Be honest, have you ever, ever created an amazing design or came up with a great idea and coffee was not involved?

Because, I’ve got to admit… I’ve never had a good idea on a day I didn’t have coffee.

And I might have a little bit of a problem. Recently, I’ve been drinking about 4 cups of coffee a day, and that’s not helping my sleeping habits for sure.

But that’s what gave me this idea.

Today I want to talk to you about coffee branding basics and how to design for your next coffee shop clients or company.

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We’re also going to go over the best examples of coffee branding and graphic design.

So grab your coffee and let’s get into it.

The Basics of Coffee Branding

Coffee is pretty much an essential part of life at this point.

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Almost every single person I know starts their morning off with coffee, then has an afternoon pick-me-up coffee.

And it’s not just my friends who drink that much coffee. It turns out that 75% of all Americans intake their caffeine by drinking coffee.

Besides the fact that it’s just a wonderful beverage with a million and one benefits, from clearer thinking and better ideas, and also helping you stay awake on the days you stayed up absolutely too late, it’s also a drink that brings people together.

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People love to bond and spend time together in coffee shops, people go there to relax, work, have meetings, etc.

On average, a typical American adult will spend about 2 grand a year on buying coffee, and 173 million bags of coffee are consumed worldwide each year.

So this means that now, more than ever, your coffee branding needs to stand out.

When people walk into the grocery store to pick out a bag of coffee beans, their eyes need to be drawn to your design.

But how?

Ask the Right Questions: Assess The Brand’s Values, Strategy, and Style

Before you can hop on any graphic design software and start designing away, you have to stop and think about what your brand’s values are or what your client is expecting from you.

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Here are some questions to ask yourself before designing.

1. What’s the style or vibe you’re going for?
2. Is it a more earthy vibe? Will the colors be neutral or do they want them to be crazy eccentric?
3. What are the values of this coffee company? Are they ethical? How can I express that through my design?
4. Who is my target audience and what would they look for in a coffee brand?

Once you answer some of these basic questions, you can start designing accordingly.

4 Easy Steps to Creating the Perfect Coffee Brand and Logo

1. Come Up With The Right Branding Strategy

As I said, it all comes down asking the right questions, and when you get your answers, you can start coming up with a strategy.

Pinpointing your audience is key in the first steps of designing. Who are you designing for? An elegant brand that requires minimal color and a fancy typeface, or for a younger, more fun generation, where you have the freedom to do whatever you want? No matter the audience, make sure you design with them in mind and what would make the choose your brand.

The brand name is going to decide a lot for you. The creativity wheels will start spinning when you look at the name. Do a play on words, coincide your design to make sense with the name. You can also get a sense of tone-of-voice from the name of the brand and design accordingly.

Your logo should be something that everyone can recognize and something that sparks joy for your clients and customers. But we’ll talk more about this a little later.

2. Use An Irresistible Color Palette

After doing some research and drawing some conclusions from my own experience in designing for coffee brands, most people love earthy tones when it comes to coffee branding.

So whether you go from a toned-down green, or an earthy brown pallette, make sure everything works together perfectly.

Just because most people choose earthy tones, that doesn’t mean that you have to! You can still go for brighter, more vibrant color palettes, but my recommendation is that you use the more muted versions of the colors you choose. So if you want to use orange and green, for example, just use a more muted version of the colors.

Here are a few of my favorite color combinations when it comes to coffee branding.

3. Check Out Your Competitors

One sure fire way to know if you’re doing well is by checking out your competitors.

Check out the ones who are doing better than you, but also the ones in the same boat.

You want to look at their work and not just be a copy-cat of what their doing, but be inspired by them and ask yourself what you have to offer that is different from them and how you can do better.

4. Keep it Simple

When it comes to your logo, the best thing to do is to keep it simple.

Especially nowadays, when the trend is flat-design and minimalist.

You want people to look at your design, and say, “oh yeah! That’s my favorite coffee brand.”

It shouldn’t be so complex that your customers don’t understand what the heck is going on, but it can also have a bit of a back story that needs to be explained.

A perfect combination of the two is the goal here, but keep it simple!

Our Favorite Coffee Branding Examples

I want to close out this article by inspiring you and showing you some examples of my favorite coffee brand designs.

My favorite places to get inspiration from are Pinterest, Dribbble, Behance, and the places around me.

So if you’re lacking inspiration, I hope this helps!

I hope this article helped you out in one way or another and inspired you to get to designing.

So go ahead, grab your coffee and go make something amazing.

And until next time,

Stay creative, folks!

Read More at The Basics of Coffee Branding & Design – Coffee Design Ideas Brewed to Perfection

Have you ever been working on a project, added some text, only to notice that you love the font, but something looks terribly, terribly off?

That’s what we call a kerning issue.

Today we’re going to go over some simple rules of kerning, tracking, and letter spacing in graphic design.

Let’s do this!

What is Kerning and Tracking?

Kerning is defined as the amount of space between two letters, or other characters, such as numbers, punctuation, etc.

Tracking refers to loosening or tightening a selected block of text, while kerning is the process of adding or subtracting space between specific pairs of characters.

Tracking and kerning are absolute essential parts of design, and can change the entire look of your design with literally the slide of a button.

Proper kerning and tracking can take your design from something boring, to something with incredible visual appeal.

Tracking

Tracking, which is also commonly known as letter-spacing, controls the consistent space between letters that are across a block of text.

The spacing will be consistent throughout the entire block of text, and this method of spacing is most typically used in headings and logos.

If you want to increase the space between characters, then you need to adjust the value with positive number, and if you want to decrease the space, the use negative values instead.

Here are some before and after examples of tracking usage.

Kerning

Okay, so, to understanding kerning a little bit better, imagine this.

You remember those old wooden type boxes?

They looked a little something like this.

So while tracking refers to the consistent space between letters, kerning refers to the space between each individual letter.

You can imagine that each letter in any given typeface is like that old wooden type boxes. Each letter has a box surrounding it, making it impossible to move the letters closer together while you type.

Until you adjust the kerning.

When you adjust the kerning, it’s kind of like you manipulate that bo, and adjust it to your liking.

As you can see in this picture, manual kerning is definitely the way to go.

Letter Combos To Beware Of

The right amount of kerning and tracking will make or break your design.

You can have an ugly typeface and adjust the tracking levels, and suddenly, it’s incredibly aesthetic and visually pleasing to the eye.

A couple of things I do want to tell you about, so that you can learn from my mistakes and I can make things easier for you, are some weird letter combinations that just don’t look right.

I’m going to let you in on some letter combos that you can always be on the look out for so your design is always the most optimal.

•Slanted letters like: A, K, V, W, Y

• Letters with arms or cross strokes: F, L, T

• Letter combinations: W or V + A (any order); T or F + a lowercase vowel

These letter combinations don’t typically look good, from a kerning perspective.

So that’s where you as a designer come in and make the adjustments to your liking.

I just saved you a lot of time, so now you don’t have to look and wonder what looks wrong in your typeface design.

You can just automatically look at these combos and make some changes.

You’re welcome.

Wrapping up

Kerning and tracking are things that will always improve the more you experiment with them.

So, now that you know what kerning and tracking is, keep up the good work, keep trying out new things, and see what vibes with your style.

And of course,

Until next time,

Stay creative, y’all!

Read More at A Designer’s Guide to Kerning, Tracking, and Letter-Spacing in 2020 | L e t ‘ s D o T h i s

The global stock market is something that I think most of us are familiar with, but very few people know how to capitalize on. After all, it’s not as easy as simply sinking money into a stock and hoping it rises. 

With the global stock market, there are trends and data that you have to follow in order to really be efficient. That’s where Marketstack comes into play. 

What is Marketstack?

Marketstack is a real-time, intraday and historical market data API. It uses a free and easy-to-use REST API interface that delivers worldwide stock market data in JSON format.

By using Marketstack, you can follow trends and get real-time updates on the worldwide stock market. Let’s dive into this a little deeper.

Marketstack features

Marketstack makes it easy for anyone with any skill set to get started. In fact, with 30,000+ happy users, including some big name brands like Uber and Amazon, it’s no wonder Marketstack has the reputation of being so good. 

In addition to being so user-friendly, Marketstack comes with a few helpful features. Here’s what you can expect:

Real-time data

With the global market, every minute counts. Obtain real-time stock data for any ticker down to the minute, request intraday quotes or search 30+ years of accurate historical market data.

125,000+ stock tickers

Easily integrate the API and make use of 125,000+ worldwide stock tickers, collected from 72 global exchanges, including Nasdaq, NYSE, and more.

Simple, quick, and reliable

Marketstack is a simple yet powerful API that is both scalable and reliable. With an uptime of nearly 100%, it only takes about 5 minutes to get started. 

Lightweight JSON API

Mafrketstack’s stock market data API has been built with simplicity in mind: Requests are made using a simple HTTP GET structure and API response data is delivered in lightweight JSON format.

Bank-level security

All data sent to and from the Marketstack API is encrypted with industry standard 256-bit HTTPS encryption. Rest assured that anything you share through this API is safe and for your eyes only. 

Extensive documentation

A straightforward API documentation will help you get up and running within minutes using interactive demo requests and code examples in a variety of programming languages. If you’d like to explore API documentation, click here.

Marketstack pricing

Marketstack offers many subscription plans that cover a wide variety of needs. Best of all, they offer a free subscription to get started, and it comes with its fair share of options:

• Up to 1,000 requests per month
• Connect with 72 stock exchanges around the globe
• Look back at the stock market history for up to 1 whole year
• Gather end-of-data stock data every single day

Of course, if the free plan doesn’t suit your needs, there are still lots of good, paid subscriptions out there for you to take advantage of:

Conclusions

Marketstack is one of the most comprehensive yet powerful tools on the market. It is by far the most powerful tool for keeping track of the worldwide stock market that anyone can get their hands on.

With Marketstack, you can rest assured that the information gathered is 100% accurate and up-to-date. Stock market data provided by the marketstack API is licensed and sourced from multiple high-authority market data providers around the world. Stock market data from United States exchanges is licensed and sourced from Tiingo, Inc. out of New York City, USA.

The Marketstack API service is built on top of apilayer cloud infrastructure and therefore comes with a significant level of scalability and performance. The API currently handles several million API requests per hour with ease.

All-in-all, if you’re looking for a high-volume stock market API, there’s no better choice you can make than signing up for Marketstack. 

Read More at Diving Into The Stock Market With Marketstack

Storytelling is essential when it comes to branding.

Without a story, your brand won’t stand out and you’ll look like everyone else.

When you have a story, people are more likely to remember who you are and what you have to offer.

Storytelling in branding can have an emotional impact on your clients, and while you tell your story, you’re also telling them important facts about your business.

You may have an amazing story, but you might not be telling it right.

You can tell your story just through your design and it can be very easy to understand.

For example, look at the branding below.

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Today we’re going to cover 5 essential elements of storytelling in branding that you need to know about.

Let’s do it!

1. Know Your Audience

You know you have an amazing, effective brand story when you can impact your audience in all stages of their customer journey.

One of the greatest ways you can find out who your audience is through the use of research.

So who is your core demographic?

You can answer this is a few different ways, but two ways specifically are obtaining customer data using the browser and purchase history to track preferences, and also by asking your followers directly on your social media.

The reason why it’s so important to know your audience is because you’re designing for them.

You need to know who you are trying to reach because design is not one-size-fits-all.

Once you know who your audience is, you’ll know what style to go for.

2. Find Your Style and Be Authentic

Once you know your audience, it’s time to determine your style.

You don’t need to fit into the mold and be like everyone else.

You need to be authentic, true to yourself, and relevant to your product.

A few questions you can ask yourself before figuring out your style are:

1. Why does my brand exist?
2. What problems do I help people solve?
3. What do I do differently than my competitors?
4. What obstacles have we overcome as a brand?

Once you start answering some of these questions, you can start designing.

3. Be Consistent

You’ve heard it been said before, “Consistency is key”.

Having consistent branding is going to be crucial in your brand recognition.

You can’t have half of your branding be neutral, flat design and minimalistic, and the other half neon and 3-D.

It just doesn’t work.

Your branding needs to be aesthetic and should be consistent over all platforms.

Once you create a consistent branding style that works for you, people will begin to recognize your brand subconsciously.

4. Build Your Character

In order to have effective brand storytelling, you have to build a brand character that your audience will be able to relate to.

You have to be approachable by your audience.

The way that you can build character for your brand is by using a language that your audience would use, so that you’re relatable.

So if you are approaching a younger, fun generation, then maybe use terminology they understand and create fun memes to post on social media, talk to them like they’re as your friends, etc.

You could create cool and colorful visuals that they would be happy to share.

And the opposite would be true for a more formal branding approach. If you’re a large corporation, then use more formal language and more elegant and sleek visuals.

Create the character that reflects your brand and try to reach your audience at the level they’re at.

Be true to yourself and your brand, because people can see right through a pretend character.

5. Find Your Competitors, Then Do Better

My final piece of advice definitely sounds a bit harsh, but find your competitors, research their branding, see what you like and dislike about what they’ve done, then do better.

You need to prove yourself to your audience and tell them why they should use your services and buy your product, instead of buying your competitor’s products.

What makes you different? What makes you stand out?

Answer those questions throughout your website through your design.

So, see what your competition is doing, do it better.

Do it for yourself.

Your product deserves the attention of others and you’ll get that through great storytelling in your branding.

We hope you found these 5 tips helpful and that you’ll have a great time finding clever ways to implement your story into your branding.

And as always,

Stay safe and stay creative, folks!

Read More at 5 Essential Elements of Brand Storytelling You Need To Know

When you’re a freelancer and you start to work directly with your clients, there’s something crucial you need to know.

Your design is not the one and only, most important aspect of the transaction.

While presenting your client with an amazing design is the final goal, there are a lot of other things at stake that could make or break your business deal.

There are 7 things that could potentially ruin any partnership with a client, and they have nothing to do with your design style.

7 Biggest Mistakes Freelance Designers Make And How To Avoid Making Them

I don’t want you to have to make the same mistakes I’ve made when I was a beginner freelancer.

Today, I want to learn from my mistakes and avoid these 7 deadly sins of freelance graphic designers.

1. Poor Communication Skills

Poor communication is the biggest bummer of all the freelance design mistakes that you could make.

Everything you do and the way you’re going to make your client feel is all going to come back to how well you communicate with your client.

Now, communication is a two-way street.

If you and your client don’t communicate exactly what they’re looking for and what you’re capable of doing, then you’re going to find yourself working all-nighters to revise mistakes that could’ve easily been avoided had you communicated.

Some clients are angels, and some are the opposite.

Some clients will verbalize exactly what they’re looking for, and others will give you the vaguest idea of what they want and let you try to figure it out, which sometimes is a blessing, and others, a curse.

One way you can avoid poor communication is by creating a list of basic questions you want to ask each of your clients, regarding their expectations of what your design will be.

Decide what platform you’ll be communicating through and make sure you set hours you will be readily available to discuss changes and set your notification to loud so you never miss a beat.

If you ever feel like a client is being rude, take a deep breath, decide whether you’ll continue working with them or not, then write them a calm message. Remember: things on the internet last forever! Don’t let one snooty client ruin your reputation.

2. Limited Number of Revisions

Nothing is worse than thinking you finally finished a design that you’re happy with and proud of, you just presented it to your client, and they don’t love it.

They want you to revise it.

The number of times you agree to revise your project is something you will need to have discussed beforehand.

Not everyone will be on the same wavelength, so it’s important you decide how many times you will change the final version of your design, and what you will charge if they ask for supplementary changes.

And what do you know it, this all leads back to good communication.

Don’t let people walk all over you, but also don’t be so prideful you won’t make any changes. It’s a beautiful and delicate balance.

3. Not Fulfilling Client’s Needs

Speaking of being prideful, sometimes, you have to suck it up and make a design that you’re not completely proud of.

Lots of clients have complained that some designers they worked with only had themselves in mind when creating their design.

Needs and requests were not met, therefore leading to awful conflict and probably bad word of mouth followed shortly after that.

Try to sus out the vibe of what your client is looking for and see if the style aligns with yours. If it does, awesome!

If it doesn’t, decide whether or not you’re going to do the work anyway and get that coin, or whether to respectfully decline the offer to work with them.

4. Missing The Deadline

When you’re your own boss, it’s easy to get behind and have no “work anxiety” or drive to finish your work on time.

But a good reputation is crucial and constantly missing deadlines is a terrible way to do things.

Set up a deadline that you really think you can make.

Don’t think your Superman or Superwoman, and can handle 10 projects that are all due by next week.

Take on what you know you can handle, and discuss that with your client.

Everyone understands a pushback here and there, but don’t make that a habit.

People might eventually perceive you as lazy, and that’s not what we’re going for here.

5. Mispriced Work

Listen, you gotta know your worth.

In saying this, you should know how much to charge.

Don’t undersell yourself, because you’re the bomb!

But don’t overcharge either, because people don’t like it when someone takes advantage of them.

Give them a quote, and negotiate from there.

6. Not Making Clients Feel Like a Priority

No one likes to feel unimportant.

And maybe you’re not making your clients feel unimportant intentionally.

Sometimes, we all take on more than we can handle.

But if your clients don’t feel like a priority, they might cut your work contract short, or choose not to work with you again in the future.

This mistake goes hand-in-hand with missing deadlines. You can’t take on so much that you will make people feel unimportant.

Everyone wants to feel heard and important, and some companies or clients are cut-throat and won’t work with you again if you don’t make them feel like they’re important to you.

Do your best to make your clients know they’re important to you and you’re doing your best.

Communication, communication, communication.

7. Wasting Time

The final thing I want to talk about is wasting time.

When you work from home, it’s easy to get distracted.

Blame it on your pets or a messy kitchen, and then suddenly you’re 5 hours behind schedule and things are getting out of hand.

I have a whole list of things you can do to stay productive while working from home that will help you stay on top of your A-game.

Make sure you make a good schedule for yourself, one that works for you.

Don’t waste too much time on things that don’t matter. The dishes can wait. Or maybe, they can’t. You should definitely have a clean workspace. But right after that, get back to work!

Wrapping up

Everything is a learning curve, and while you start working from home, take advantage of all the freedom that comes with that, but make a good name for yourself and do your best.

What other giant mistakes do you think designers make that we should cover?

Let us know in the comments.

Until next time,

Stay creative, folks!

Read More at 7 Biggest Mistakes Freelance Designers Make That Will Ruin Their Career

There’s nothing quite like music.

I no it’s not just me when I say that I literally have a playlist for everything, and I mean everything.

I’ve got my running playlist, my boxing playlist, my “I’m on top of the world” playlist, and “I’m not crying, you’re crying your eyes out” playlist.

And what’s more intimate than sharing your personal playlist with another person? I mean, hot dang.

10 Productivity Playlists That Will Help You Focus And Get Stuff Done

Anywho, I am 100% off-topic, but the main idea here is that music is one of the best things that we humans created. And there are actually studies that link music we love to our levels of productivity.

And I know we all need a little extra kick of productivity in our lives right now, after so many weeks in quarantine.

So I’m going to share with you 10 different playlists that will help you focus.

How to Pick Out The Most Effective Playlist For You

Not every playlist on Spotify or Apple Music listed as “Productivity” will work for you.

There are a few factors that you need to take into consideration before hitting that play button.

But today I’m just going over one main question you need to ask regarding what playlist you’ll want to listen to.

Do you prefer lyrical or instrumental music?

This is the most important question that will determine whether you will be able to focus or get lost in a dance party.

For some people, listening to the top 100 pop songs will do the trick. For others, it will be classical, instrumental music.

I’m personally half-half, but it definitely depends on the project.

When I’m designing, I could be listening to anything, but most lyrical music because I love to sing along and it boosts my mood and hypes me up to do the best job that I could.

But if I need to be answering emails and talking to my team, I need something instrumental, because I can’t focus with hearing words in the background while trying to come up with my own.

Once you decide what type of music works best for you, then you can choose your playlist accodingly.

Personal Preference

Of course, personal preference of music genres come into play here.

Just because some people can focus while listening to Bach and classical piano, doesn’t mean you will be able to.

You might focus best while listening to screamo. You won’t know until you try it.

Now for the long-awaited playlists. Here are my top 10 favorite playlists for focusing.

1. Lo-fi

Lo-fi Playlist on Spotify

I personally work the absolute best to lo-fi.

It puts me in the best mood and I can really focus and lose myself in my writing.

Every once in a while, a lo-fi song will come on and have an inspiring message that makes me feel like I can run the world.

But mostly, it’s just instrumental with the best beats and gives me good vibes.

2. Nature Sounds

Nature Sounds Playlist

Sometimes when you’re cooped up in the house or office, you just want to go outside.

Sometimes, you can’t do that. So the best you can do is turn on your nature sounds playlist.

This playlist from Spotify is amazing. I personally like the sounds of birds and trees, but if you like stormy weather, or waterfalls or anything else, just type in nature sounds and see what you find!

3. Coffee Shop Sounds

Cafe Sounds Playlist

You know, sometimes music just doesn’t hit the spot. For some people.

Especially during quarantine, our new sense of normal is being at home all. the. time.

And for many of us, that means being alone all the time.

Maybe you want to feel like you’re in a coffee shop or somewhere in the town.

So, set up shop with a coffee next to a window and give this playlist a listen.

There’s nothing like hearing all the ambient noises of a coffee shop.

4. Coffee Shop Vibes

Coffee Shop Vibes Playlist

I love some chill coffee shop music.

Especially the jazzy kind.

If you just type in Coffee shop music in Spotify, you’ll find all sorts of different, chill music to listen to.

5. Focus Flow

Focus Flow Playlist

Focus Flow is another awesome playlist with instrumental tunes on it.

It’s got some really good instrumental hip-hop beats on it.

The only problem with this is that you might start free-styling after long enough.

But honestly, is that really the worst thing?

It could be your next talent for your next awkward team-building zoom call.

KIDDING. (or am I?)

6. Coffee Table Jazz

Coffee Table Jazz

What is it about Jazz that makes me feel so dang fancy?

After just five minutes of listening, I’m already coming out with the “Ba-da-beeeee Zoo-Zap-ah’s”

And everyone in my house wants me to stop.

I can, but I won’t.

This instrumental jazz playlist will help you focus, or make you want to start improv singing.

I will not be held responsible for any spontaneous singing.

7. Pop Instrumental Covers

Pop Covers Playlist

Like I said, I’m always in danger of starting a dance/karaoke party.

It’s my weakness.

And just like Michael Scott said, if that’s wrong, then lock me up.

To avoid losing focus, I sometimes put on instrumental versions of my favorite songs or acoustic versions just so I can hear the songs I like, but not get too caught up in the moment.

I said “too” caught up.

8. Classical Music

Classical Music Playlist

I was obsessed with classical music in high school, and every once in a while I love to turn it on when I work.

This is my personal favorite playlist to listen to.

Give it a go and see what you think!

9. Ambient Relaxation

Ambient Relaxation Playlist

Sometimes work is completely overwhelming and I get it.

I feel that way quite often.

This playlist relaxes me to my core and helps me focus.

Especially during this world wide pandemic, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, so I highly recommend giving this playlist a shot.

10. Piano in the Background

Piano in the Background Playlist

And finally, we’ve reached our final playlist for today.

Sometimes I just want to listen to some relaxing piano in the background to help me focus.

It’s so relaxing you don’t even really notice it, but it will still help you get in the zone and feel productive.

I hope you found this list helpful!

We’re all adjusting to working from home and living life a lot differently from before.

Music can help keep you focused and change your life and overall mood.

Let me know if you found this list helpful and I would love to make another one!

Until next time everybody,

Stay creative!

Read More at 10 Productivity Playlists That Will Help You Focus And Get Stuff Done

Making a logo is typically one of your first tasks as a new, up-and-coming designer.

I know I had my fair share of making logos for far too cheap, and mostly for my close friends and their small businesses, but it’s something I’ll never forget.

Although there are a few things that I wish I had known when I was at the beginning of my career, so I’m here to shed some light on a few basic design principles that I swear by.

6 Basic Logo Design Principles For Beginners 

There are a few things, in my opinion, that every novice designer should know about logo design. Of course, you’ll end up doing whatever feels right for you, but just hear me out.

Alright guys, let’s do this.

1. Keep it simple

By now you’ve already heard of the K.I.S.S. principle. Keep it stupid simple. 

This is going to be key in making any logo.

I’ve learned that the hard way.

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When someone looks at your logo, it should be easy for any viewer to understand, interpret, and digest.

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No one should have to stare at your logo, cock their head to the side like a confused, adorable puppy, and wonder just what the heck you have created there.

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Take Apple, for example. One of the biggest dogs in the game.

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Back in the 60’s… Well, only they knew what they created for a logo.

But as the years went by, they kept simplifying and simplifying it.

And that was the key!

By simplifying their logo, it was easy to understand, it was easy on the eyes, and of course, it was memorable as heck.

Which brings me to my next point.

2. Make It Memorable

I know you immediately recognized my first simple logo example, which was obviously the Nike swoosh.

But why did you recognize it so quickly?

Because it was simple and memorable.

What’s the point in having an amazing design, if it’s not memorable?

You’ll lose brand recognizability. If your logo design is no good, well, you’ll have people talking about the business you’re designing for like this, “You know… that one place! With the thing… You know what I’m talking about!”

Nobody wants that. You need something simple, and memorable.

Let me show you some memorable logos that I know you’ll recognize.

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3. Use A Cohesive Color Scheme

A good color choice is going to make or break your design.

If you’re going to be using multiple colors, then I suggest that you choose a great color palette or use some sort of cohesive color scheme.

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Using a bunch of colors that don’t match won’t be a good choice.

You can always do a quick google search and see what colors are predicted to be most popular this year, or you can use color psychology and pick a color scheme that will match your service best.

4. Make It Scalable And Versatile

Keep in mind that the company, business, or client that you’re designing for will be using their logo on a multitude of services.

From big signs to coffee mugs, you need to make sure your logo won’t lose its quality and that it’s recognizable no matter where it’s displayed.

One way to make sure that your design looks good across all platforms is by creating mockups. We know lots of free mock-up sites that you might be interested in using.

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5. Always Keep Your Audience in Mind

You always, always, always have to remember who you’re designing for, and adapt.

If you’re designing for kids, you don’t want to go with neutral colors and a minimalist, flat design. You’re going to want to use bright colors that catch their eye and look fun.

On the other hand, if you’re designing for a winery, you’re going to want something sleek, minimal, and elegant.

So whoever the audience is, you have to take your unique style and just adapt it to your situation.

6. Go With Your Gut

And finally, go with your gut and make the designs you love.

Not everyone will understand your designs, and you won’t always understand everyone’s request.

But you’re going to live and learn from those experiences and in the end, it’ll make you a better and more experienced designer.

Try to make a new logo design every day. It doesn’t need to be spectacular, but just something that will keep your creative wheels turning.

If you ever need some inspiration, we have lots of tips on how you can find design inspiration in everyday things.

Until next time,

Stay creative and stay safe, folks!

Read More at 6 Logo Design Principles That We Swear By