Last week I had a meeting with a local shop regarding my small business idea. They offered to sell some of my greeting card designs (yay me!!). Before they can do that however, I need to get some printed. And before I could do that, I needed to create a logo which could be printed on the back of the cards. Or, at least, that is what the lady at the shop advised. I needed to design myself a brand. In this post, I will be showing you how to create a logo for a small business, just in case you want to do something similar.
How to Create a Logo Using Canva
Choosing a Logo
If you don’t know about Canva, you should hop over there right no and check it out! Canva is a free design tool for creating pretty much anything from social media icons to posters, ebook covers, videos, presentations… you name it, they can help you create it.
Using it to create a logo for my business was super easy. I typed ‘logo’ into the search button for templates to bring up a dizzying array of sample logos that other designers have made. These are all free for you to customise and make a great starting point for creating your own logo.
Scroll down until you find one you like. Don’t worry about the colours, words, fonts or pictures used – these can all be changed using the editing tool. Click on the one that appeals and then click on ‘customise this template’
Customising Your Chosen Template
Your Brand Font and Brand Name
This is where the fun begins! Starting with the writing, I changed the name of the business to ‘angelicscalliwags’ and changed the font to my brand font which is True Typewriter. Next, I changed the letters to capitals and increased the size to fill the whole space. I now had a circle created by two ‘ANGELICSCALLIWAGS’.
Your Brand Image
Some logos stick with just the lettering, some have an elaborate (or simple) design element and some have an image. I wanted to add one of my drawings inside the circle. Ideally, it needed to be simple, very much in my style and if possible in keeping with the brand colours. In the end, I chose to add the bird in my whale drawing.
In order to add just the bird, I uploaded my whole drawing and cropped out the bird. I then went into edit photo and used the background remover tool (I think this is only available if you are a paid member). This gave me just the image of the bird which I placed inside the circle of lettering. Lastly, I made it bigger and centralised it.
Using your chosen colour palette for your business
I have a selection of colours which I hope will eventually become synonymous with my brand. I have them saved in Canva. If you don’t already know what colours you want, I would suggest you think about a few colours which appeal to you and are complementary with each other. Make a note of them somewhere. Every time you design something for your business, do so using these colours.
My colour palette includes a large set of autumnal colours. Autumn is my favourite month of the year and its colours inspire me each year and, to me, seem the epitome of comfort and cosy. ❤️
Adding those Colours to the Template
First, I played about with all the colours of my palette to see which ones looked the best. Eventually, I settled on changing the background colour to a mustard yellow and my lettering to a muted orange. To finish off, I added a thick cream border.
The Final Logo for my Business
So here is my final design: I’m really pleased with it – it’s simple, personal, cute and cosy!
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