Branch9 Digital | Create a brand and logo in 20 minutes

This tutorial is for small businesses and non-profits who may lack the budget or resources to hire professional graphic designers. It offers a super quick and cost-effective alternative to creating a brand identity in three simple steps.

Here is a detailed summary of the process I outlined in the video...

Purpose: To help you create a brand and logo for your small business quickly, without needing a graphic designer or agency.

Tools: Namelix, Looka, Canva.

Duration: You can complete the entire process in under 20 minutes.

Price: Some tools, like Looka, require a purchase to download the final assets (e.g. $96 per year for a complete brand kit) but the whole thing will come in under $200.

Step 1: Generate a business name with Namelix

Define your business concept

In my example, my business is an interior design and homeware company focused on sustainability by using recycled or upcycled fabrics.

Enter keywords keywords like 'interiors', 'home', 'lifestyle', 'sustainable' and 'upcycled' into Namelix.

Choose a name style

Options include short phrases, compound words or real words. You can let Namelix auto-select a mix and then adjust the level of randomness for more creative name suggestions.

Generate and select a name

Namelix will then provide hundreds of name options, which you can browse through at your own pace. You can also click into them to see domain availability and price.

After exploring several options, and ideally getting some feedback from people you trust, choose one you like. Make sure the .com domain is available for purchase at a sensible price.

I went for 'rustic remade' during the demo.

Step 2: Create a logo and brand kit with Looka

Enter your business details

Input your selected business name into Looka and define your industry to give it some steer.

For my imaginary business, I selected 'online and retail' and added relevant keywords like 'homeware', interiors', and 'sustainable'.

Select your design preferences

1. Choose a design style from the logo examples provided by Looka.
2. Pick up to five icons from Looka’s suggestions or by searching its large library for yourself.
3. Select a colour palette. I opted for bold, contrasting colours like grey, teal and red.
4. Click: generate logos and Looka creates several logo designs based on your inputs.

Customise your logo

You can take extra time with this part to play with the options in the left-hand navigation. I adjusted the colour palette a few times until I found one I liked.

Review and finalise

Review multiple logo options, settle on one, and see various mockups and applications for the logo (including business cards, invoices and email signatures).

Step 3: Use Canva for further design work

You can upload the set of logos and the rest of the brand kit into Canva. The more you add to the Brand Kits section in Canva, the quicker it will be to design on-brand materials using the tool.

You can get started with a free one-month trial on Canva and see how you get on. You can enrol in Design School for beginner training too.

Once you get the hang of it, you can use Canva’s tools to create additional marketing materials like social media posts, flyers and website banners using your uploaded assets.

Good luck! For more small business advice, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel