Logo is “a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public recognition.” That’s its main job, “Public Recognition.” It’s a visual shortcut targeting our brains to remember what the brand is all about.

When I see a Nike swoosh, I think of athletic performance. When I see a McDonald’s logo, I crave for burger and fries. That white “f” on blue background triggers me to click on it and check my Facebook feed.

Before social media happened, I used to relate an icon of a bird with peace. Now I get reminded of tweets.

Why is a logo important for your brand?

At its core, a Logo’s job is to promote a brand’s existence and recognition.

A great logo evokes emotions and connects with its customers on a deep level. It makes them proud.

Here’s an example. In the world of consumer electronics, there’s literally dozens of world-renowned companies. But have you ever seen a Lenovo sticker on a car? How about HP or Samsung?

Nope, I didn’t think so. Apple’s image as a creator of beautiful and premium devices got ingrained in people’s minds so much that they proudly stick its logo on their cars. That’s how powerful logos are.

The Design Process when Creating Logos

Did you know that the Nike Swoosh was made for a mere $35? A cool story that reminds us you can create a great emblem for your brand without shelling out serious cash.

So what does it take to create an amazing logo? Here are some tips:

1. Ask yourself, what does my brand represent?

Like our example earlier, people anchored Apple’s logo with premium electronic devices. Are you in the food services industry? If yes, what are you best known for?

If you’re into e-commerce, what services does your business offer? You have to distill your brand’s core essence into your logo.

2. Google is your friend

The Internet is teeming with great examples of logos of popular and up-and-coming brands. Study their methods, their psychology behind it, and how they translated it into a catchy design.

With some luck, you’ll understand the rationale behind their ideas and come up with a formula to apply in your own work.

3. Check out the competition

Why not? If they have a winning logo, you can try to break it down and analyze what made it tick. It’s not about copying—it’s actually wanting to know what NOT to copy.

During the process of designing your own logo, it’s good to keep in mind what is already out there so you can avoid them and generate a fresh one on your own.

4. Gather ideas then come up with your own

Like cooking, creating a great logo may either come from pure inspiration or tapping into other recipes before creating your own. Using a pen and paper, lay out your ideas and let them all meld together into one coherent thought.

Forget about creating the most complex graphics, winning logos are actually the opposite. They’re simple. The main challenge is to come up with an entirely fresh and new design that carries your brand’s vision.

5. Get other people’s opinion

Creating a logo is not exactly a top-secret project. So it’s OK to show it to people close to you for feedback. If they like it, great, ask them why they like it. If they don’t, tell them to be brutally honest and ask what they would have wanted to see and their reasoning behind it.

Just make sure that you don’t fall into the trap of being affected too much by feedback. Take it like a grain of salt.

Ultimately, it’s your brand and you’re the best person that can describe it. Taking everyone’s input can ruin your vision and throw out a completely unfocused message. Remember, “Too many cooks spoil the broth.”

6. Start creating your logo

Once you have a crystal-clear vision of what your logo should look like, it’s time to turn it into the real thing. And to help you with this step, we’ve compiled a list of the top free logo creation services that are available online.

Top 15 Free Online Logo Makers:

1. Canva

Hailed as one of the top websites/apps for simple graphic design. Even their process speaks of its simplicity: Create an account, choose a template, upload your own graphics or play around with Canva’s own elements, edit and fix till you get the desired result, save and share.

Plus, it saves your output in high-res without extra fees. Sweet.

2. Logo Makr

If you go to their site, it immediately presents you with a big white canvas. A few pop-ups appear to show how to get started before you start designing. Their search box boasted of “over a million graphics”, so I put it to the test.

Eyeing my son’s toy box as reference, I started searching for the following: Rabbit, truck, and Lego. Each query got me hundreds of results. Nice. As one final test, I tried typing “Iron Man”. True enough, the first dozen images are that of Tony Stark’s armor.

3. Logo.com Logo Maker

The Logo.com Logo Maker creates beautiful logos for your business with just a few pieces of information. You can then edit and customize that logo until you are ready to use it to go build your brand.

We’re more than just a logo creator. Our mission is to deliver professional logo design software that sets your business up with everything you need. From social media to print, you can focus on delivering a great experience for your customers with your new brand. You’ll find a huge variety of logo templates to choose from. You can refine them with our logo designer to craft the perfect logo for your brand. We’re constantly fine-tuning our logo algorithm for unique, high-quality, logo design. Always new pieces adding new elements and file types to the social media and brand image file kits.

4. Logaster

Its process is so simple it almost feels like you’re just filling a 4-step form. As a drawback of its simplicity, however, is the limited options you have when compared to other services in our list.

As a free service, you get to save a small-sized version of your creation. A fee is required for saving the high-resolution version.

5. Ucraft

If you want a minimalist approach to your design project, give Ucraft a try. Their logo maker page only shows 3 options at the top left side: Icons, Text, and Shapes. Below it are buttons for Undo/Redo and Background (if you want a black canvas instead).

The interface is pretty straightforward and in seconds I came up with an image of a smartphone with the words: DON’T FORGET. It’s for my wife. I plan on pinning it on our door.

6. Logo Generator Online

More robust than Ucraft in terms of options. Aside from Add Text, Symbol, and Shape buttons, they also have “Business Cards” and “Upload Image”. Handy if you already have a graphic ready and you’re just looking to add more elements to it.

If you use the free option, you can only save the image in 300 px as opposed to the 2000px for the premium pack.

7. Hipster Logo Generator

“It’s Hip, It’s Current, It’s Stylish, It’s Hipster.”, says their About page. Nevermind the cringe-y description, because you will be rewarded with a clean and sleek interface that is presented in a step-by-step format pretty easy enough to follow.

8. Logo Joy

The first time I tried it felt like answering a personality test. Using A.I as your guide, you’ll be asked to make a selection of templates, colors, logos which the A.I will then use to come up with your customized logo.

I didn’t like the cliffhanger portion though where I had to sign up before I can view the final image. Still, it’s free so it’s worth registering for. After the A.I generates the logo, you can edit it until you get the desired result.

9. Mark Maker

Similar to Logo Joy in terms of execution. The website greets you with a box for entering your company’s name.

The next page shows you a bunch of templates with your company’s name on it and you have to select a few of these so the A.I can generate a new one from it. I didn’t like that it took a bit of time to show me the final image though, definitely slower than Logo Joy.

10. Free Logo Design

The first step is to pick a category for your business. You get to pick a template afterwards. The last step is where you can tailor it further depending on your taste.

The site offers free PNG downloads of 200 px and high-res offerings start with a $39 fee.

11. Vectr

They offer an online-based service as well as desktop app. Compared to others on this list, Vectr offers a more flexible approach to creating your logos.

It’s a highly capable service that will reward those who will take the time tinkering with what it has to offer. I highly recommend you read their guide first to get acquainted with all settings (there’s quite a few).

12. Logo Foundry

I spent a full minute trying to figure out how to create a logo ASAP only to realize it’s an app available to both Android and iOS users. And Windows too.

I went to the Microsoft Store to give it a go. It features templates, symbols, text customization and layer management. It would have helped though if they presented a quick guide section as it can take a while to figure out the options if you’re trying it out the first time.

13. Graphic Springs

Similar to some other websites in terms of presentation. You’ll be asked to enter your company’s name and choose a template. It will generate the image for you which you can then edit to your heart’s content later.

They don’t have a free option though. If you try to “Secure” your logo, you’ll be taken to the check out page for choosing from their 4 paid plans. The basic package starts at $19.99.

14. Logo Yes

I find the canvas rather small (like having an MS Paint window open) which limited my vision of the whole project. The whole process is easy though and rather quick.

Once you’re ready to save it, that’s when you will be taken to their check out page for payment which is 99 cents.

15. Logo Genie

Their interface is clean though the initial assessment they did using the data I keyed in took a full minute. Later, I realized that it took some time because they will be generating more than a dozen versions of your logo already.

Pretty slick if you just want a quick and dirty emblem. You do have to sign up though if you want to download your finished logo but at least there are no fees required.

16. Logo Garden

Similar to Logo Yes in terms of looks and size of canvas. They have 3 How-To videos at the lower portion of the page to serve as a guide. The interface is pretty straightforward and I was able to create my own logo in just one minute.

You’ll be asked to enter your email if you try to save your creation. What makes their service unique is that they offer full logo creation services for $39.00. They promise to send you the finished design in just 24 hours.