The top is made from a font in the Didone category; the bottom is sort of a Latine style.

You need to hire a pro to do this right.

I'd recommending studying the anatomy of type and how people perceive/read type, so that you're able to evoke characters even while removing certain key elements.

Hey! I actually just wrote a quick blog post about this if you were still working on your logo. Here is the link: https://ginamessick.co/create_own_logo/ :)

I assume you want to do it yourself.

Like Jared mentions, you need some knowledge of the anatomy of type. If you don't have any it's going to be hard to create something that will look good/professional. But if you want to do it as a study project, to learn from it, it will be fun and you will gain some knowledge about type, just don't expect too much.

If you know Adobe Illustrator and know how to draw / manipulate vector shapes you can to it behind a computer and be able to create a lot of different ideas pretty fast. There are tons of instructions video's on manipulating existing fonts out there.

if you don't know how to work with Illustrator you have to print letters cut them by hand and arrange them by hand, draw or photograph the result. This will take a lot of time and effort but it's not a bad way to do it and if you have fun doing it who cares it takes time!

So if the goal is to own a logo for your company period, follow Hrant's advice.

If you like to know more about type and want to study it more in the future, go ahead and experiment! And show us what you made, anyone here will be happy to give you feedback!

Hrant is absolutely right. Not meaning to be rude, but your question is a bit like "how do I write a professional computer program?" If you don't know how to do it, you can't do it. Yet.

I have been a professional type designer for five years, and have studied type on some level for much longer. But I am not very good at logo design, which is a different process. I might be able to make a professional looking logo (whatever that may be), but I would still hire a professional designer to do it, if it were something important. Simply because he or she would do it better than me.

As the above say, the easiest way is to throw the job at someone that already knows how to do it. That it is also the way you learn the least from…

The best of both worlds is to get a pro to do it but explain why it works.

There are some steps to keep in mind while logo designing:

Think different and be unique
Less is more
Think Adaptable
Make it timeless
Strong design is captivating

@cat conrad, one of the best ways to create a professional logo is by research. Lots of it. The industry you're aiming for, the audience, and in some cases demographics. Once you have some direction then you might get a better feel as to the design and type you might want to use to position yourself as a brand, trend, or whatever style you're aiming for and the attention you want to gain for the purpose of the logo. When you get to sketching out ideas, you might find this site helpful http://www.logobook.com

I would also suggest reading through this identity guide to get a better understanding of how a mark works together https://issuu.com/egotype/docs/brand_manual_guide_cm_v1
After you get that all together, look into having your logo tradamarked as outlined here: http://justcreative.com/2011/01/17/how-to-trademark-a-logo/

This is how you can create a professional logo and keep it protected, because there's no need to create a professional logo without the rights to it. Please keep us updated to your progress. I'd like to see what you come up with and how you launch the logo for your name/brand in the near future. Enjoy the process and make it happen.

A professional logo can enhance a company, an organization, or a product. On the other hand, an unprofessional logo can ruin a brand and mar an otherwise good designer’s portfolio.

Hey I'm new here and looking for help. We recently just had a website built for our company in Arizona, but now the guy who did it is nowhere to be found. We need to create a logo for our company, and I've been put in charge, but I can't seem to find how to do it properly. I came across this website and it seems there are some real experts in here. I want something really clean and sleek looking and if possible, I'd like to include a pigeon (or silhouette, or something modern that might resemble a pigeon) in with our company name -- Phoenix Pigeon Control Company.

If you want to take a look at our website and maybe get a feel for what it looks like, the URL is http://www.phoenixpigeons.com

Thanks in advance for all of your help! Looking forward to getting some good advice/help.

-Wyatt

Now this is one case even I would advocate for throwing at a pro, especially if you need it yesterday.