List at least 10 positive traits of your nail gun. Do not limit yourself to concrete, mechanical details -- such as spring rate or compression specifications -- but consider abstract details as well. For instance, if the nail gun is lightweight, you might list "portability" as an admirable trait.
Narrow your list to three positive traits, and consider if you wish to focus on all, one or a few of these traits in combination. For example, if you want to emphasize the "portability" and "lightweight" features of your nail gun, your logo might integrate a feather or be slender in appearance.
Write a single sentence, addressed to your customers, that answers this question: What is the most important aspect of your product you want me to notice? Use this sentence, or your statement of purpose, as the basis for your logo design.
Sketch at least five drawings related to the ideas you have pinpointed in your statement of purpose. For instance, to communicate "portability" you might draw a nail head with a feathered end or the product's name in lettering that suggests action or movement.
Draw a realistic outline of the nail gun. Compare this outline with the sketches you made in Step 1. Create hybrid drawings -- combining both outline and sketch -- in as many combinations as you wish, and select your favorite version. For instance, an outline of the nail gun may reveal a resemblance to the letter "n." If one of your sketches contained, or began with that letter, you could integrate the two drawings into a single logo.
Reduce the complexity of your drawing by creating three successively simplistic sketches. Follow lines, curves, text or any features of your logo you wish to emphasize. The final sketch should take you less than a minute to reproduce.
Color your logo using at least three color schemes, such as triadic, complementary, split complement or monochromatic. Your choice of color scheme will affect what your logo communicates to customers. For instance, a triadic scheme will show balance, but no one color will stand out over another. A triadic scheme may be a good choice to emphasize safety or reliability. Complementary colors clash, so they might be a good fit if you wish to focus on the power or strength of your nail gun.
Use colors that are associated with what you want to communicate to your customers. As Tom Fraser and Adam Banks note in "Designer's Color Manual," because "colors were treated similarly by different ancient cultures, they may suggest a level of intrinsic meaning." For example, reds are associated with blood and danger, but also the sun and life. Blues often suggest the sea and can have a calming influence. Therefore, if you wanted to emphasize the power and precision of your nail gun, you may want to include red colors in your logo. Alternatively, if you wanted to assuage your customer's fear of danger, include blues in your color scheme.
Transfer your final logo to a program capable of vector graphics, such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape. Vector graphics use mathematical curves rather than pixels, and they tend to print crisp lines and sharp details. It might be helpful to scan your final sketch and trace over the lines in your graphics program of choice.