How to Create Nonprofit Logos
- 1). Brainstorm logo ideas. Keep your logo simple: no more than two colors, simple geometric figures and images that can stand alone or look good with your nonprofit's name. Goodwill, for example, has a very recognizable logo image that can double as the "G" in their printed name.
Colors should make the viewer think immediately of your nonprofit's mission: green for environmentalism, stark black and white for poverty-fighting organizations or red for missions involving health. Use colors that translate easily to black and white; your logo will at some point be faxed and photocopied, and you want it to be as recognizable in black and white as it is in color.
Your images should be simple and immediately evoke some part of your organization's mission. The image of a world is often found in global organizations. Marketers often recommend incorporating faces and/or hands into your logo to symbolize your people-oriented missions.
Be very aware what font you are going to use when your nonprofit's name is displayed with your logo. Simple sans-serif fonts are often best for nonprofits, but sometimes more complex fonts are better. For example, child-oriented nonprofits often use a printed-handwriting-based font to evoke the image of a child. - 2). Create your logo using pencil and paper. Don't worry about getting it perfect--do worry about representations of all symbols you want incorporated in your logo. Get a swatch of the exact color you want as well. If you have a good graphics designer in your group, have him or her create your logo using a vector-based graphics program; if not, spend some money and hire a talented graphics person.
- 3). Test your logo by printing it up yourself on stationery or on posters and showing it to clients and donors who have not yet seen the logo in development. Listen to every critique and revise accordingly, especially when potential generous donors have something to say. Make sure before you implement the logo that you have it exactly right for your organization; once a logo is associated with your group, it's very difficult to change it effectively.
- 4). Implement your logo. Put it on every piece of paper that leaves your office so you can establish good brand recognition, and use it in as many visual mediums associated with your organization as you possibly can: vans, storefronts, booklets, posters, T-shirts and everything your organization generates.
- 5). Later, you may want to develop special project logos. These logos should add to your main nonprofit logo, not be used instead of your main logo. Ideally, special project logos are in contrasting colors and blend well with your main logo font. Develop and test special project logos in the same way you develop your main logo.
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