Last updated on December 6th, 2021
Sketching is a favorite way for graphic designers to come up with some quick and unique design ideas. This way, the designers know what is in their mind regarding a particular subject. These instant sketches are different design concepts, which can be developed into a complete logo design.
Sketching is an important aspect of creating a graphic design. Both the graphic designers and UI designers sketch their initial design ideas on a piece of paper. For them, sketching is the first step they take when they start working on a project. It gives them the complete freedom to explore their imagination and come out with some creative ideas.
In fact, most of the iconic logo designs that we see around today were started first in a sketchbook. Many famous logos were first created as sketches. Such iconic logos started with a rough sketch of an idea, which they later developed gradually as per the client’s design needs.
Every designer has a different creative process. Sketching is, however, a common habit with most of the designers. You can instantly sketch many ideas roughly on a piece of paper. Some designers work on the computer. But it is advisable to sketch first on paper. You can quickly express what is there in your mind without making many experiments.
Often, the mistakes you make in sketching on a paper become the idea of a logo. You can make many sketches and scribble your ideas without worrying about any interference and distraction. There is no pressure of being perfect in sketching. This gives you the freedom of thought and the process of creating a logo design become much smoother.
How You Should Proceed With Sketching, When Creating A Logo
01. Know Your Brand
The first step to sketching is to know your client’s brand. Before you put pencil to paper, do some research about what product or service your client delivers to the customers. Who are the target consumers and what market the client wants to target?
You should have some information about the consumers’ backgrounds. Find out if the consumers belong to the high-end sophisticated class or they are from middle class. What are their expectations from the brand?
Know the brand’s mission as well. Talk to the client to find out how the company wants to project itself in the market. Write a brand mission in few clear stances that will serve you as a guide to create a logo design.
02. Know The Key Branding Elements
When sketching, you must be aware of the main branding elements. Your client’s business is different from the others. If it should compete hard, it has to be different. So, find out the key elements that can make your brand stand out. Then, make sketches based on those elements.
For example, the inspiration behind the Yelp logo is pizza slices. Similarly, the inspiration for Zomato logo is a spoon. Both these company logos want the target consumer to think of food, which is the field of business in this case. These two elements are a key to branding these businesses.
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03. Take Help Of Software
There are some software’s available for getting sketching ideas. For example, The Noun Project can give you hundreds of icons that depict your choice of subject for sketching.
So, if you search for food, the software displays several visual ways to depict food. Find out such software that you can use to have some idea of what your logo design sketch should look like.
04. Draw Your Own Sketches
After you have some insight of the business, its customers, and design elements needed, you can then start drawing sketches. Draw as many sketches as you can quickly. That is the trick, as your brain will deliver you many concepts if you do not break the chain of thought. So, do not worry about how the sketches are in terms of the quality. Just go on randomly making the drawings at a quick pace.
Now that you have five to six drawings, take a look at them and see if they are catchy. If you are not satisfied, try some more sketches. The point here is to find out an attractive and unique sketch that has the potential of being a great logo design. You can then develop the sketch into a logo.
05. Develop The Sketch
The next step is to select one sketch and develop it into a professionally designed piece of work. Select the sketch that you think is nearer to expressing your client’s brand message and mission.One of the things to consider here is that the sketch is catchy and looks elegant.
Once you have picked the sketch, it is now time to refine it. Give a shape to the sketch. Do not go to the computer just yet. Instead, sharpen the features of the sketch and see what extra can you add to it.
You should think of adding some more elements of shape, line and other geometric aspects to make the drawing even more attractive and memorable. During this phase, you may come out with some more elements that you must add to it. Refine the sketch as much as you can. The idea here is to give the logo one big size.
06. Tweak In Some Colors
Now that you have developed a black and white drawing of the logo sketch, give it some colors. The matter of giving a logo sketch right colors is important. At the stage of coloring your sketches, you are actually experimenting with the colors. There is a wide range of colors and color schemes to choose.
However, which color scheme will suit your logo depends on which color will evoke an intended core emotion. This means that the colors you use will be the ones that can convey your brand message or build a brand identity.
For example, if the logo is for a fast food company, it would like to target young people as their customers. Therefore, the fast food logo can have red as its main color. The red color will evoke the feelings of passion, love, aggressiveness, and youthfulness. The very emotions will be part of your brand message.
So, pick the colors and hues perfectly by experimenting with many shades. Compare many color combinations to find out which one will suit better to the company’s brand personality. Another thing to consider here is that the logo colors should be more or less matching to the colors in the client’s website design and other marketing materials. So, go through the branding colors of the client’s business and try to incorporate them in your sketches.
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07. Give Finishing Touches
Now that you have filled colors in your logo, it’s time to give the logo its finishing touch. At this stage, you should be able to give the logo design proper shape. If the logo is looking disproportionate, correct its measure.
You will be doing this correction on the drawing board. But at the sketching stage itself, you can give it a sense of proportion. There may be some elements who unnecessarily dominate the design. Reduce their influence over the design. Know which of the elements should be the main attraction and which should be eliminated.
So, these are the key points to consider when sketching your logo design. If you are a graphic designer and trying to win a logo design contest on crowdsourcing sites such as Designhill, consider these tips also. This marketplace is a leading site for graphic designers and business owners.
Designers should start making sketches to arrive at a right logo design to win the design contest. Designhill has 100 % Money Back Policy so that the client’s investment in creating a logo is safe and secure.
Conclusion
Sketching for logo design is a way to create a unique piece of design work. With the help of sketching you can have some sense of how your logo design should finally look like. Aspects of logo designing such as knowing the brand and its message, branding elements, target customers, etc. are also considered for sketching.