How to Make a Company Logo

In simple words, a logo represents a company, product, or service visually. It uses typography, color, and iconography to establish a hopefully memorable picturesque identity for the company. When appropriately made, the logo is aimed to be consistent with your company’s culture and values, and it will distinguish your company from that of its competitors. 

How to make a company logo, you may ask; a logo is not supposed to hurt or help a company in any manner, and nor is it supposed to harm or undermine the perception of its competency. However, a logo ends up becoming a form of identity for a company. Its distinguishing factor and well-executed design help instill a sense of trust. 

In a study at Stanford University, it was also found that a majority of users make decisions about a product and service offered by a company solely based on their design presentation, which may be in the form of their logo’s design or web portal design. While in today’s market, goods are sold with just minor adjustments in their features and quality, design can undoubtedly become a differentiator. 

Obviously, the company portraying the logo, knowing how to make a logo, must have goodwill for the logo to gain real value in time. However, at the end of it, the representation of the logo says a lot about that company. Visual cues impact our judgments massively. 

Features of a Good Logo

The question of how to make a company logo remains. To get to know how to make a company logo adequately, one must instill all the following features of a good logo in its conception. 

1. Simple – How to make a company logo simple? Several of the most impactful and successful logos are remarkably simple. From Nike to Apple, their designs are so simple and easy to recognize and remember. It must be noted that simplicity is key when it comes to designing a logo; this tells us about how to make a company logo. 

Consumers focus on a logo for a very short span of time, and hence complex logos are discouraged as they create confusion and are most often forgotten easily.

2. Relevant – How to make a company logo relevant? The logos must be relevant in order to answer the question of how to make a company logo and to be marketed for the company’s objective. It must be capable of expressing the brand’s personality and identity. This can be done, for example, by the appropriate usage of colors, fonts, and symbols. 

Colors impact the emotions of consumers. While selling children’s products, often very bright colors are used to express excitement, joy, and fun. Similarly, letters and fonts can be used to express the personality and symbols to express the objective. This must be kept in mind to address the question of how to make a company logo.

3. Memorable – How to make a company logo memorable? The reason for a symbol being simple is so that it remains memorable and aids the question of how to make a company logo. However, regardless of it being simply a logo must be made with the object so that it remains memorable for the consumers. 

This aids in creating a connection and generating the interest of the consumers. When the customers easily recall the logos, they establish a connection with the company and tend to come back to its products. The logo must also aim towards being unique and distinguishable. This answers the query of how to make a company logo.

4. Timeless – How to make a company logo timeless. The logo, once out there, should not lose its relevancy or become outdated with time. The best logos out there tend to sustain their impact over the years. This means focusing exclusively on your brand’s core ideas and values to uncover the most effective way to transmit them without unnecessary clutter. 

A memorable logo should always strive to be unique. Even in industries where there are standards and common norms for designs, your logo should always aim to stand out from the pack as much as possible. A company logo must be timeless, and this is an important aspect when answering how to make a company logo. 

5. Versatile – Finally, how to make a company logo versatile? A good logo can be used in several ways, shapes, and situations. When choosing a logo, it must be kept into consideration whether it can be resized, printed, or placed on different media, which would increase the visibility of the company.

What is the use of an extraordinary logo if it isn’t even recognizable or legible if shrunk to be put on a smaller product, or the image breaks when you increase its size or lose its essence, for that matter! 

On a design level, keeping the clutter to a minimum and opting for a simple design will instantly make your logo more versatile. Having too many lines, flourishes, elements, or colors can create a complicated design that will scale poorly. Instead, keep in mind that you have limited real estate, and focus on saying more with less.

Process of Registering a Logo

1. Choose a Unique Logo – How to make a company logo unique? It must be understood that a logo shall be unique and easily distinguishable. Any similarity with an existing trademark might lead to infringement or cancellation of the logo. When a logo is used for commercial purposes, it becomes the identity of that particular business. 

This is when branding is initiated. However, to get the logo legally recognized, it must be registered. An individual can always seek a professional legal advisor’s knowledge and expertise for the initial TM  search; this aids in determining the uniqueness of the brand. 

2. Apply for your logo registration – Post applying for a brand name alongside the logo, the usage of ” ™ ” can be done over the logo proposed. Once the TM application is filed and the receipt is generated, that application is then treated as a new application, and the TM department reviews the app. This is to tell you how to make a company logo and apply for your logo registration.

Following this, if the application contains all the relevant information and is found complete, the application is forwarded for examination, and if not, then clarifications may be sought.

3. Examination of Trademark Application – Once we are aware of how to make a company logo and apply for an application for logo registration, the next stage is its examination. In this stage of the process, the mark is examined by the examiners, and if the application is deemed to be adequate, then the application is advertised in the trademark journal.

However, if the examiner is not satisfied with the application, it may be objected to under absolute grounds for refusal or relative grounds for refusal as per the TM Act, 1999. Following this, an examination report will be sent to the applicant. 

Following the receipt of the objection or clarification required in the examination report, a reply must b sent by the applicant within the prescribed deadline.

4. Show Cause Hearing – In Show Cause Hearing notice is sent to the applicant in regards to the scheduled hearing. This only occurs when the examiner, despite receiving the reply to the examination report, is not satisfied with the application. Post the hearing; if the examiner is satisfied with the application, it is furthered. 

However, if the applicant fails to satisfy the requirement, the application is disposed of.

5. Publication of Mark in the Trademark Journal – Post the examination stage, the TM is published in the TM Journal. Within 4 months of the publication, the application is to be processed by the registrar subject to there being no third-party objections. 

In the case where there is an objection by a third party, a hearing would be conducted by the registrar to determine whether there is a genuine objection based on the claims of both parties. Following this, the registrar will make the decision.

6. Trademark Registration and Certification – The Registration and Certification stage is the last and final stage. Once the logo has satiated the requirements of the examiners and been published in the TM Register, following which, there has been no objection by any third party. A registration certificate is issued under the seal of the trademark will be issued. 

The brand name and the logo will be inserted in the Central Register of Trademarks. The registered TM symbol “ ® “ can be used by the applicant to show that their mark has been registered after receiving the certificate online. 

This whole process of registration takes about twelve to eighteen months. However, if the application is submitted accurately and it faces no objections or delays, the process can be completed in eight to nine months. 

Once a mark is registered, it is valid for a period of 10 years from the date of filing the application, and once the term expires, it can be renewed every 10 years. The process of TM renewal is required by initiating the TM Renewal Application along with the required fees. 

Pertinent to note that if the registered TM is not renewed before the six months of its expiry date, then it will lead to the removal of the mark from the Central Register of TM

Conclusion

In today’s world, where there is no limit on the number of products and services being offered out there, it becomes important to create an identity for one’s own goods and services. In doing so, the goodwill of the firm post the firm registration becomes associated with its logo. 

We know how to make a company logo distinct and unique and how this logo aids in creating an identity for ourselves in the market. Knowing how to make a company logo and registering its TM is essential for a company to initiate its brand.

Hence an adequately and appropriately designed logo provides for instilling confidence in its clients, potential client, and also within the company itself. To know more about how to make a company logo, consult a lawyer online.