What are the top graphic design tools for creating professional logos and branding materials?

Vectors are standard in branding and logo design for a reason. Does that mean that you can’t design your logo in Photoshop? Hell no! But you may appear unprofessional and could lose some clients over it. Be familiar with industry standards and try to follow.

Vector editors of course for final design or even beginning stages if you prefer those. Sometimes though I will use something more user friendly like Pixelmator Pro, then I might refine in illustrator. Most of the time I begin the way I originally started. With pencil and paper. Or nowadays with Apple Pencil and an iPad Pro.

Some good Vector editors in my opinion: Vectornator (now known as Linearity and it's just as good as Illustrator) Illustrator Affinity Inkscape They all can be used to create logos and you don't necessarily have to stick with Adobe if pricing is a issue.

I could spend hours combing the internet, looking at different typography and what I always keep in mind when using it is what it is being used for. If for a logo, keep in mind you can customize whatever typography you want or make your own. Or combine a few different styles in your logo or tagline. After all, you want it to be different but not too crazy and detailed or “zany”. If you hear that word, start over. You want your logo design for your client to emphasize one word only - timeless. Now with timeless comes simplicity, easy to read, great in color and black and/or white. Great and legible being small on business cards or large on billboards or the side of a building. And that’s all I have to say about that.

When doing logo design, I always first design my logos in black + white. The reason is my idea has to work in black or white without the support of colors because there are situations where you might have to use the white or black version of your logo. To nail down colors, I suggest doing research into the industry of the client, doing competition research and also considering user accessibility for a color palette especially if you will use these on a website too.

Mock-up generators are great for showing clients how your design will live in the real world. Super important to show relevant mock-ups to the client. For an example, if you design a logo for a restaurant vs a nonprofit you would show them two different real-world applications as their logos may not live in necessarily the same environments.