How to Make Monochrome Logos

Choosing an image to represent your organization or business can be a difficult decision; this picture is called a logo and brands the company for public relations and recognition. Make an impact and grab attention from the logo-saturated market by designing a monochrome logo. Monochrome is the artistic style of using a single color such as black or shades of a single color such as red, maroon and brick. Take on the world mano-a-mano with a monochrome logo.

Things You'll Need

• Windows Paint
• Adobe Photoshop
• Microsoft Publisher

Instructions

Using Paint

1. Open Paint, click the Paint button in the top-left corner of the screen and select "Properties." Change the "Width" and "Height" boxes to the preferred logo size, such as "4" for each. Choose "Inches" from the "Units" column. Click the "OK" button to resize the Paint workspace.

2. Click a small colored square in the "Colors" section of the ribbon/toolbar or leave the default as black.

3. Click the "Brushes" button and select the "Natural pencil" brush. Position the brush on the Paint workspace and draw the shape of the logo, such as a heart, star, daisy or abstract shape.

4. (Optional) Select a new color within the same hue as the first. If the logo is black, choose a dark or light gray. If medium green, for example, choose a lime or Kelly. Click the "Fill with color" tool, which looks like a tipping paint bucket on the "Tools" section. Click inside the logo to fill the outline with the new color.

5. Click the Paint button, select "Save As," choose "GIF" from the "Save as type" and save the logo to the computer.

Using Photoshop

1. Open Photoshop, click the "File" menu and select "New." Type "MonochromeLogo" into the "Name" box. Type the logo dimensions, such as "3" into the "Width" box and "2" into the "Height" box. Pull down the dimensions menu and select "inches" for both. Pull down the "Background Contents" menu and select "Transparent." Click the "OK" button and a small checkerboard workspace opens.

2. Right-click the shape tool, which may look like a gray rectangle, gray circle, gray line or gray star on the bottom of the "Tools" palette on the left side of the screen. All of these tools share the same icon space. From the fly-out menu, select "Custom Shape Tool."

3. Pull down the "Shape" menu at the top of the screen and select a logo design, such as a light bulb or lightning bolt. Click into the "Color" box on the toolbar and choose a color for the logo.

4. Position the cursor on the top-left corner of the Photoshop workspace. Click and drag the cursor to the bottom-right corner. The logo design appears and fills in with the single color.

5. Click the "File" menu, select "Save As," choose "GIF" as the "Format" and save the logo to the computer.

Using Publisher

1. Open Publisher and click the "Blank 8.5 x 11" button on the "Available Templates" window. When the blank Publisher logo workspace opens, click the "Insert" tab at the top of the screen. Select "Clip Art."

2. Type a word or phrase related to the organization into the "Search for" box. Click "Go." Scroll through the results and double-click a graphic, which appears on the logo workspace, but in full color.

3. Click the graphic once to highlight it and open the pink "Picture Tools" tab and toolbar at the top of the screen.

4. Select the "Recolor" option on the left of the ribbon/toolbar. Hover the cursor over the monochromatic color options and click a small colored square to commit the change to the logo.

5. Click the "File" menu, select "Save As," type name for the logo and save it to the computer.

References

• Windows: Using Paint
• University of Washington: Photoshop Drawing
• Microsoft Office: Publisher Features and Benefits