will see, it’s important that your logo is crisp and clear.

Your blog’s logo will also be used in your email campaigns and social media graphics, so it needs to be something that you are proud to display to your followers. And it also needs to be able to be used in a variety of ways and fit in several formats.

Great blog logos are combinations of several elements that come together to paint a picture of how you want your audience to view your brand. The distinctive combination of elements that you choose will make your logo distinctive.

So, without further ado, here is a checklist to help you to design a standout blog logo.

Decide on the Colors You Will Use

If you’ve studied marketing, then you are well aware that the colors used in a logo send a message. You don’t have to be a marketing major to learn about this though! Supermarkets use this marketing concept on every food label in the store. Blue is considered to be calming, while red is thought to be energizing.

Your logo doesn’t have to be monochromatic, but you shouldn’t use much more than one or two colors. Do a little research to help you decide what colors will attract your audience the best.

Choose a Font

Just as the colors you use can help attract your target audience, so can your font. You don’t want your font to have a characteristic that your brand doesn’t possess. Remember, your blog’s logo embodies your brand.

For example, if you are designing a logo for your pilates blog, you wouldn’t want the font used in your logo to be blocky and thick, instead, you would want to choose something with a more sophisticated line, such as a script font.

Using a couple of different fonts can also highlight features of your brand. A great example of this would be designing a logo for a blog called “Frazzled Mama”. The word “frazzled” could be presented in a font which looks a little disorderly, while the word “Mama” could be presented in a font that is more together and clean.

There are many fonts available on the web, but you will need to purchase a commercial license since you plan on using this font for your blog logo.

Illustrations and Vectors

Illustrations and vectors, when used properly, add a lot of character and individuality to a blog logo. Just by changing the color of a vector/illustration, you can make your blog logo more distinctive. There are several ways you can add a stock illustration or create a custom illustration to add to your blog’s logo.

Hiring a professional graphic designer to design your blog’s logo is effective, but can also be costly. Many graphic designers use software such as Adobe Illustrator to create custom graphics for their clients. While hiring a graphic designer might be the more expensive route, it can save you a lot of time and frustration, especially if you feel that you don’t have an eye for design.

You can also design a logo yourself. Depending on what your graphic design needs are, many logos can be designed quickly and simply, especially if you don’t have the budget to hire a graphic designer. Canva is a great resource for designing your own logo for free (or at least very inexpensively).

Background Color of Your Blog’s Header

This is pretty self-explanatory. By knowing the design theme of your blog and the background color you’re going to use in your blog’s header, you can determine the color of the font and illustrations that will be used in your logo pretty easily. Having this aspect of your blog determined already will help you rule out colors that don’t match the theme of your blog.

There’s a simple plugin you can use to add or update a logo on your blog, so you can “test drive” a couple of different versions of your logo. Easy Logo is a plugin with lots of features that will allow you to make your logo responsive as well as incorporate media from your website’s media library.

Know ahead of time that it may take some tweaking to figure out which version of your blog’s logo looks best on your website.

Blog Characteristics

How would you describe your blog? These same characteristics should be a part of your logo. Is your blog whimsical? Then, your logo should convey a sense of whimsy. If you’re not sure where to start, have a brainstorming session where you jot down words pertaining to the message you want your blog to convey.

You should also make use of Google Analytics plugins like MonsterInsights to discover more about your primary audience (e.g. their age and gender). Doing this may help you to realize what type of colors and design you should be using in your logo – as different features will appeal to different people.

Distinction

Does your logo distinguish you from others in your niche? Is your blog’s logo too similar to others in your niche? These are great questions to ask in order to help you create the best logo possible for your blog. Don’t be afraid to add a characteristic that is uniquely you to your blog’s logo. After all, you are your brand.

Give your blog’s logo some personality. Sometimes, the smallest things make a difference. Adjusting the color or the font of your blog’s logo even just a small bit can change the look and feel of your logo. So, roll up your sleeves and use your creativity.

Simplicity

Have you ever seen a blog logo that was too busy? The result is a design headache that makes visitors feel uneasy. Use minimal effects so that people will remember your brand, not a logo that made their eyes hurt. Stick to using one or two colors in your blog’s logo so that readers focus on your blog’s name. Take that font you’re using and make it your font.  

Simple designs are easy to remember and easy to recognize. They are also not as expensive to reproduce if you decide to use your blog’s logo on products that you want to sell on your website, such as water bottles.

Considering these things will not only help you design your blog’s logo, but will also help you to clearly determine your blog’s niche and purpose. After you master how to set up your WordPress blog and develop some web design ideas, your blog’s logo is one of the biggest statement’s your brand will ever make, and has the potential to send a message to your readers about whether or not you have something unique to offer them or whether you’re just another blog in your chosen niche.

 

Look on several graphic design websites for inspiration, start brainstorming your blog’s features, and get to work!