Blog / Branding
How to make a logo for your business yourself, and when you shouldn't
A logo made in twenty minutes on a free tool looks fine on your laptop. Then the printer asks for a vector file, the investor deck shows it at the size of a favicon, and a competitor turns out to have almost the same one.
Vedran ObradovićFounder & Branding Specialist - - 5 min
You can make a workable logo yourself in an afternoon: write what the business does, set the name in one typeface, sketch twenty versions, test the best one on a small screen and in one colour, check nobody else uses it, and export vector files. It stops being a good idea when the logo has to carry trust with buyers, investors or a whole team.
How do I make a logo for my business myself?
Step 1: Write the job in two lines
What does the business do, and for whom? Then three words for how it should feel to a buyer: for example "precise, calm, technical". These two lines are your brief. Without them, you will choose by mood.
Step 2: Look at fifteen logos before you draw anything
Collect ten from your market and five from outside it. Write down what they all share, and decide what you will not do. If every competitor uses a blue circle, a blue circle makes you invisible.
Step 3: Start with the name set in type
Choose one typeface and set the name in it. Change the weight, the spacing between letters, and the case. Check the font licence allows commercial use and logos, because many free fonts do not.
Step 4: Sketch twenty versions on paper
Fast and ugly. Twenty small boxes on one page. Pick the three that still read at thumbnail size, then rebuild only those on the computer.
Step 5: Run the five tests
| Test | How | Pass if |
|---|---|---|
| Small | Shrink to 16 pixels wide, the size of a browser tab icon | You can still tell what it is |
| One colour | Black on white, then white on black | Nothing disappears or turns to mush |
| Dark and light | Place it on a dark and a light background | Legible on both |
| Distance | Look at it from across the room, or at 5% of its size | The shape holds |
| Unique | Search the name and shape in a trademark database and reverse-image search | No close match in your field |
Step 6: Check that nobody else owns something close
Search the trademark databases of your market: EUIPO's eSearch plus and TMview for the EU, USPTO for the US. This is a first check, not legal advice. If you plan to register the logo, ask a trademark attorney.
Step 7: Export the files and write the rules
Export an SVG (vector), a PNG with a transparent background, and a PDF. Keep the editable source. Write down the font name and the exact colour codes on one page. That page is your first brand guidelines, and it is more than most startups have.
When should I not make my own logo?
Three moments:
- The logo has to carry trust. If your buyers are enterprise teams or your investors will judge you in the first ten seconds, a logo is part of the evidence. Your pitch can be excellent and a template-looking mark still costs you.
- It is one piece of a system. A logo is one of thirty things your team needs: colours, type, imagery, a voice, templates. If the team will make posts and decks every week, with or without AI, they need rules, not just a file.
- It comes from a template or a generator. Ask whether anyone else can get the same one. Read the terms of the tool: some do not promise that a generated logo is unique to you, and some do not give you exclusive rights.
Mistakes I see
- A raster file only. A JPG or a screenshot cannot be resized without going soft. Always keep a vector.
- Too much detail. A thin line or a gradient vanishes at 16 pixels.
- A symbol before a name. Many first logos need a symbol that the business does not yet need. A clean wordmark ages better.
- A trend mark. A shape that looks fresh in 2026 looks dated by 2028. Ask whether it still works in black on a letterhead.
- No rules. Without the font name and colour codes, the next person will recreate the logo slightly differently every time.
FAQ
Can I use Canva for my logo? You can. Check the licence of every element you use, and check that the layout is not a template thousands of others also use. Templates are the reason many logos look alike.
What file formats do I need? SVG and PDF (vector) for print and web, PNG with a transparent background for presentations and social, and the editable source file.
Can I trademark a logo I made myself? Often yes, if it is original and no one else holds something confusingly similar. Search first and ask a trademark attorney before you file. This is not legal advice.
Is an AI logo generator good enough? For a placeholder, maybe. I will test this properly in a later article, with a real logo made in ChatGPT and in Canva, annotated.
How do I know when to hire a designer? When the logo has to carry trust with people who matter, or when you need a whole system your team can use without asking you.
One next step
If you are not sure which side of that line you are on, take the free Brand Check: 3 minutes, 9 taps, and you get a brand score and what to fix first.
By Vedran Obradović, Founder & Branding Specialist at Vizura Studio® in Zagreb. 250+ brand projects over 8+ years, most for B2B tech companies. Updated 21 October 2026.
Sources
- EUIPO eSearch plus: https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/
- TMview (EU and international trademark search): https://www.tmdn.org/tmview/
- USPTO trademark search: https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/
