If you want a professional logo, then let's be honest, logo design apps can provide a great starting point, but you really need to hire, or become a professional graphic designer (if you're looking to do either, check out our design jobs listings). And if you're setting up a serious business, or creating a new brand, then believe us: it's worth the investment.
But maybe you need a logo, and therefore logo design apps, for another purpose, one that doesn't have to be super-slick and professional. Maybe you're creating a programme for a school fete, or a poster for local theatre group. Maybe you need to create a quick logo for work that's just for internal use; a brochure mockup or internal report, say.
In cases like this, there are many logo design apps that can you help you create a logo that looks half-decent quickly and easily, even if you don't have design skills, or are still at beginner level.
In this post, we've picked five of our favourite logo design apps, all of which have slightly different things to offer, depending on your needs. You might also want to visit our best free logo designer software roundup. If you need a bit of extra help, take a look at our in-depth how to design a logo article, which has everything you need to know about the art of logos. And to include some brilliant typography, see these top free fonts.
01. Logo Maker by Light Creative Lab
- Requires: Android 4.0.3+
This is our favourite logo design app for beginners. It has an excellent interface that's easy to pick up without any instruction, and a wide range of customisation options, allowing you to create a logo design that's truly individual. Plus it's totally free to download from the Google Play Store.
To get started, open the app and click on the 'Create' button to get started. You're then offered a surprisingly large number of icons, grouped into categories; although note that while some are free, some are paid-for.
First time around, we'd recommend clicking on the 'Colorful' category, and just start having a play. Once you've chosen an icon, you can then customise it using the nifty sliders at the bottom of the screen, as well as adding and customising backgrounds, shapes and text to your heart's content.
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Overall, this app strikes the perfect balance in giving you an endless array of choices without ever overwhelming you with them. Once you're done, you can save your design to the app's gallery or email as a png file.
02. Logoscopic by RoadRocks
- Requires: iOS 9.0+ or Android 4.0.3+
Our favourite logo design app for beginners using iOS, Logoscopic offers an easy way to make a logo using a variety of pre-designed visuals, with no design experience necessary. it's also available for Android users.
You start by choosing your logo categories (Iconic, Pro, Art, Lifestyle, Fashion or People), then one of the numbered sub-categories within them. Note that although the app itself is free to download, all of these appear to be in-app purchases, except for Iconic > 1, so that’s a good sub-category to have a play around with first.
Once you've chosen a symbol, you can then start building your logo using the intuitive controls. These allow you to add and customise text, change colours, move items around the screen, and then save or email your design when it’s done.
We managed to craft some simple but nice-looking logo designs in a matter of minutes using the free assets in this app. And if you’re willing to ‘unlock everything’ for $4.99, there are thousands of templates, more than 200 fonts and a library of over 850,000 images to use.
03. Logopit Plus by Iris Studios
- Requires: Android 4.2+
This app has a bit of an identity crisis. It’s called Logo Maker Plus - Graphic Design & Logo Creator on Google Play, but when you download it, the icon bears the words 'Logopit Plus'.
The confusion continues when you open the app, and you’re faced with a series of options of which ‘Logo’ is only one (you can also use it to create posters, flyers, Pinterest Pins and all manner of other visual delights).
No matter: once you click on the 'Logo’ option, this free app works a treat. On the first screen, click ‘Add new logo’ and you’re taken to a selection of free icons (or you can choose ‘Exclusive’ or ‘Premium’ if you're willing to pay).
Pick the one you want, and then use the intuitive controls to resize it, change colour, add a textured background, rotate it, or warp and distort it. Then add text, choose from 60 free fonts (or download a paid-for custom pack) and then start resizing, recolouring, curving, warping and bending using a range of cool sliders.
There are a ton of icons and a customisation options here for making your logo design, although the interface is a little cluttered and takes a little more getting used to than the first two apps on our list.
04. ICONA Logo Maker
- Requires: iOS 8.0+
Unlike the other apps on our list, ICONA Logo Maker isn't free (it costs $1.99), and the misspelled tagline on the App Store ('Porfessional Logo Studio') doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
On the plus side, though, it does boast an astonishing one million customisable designs, which is not to be sneezed at. (Even though that creates a problem when it comes to finding the ones you like, it's the kind of problem that's good to have.)
The app also features quite a sophisticated range of controls, including smart layering, fill and stroke colouring, solid and gradient colouring, kerning and leading, alignment, opacity and grid snapping. Of course, whether that's a good or bad thing will largely depend on your level of familiarity with such terms. It will also depend, quite frankly, on the size of your fingers, and how happy you are to engage in such finessing, especially on an iPhone (the iPad will probably be a better bet).
The main reason, though, to investigate ICONA Logo Maker is its minimalist approach to logo design. Its icons are uniformly sleek, thoughtfully conceived and beautifully refined; and contrast nicely with some of the 'cheesier' graphics offered by other apps on this list.
05. Hatchful Logo Maker by Shopify
- Requires: iOS 11.0+ or Android 5.0+
Shopify is an ecommerce platform, and so its logo maker is specifically designed for entrepreneurs. It's free to download on iOS or Android, whether or not you're a Shopify customer.
The first thing you notice is the professional look of the interface, which feels more like a gorgeously designed website than any of the other apps on our list. You then choose between your category of business, from sports and recreation to gifts and collectibles (or 'none of the above'). Click 'Next' at the bottom and you'll be asked to select your 'Brand values', from vintage to youthful, calm to energetic.
Then you just type your name, add a slogan if you like, select the places your logo will appear (online store, business cards...), and the app will generate a template for you to pick, which you can then customise using all the usual text, colour and shape-changing tools.
This approach may be a little confusing and irrelevant for someone creating a non-business logo. But if it's a company logo you want, and you're firmly focused on your 'values and goals', it's a very quick and easy way to generate a nice-looking logo, for free.
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