Personal logo design: Tips for building your brand

Businesses rely on their logos to instantly communicate their identity and value to their customers. Think of some of the most iconic business logos, like the golden arches for McDonald’s or the famous Nike swoosh. Each of these designs contributes to better brand recognition and helps the company stand out among the competition.

The same principles can be applied to a personal brand logo. A great logo can help you promote yourself for a variety of endeavors and stand out from your peers — all while showcasing your personality and style.

Before you start creating your own logo, it’s important to think about what you want your design to accomplish. In addition, you’ll want to understand some graphic design basics to help you along the way. Learn more about how to create the perfect logo for your personal brand in this detailed guide.

What can I use a personal logo for?

Many people think that logos are something that only business owners need to promote a product or service. But in today’s online world, personal branding can be just as useful.

When you create a high-quality logo for your personal brand identity, you get a chance to put your stamp on things in a succinct and effective way. A memorable logo will make an impression and add a distinctive touch to the things you create or do. It makes you appear more established and trustworthy. The way your logo looks can also communicate things about your personality, your style, and your interests.

It’s not just business owners who can benefit from having a custom logo. Here are some of the many ways you can put a personal logo to use.

Get clients for your freelance business

When you have a freelance business, it’s only natural that a good portion of your time will be dedicated to outreach. Whether you’re following up on a lead for a potential client, sending out invoices for your work, or networking at an event, it’s important that you appear polished and professional. A logo can help you accomplish this by giving your business a strong personal brand and creating a more memorable impression. Your entrepreneur logo can be applied on your personal website, social media profiles, a business card, a rate sheet, and other important documents and communications.

Promote your artistic work

Singers, musicians, photographers, painters, fashion designers, and many other creators want to have their work seen and appreciated. Getting your name out there as an artist can be tough, but a logo can really help you stand out. A logo is a form of artist branding that allows you to tell your story with a single image. You can include icons that showcase the type of work you create and add other design details which show your artistic style. Consider featuring your artist logo in an online portfolio and any promotional materials.

Find a new job

The job search can be incredibly competitive, so why not find unique ways to stand out from the competition? If you’re looking for new opportunities or trying to change career paths, consider creating a logo for your job hunt. It can be used on paper resumes or a resume website to catch the eye of recruiters and hiring managers. Creating this type of personal logo is about more than just differentiating yourself, however. The process of designing a new logo for your job hunt can help you think deeply about the type of role you want, what skills you bring to the table, and how you want potential employers to perceive you.

Pursue a hobby

A personal logo doesn’t have to help you further your career or reach out to potential customers. It can also be something you do just for the fun of it! A hobby is a great example of a way you can put this into practice. Maybe you like to document the books you read on a dedicated Instagram account, or you’ve decided to start a blog where you talk about your DIY home renovations. Regardless of whether you want to monetize your blog or social media account, a logo can help you find people with similar interests and gain new followers.

4 steps for designing a personal logo

Ready to design a personal logo, but not sure where to start? The following four steps will help you come up with a design that’s just as unique and captivating as any professional logo.

1. Define your goals

Start by asking yourself: What do I want my personal logo to do? A job-seeker’s logo for business cards and a portfolio website might feature a traditional, classic look. If a singer-songwriter wants a logo to use on social media and T-shirts sold at their shows, they may want a more artistic style. Take this opportunity to think about what you hope your logo will communicate about your small business or personal brand.

2. Think about your target audience

Next, consider who will view your logo and what they might be looking for. Maybe you’re a consultant that helps with the college application process. Your potential clients are going to be high schoolers, so it helps to have a fresh, fun look that appeals to them. If you’re making a logo to use on your resume when applying for engineering jobs, on the other hand, a more traditional and formal logo is a better fit.

3. Search for design inspiration

Looking at other logo designs is a smart way to determine which styles and features appeal to you. Whenever you notice a logo you like, snap a photo or a screenshot. Collect these images in one folder or use a tool like Pinterest to create a mood board with your favorite logo ideas. You’ll want to refer back to these images for inspiration later on.

4. Look at the competition

The last step in preparing to make your own logo is to research the ones used by your competitors. It’s a great way to get a better idea of what logos typically look like in your niche in terms of design styles, color palettes, fonts, etc. Which ones are best at communicating the type of information you want to share with your own logo? Note which features work and which don’t so you can use that to your advantage. More importantly, look for ways that you can make your logo stand out among other people in your field.

Personal logo design elements

Once you dive into the design process for your personal logo, you’ll find that there are many different factors to consider. Here are the design elements you’ll need to make decisions about as you create your unique logo.

Logo type

There are a number of different types of logos you can use to represent your personal brand. Some of the most common logo types include:

Brand mark

Photo by Laurenz Heymann on Unsplash

Brand marks are one of the most common types of logos. These are graphic-based logos which feature a symbol that becomes associated with the brand. When creating a personal logo, you can choose something that relates to your career, interests, or personality.

Examples: Target, Apple

Wordmark

Photo by Fox on Unsplash

Wordmark logos don’t include symbols or mascots. Instead, they feature your business name, brand name, or full name as the logo itself. The type of font you select gives this icon type added character.

Examples: Coca-Cola, FedEx

Lettermark

Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash

This type of logo is similar to wordmark, but it features an abbreviation of the brand name instead. You could use a monogram of your name or an acronym for your brand name, preferably in a distinctive font.

Examples: CNN, P&G

Combination mark

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

A combination mark is a type of logo that combines the elements of a brand mark along with a wordmark or lettermark in a single layout. The brand’s symbol is displayed along with the brand name or abbreviation.

Examples: Amazon, Taco Bell

Abstract

Photo by NIKHIL on Unsplash

An abstract logo features shapes that connect to your brand’s core identity. This logo type can stand on its own or be combined with your brand name depending on the application.

Examples: Pepsi, Airbnb

Emblem

Photo by Sorin Sîrbu on Unsplash

An emblem resembles a seal or a family crest. These logos generally have a style that appears to be more traditional, timeless, or sophisticated.

Examples: Starbucks, Harley-Davidson

Logo font

The typeface you use in your logo can say a lot about your brand. A serif font like Times New Roman can appear formal, traditional, and reliable, while a sans serif font like Helvetica tends to have a modern, clean, and bold look. Script fonts exhibit a more personal and authentic feel since they look like handwriting. Think about what values you’re trying to communicate to your audience and pick a logo font accordingly.

Logo color

The color scheme that you select for your logo is one of the best ways to make an impression. The right colors will really pop and help your logo stand out. More importantly, you can tap into the principles of color psychology to connect with your target audience. For example, some colors are energizing, while others are calming. Red is often associated with passion, yellow with happiness, purple with creativity, etc. The colors you choose will affect the perception of your personal brand, so consider how each hue will affect viewers.

Logo shape

As with colors, there’s also a psychology of logo shapes that you can reference when creating a personal logo. A round shape typically appears gentle and inviting, while sharper shapes look stable and strong. Horizontal lines can represent speed, and vertical lines symbolize growth and ambition. The shape of your logo can be a great way to demonstrate core values that you want your personal brand to be associated with.

Ways to design a logo for your personal brand

Now that you have some ideas about how you’d like your logo to look, you can dive into the design process. There are two main options for making a personal logo: hire a pro or do it yourself.

Option 1: Hire a professional designer

If you don’t have any graphic design experience, you may want to consider hiring a professional designer to help create your logo. Whether you tap a freelancer or an agency for this job, they’ll be able to assist with design choices like logo typography, colors, and shapes. They can also handle the technical aspects, like providing a few different variations on your logo and making sure you get the file formats you need.

There are a few drawbacks to this approach, however. The logo design cost is likely to total hundreds or thousands of dollars, so you’ll need to budget for this expense. Personal logo graphic design services also take time to complete, which means it may take a few weeks or even months before you get your finished logo.

Option 2: Design it yourself

If you don’t have the budget to hire a pro, or if you’re hoping to have a logo ready to go quickly, consider coming up with a design yourself. This is a much faster and more affordable way to complete the design process, and it gives you complete control over the outcome.

Even if you don’t have design experience, there are a number of programs and websites you can use to create a logo. Many even have pre-made templates and tutorials to make the process less daunting. The cost is affordable or even free in some cases, which makes using an online logo maker a great option for creating a personal logo on a budget.

Design a personal logo with Namecheap’s Logo Maker

If you decide to make a personal logo yourself, consider using Namecheap’s Logo Maker. This simple tool walks you through each step for how to design a personal logo, including selections for your font style, colors, and shapes. Then, you’ll get dozens of design options, all of which can be tweaked to your specific preferences. Save your favorite designs, then export your logo as a .PNG file for digital use or generate a .SVG file for a print-quality version.With Logo Maker, you can have your new personal logo ready to go in just minutes. Browse professionally designed logo examples to get inspired, then try out some ideas of your own with Namecheap's free logo maker tool.