How to Create a Logo in Photoshop

People have been creating logos or at least some identifying mark to let people know who they are long before the release of Photoshop, for centuries actually. Everyone from pirates to Disney and McDonalds use logos. And since the advent of the computer, logo design has become much quicker, more creative and effective and, in the long run, better. Although, certain principles have not changed dramatically at all, such as the core idea that a logo needs to be easily recognizable. Creating logos with Adobe's Photoshop CS3 can be an effective way to create rich, engaging and interesting logos.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. 
   Document settings

   Open Photoshop CS3. Open a new document with the settings seen in the image here by selecting "File" in the upper left hand corner and selecting "New" from the drop-down menu.

2. 
   Photoshop interface

   Create a new layer by selecting the new layer button in the layers window on the right-hand side. The button is the second from the right at the bottom. See the Photoshop interface image for reference to tool locations and settings locations.

3. Select the elliptical marquee tool and click and drag across your canvas, holding down "Shift" to create a circle.

4. Fill the circle with black by clicking the default colors button just above the color setting buttons in the tool window on the left. Then select "Edit," "Fill," "Foreground Color."

5. 
   Ellipse over circle

   Create a new layer and click and drag your marquee tool across your canvas again, without holding down shift to create an ellipse. Select the move tool (top tool in your tool window) and move your ellipse over the top of your circle like the image shown here.

6. 
   Crescent shape

   Holding "Ctrl" down, select the ellipse layer so that it gives you a selection dotted line around it. Select the circle layer (do not hold control down), click back on the canvas so you don't delete the layer and hit "delete" on your keyboard. This will create a crescent shape from the two shapes. See the image for an example.

7. Delete the layer that had the ellipse by dragging it into the trash in the layer buttons.

8. 
   Yellow crescent

   Hold "Ctrl" on your keyboard and select the layer with the crescent shape to select the shape. Set your foreground color by selecting the foreground button in the color settings area of the tool window. Fill the shape with the yellow, using the same method from Step 4.

9. Duplicate the crescent shape layer with the marquee selection still active for the shape by dragging over the new layer button in the layers buttons.

10. Fill the duplicated crescent shape with a rock pattern by selecting "Edit," "Fill" from the top menu bar. Use the settings seen here for the pattern. The rock pattern used the is first one in the rock patterns. Deselect the shape by hitting "Ctrl" together with "D" on your keyboard.

11. Change the layer settings to darker color by selecting the first drop-down menu (it should say normal) and select "Darker Color" from the drop-down.

12. Select both layers with crescent shapes holding down "Ctrl" and then hitting "E" to merge the two layers. You should have something similar to the image here.

13. Double-click the right end of the newly merged layer to open the layer properties menu.

14. Select bevel and emboss on the left-hand side and set the settings, according to the image.

15. Select inner glow on the left hand side and set the settings according to the image.

16. Select the background layer and fill it with black. Your image should look something like the one here.

17. Change your workspace to the default typography workspace by clicking the "workspace" button at the top right of the screen. See the image for reference to the the workspace settings, character settings and paragraph settings locations.

18. Set your font to Arial Bold, size to 36 pt, color white in the character settings area. Select the type tool from the tool window and type the word "Crescent." Select the move tool and move the word to the desired location.

19. Set your font size to 14 pt and leave the rest set as it was. Select the type tool and type the word "media." Select the move tool and move it under the right end of the other word. Change your workspace back.

20. Double-click the right end of the layer with the word Crescent to open the layer properties menu.

21. Select bevel and emboss and set it according to the settings in the image.

22. Select outer glow and set it according to the settings in the image.

23. Crop the image and save it. Your logo should look something like the image at the beginning of the article (without the flare).

Tips & Warnings

• Add some flare to your logo creation. Keep logo designs fairly simple so that a logo is recognizable in high-quality color print, black and white and gray scale.
• Never copy another logo for use commercially or to represent your own work in any fashion; it is copyright infringement.

References

• EB Arts Creative Industries

Resources

• More Photoshop Tutorials