Sketch your logo idea on paper first.
Open up your logo creation program.
Click "File" and select "New." A pop-up will appear.
Choose 8 1/2 by 11 inches for your paper size. Change your resolution to 300 pixels. Pixels are represented as dpi, which stands for dots per inch. Your printable logo will print with a better quality the higher your dpi is. More than 300 dpi is not necessary.
Set your color aspect to RGB or CMYK. Your color aspect will determine the color range of your colors. RGB stands for red, green, and blue. These colors make up many various colors for print. CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and the key color black. CMYK colors are preset colors that you select and adjust the color to your desired shade. Change your background contents to white.
Click on "Window" and turn on your "Tools." A sidebar will appear with various tools.
Click on "Window" and turn on your "Layers" and your "Options" tools. Your layers (images) sidebar is where you will see each layer you will work on. Layers are images on top of one another. Your options bar will be set at the top of your screen. This is where you will find shortcuts when you click on the tools in your toolbar.
Duplicate your layer in your "Layers" sidebar to create the background for your logo. Double-click your right mouse button on your background layer and choose "Duplicate Layer." Duplicating your layer will allow you to move your background shape around. Your original background layer is locked and not movable.
Choose your shape for your background image by clicking on your tools bar and clicking on the line shape. On your options bar, choose the image that will shape the background of your logo.
Double-click on your color squares in your tools bar and choose the color for your background image. Drag the color circle, using your mouse to choose your color.
Draw the shape on your duplicated layer.
Rasterize your shape layer to flatten your shape and make it editable. Right-click on your shape layer with your mouse. Choose "Rasterize."
Save your work. Click on "File" then "Save." You can also click your "Ctrl" button and "S" button at the same time. Save your file type as a PSD (Photoshop Document).
Create a new layer for an image or clip art by clicking on "Layer" in your tabs bar and choosing "New." A new layer will appear in your layer bar. For a shortcut, click on your layer bar and click on the bottom icon of a paper folded up. It will be located near the garbage can icon.
Add images or clip art to your logo by clicking on "File," then "Open." Choose your picture file. It is best to have a high-resolution image rather than a small-resolution image. You can scale down your high resolution image and keep the quality. Scaling a small resolution image will cause picture distortion and pixelation. Scaling is to make your picture bigger or smaller. Scale your image by clicking on your image guidelines. Drag your guidelines using your mouse. Skip this step if you do not have an image or clip art.
Type in your letters by clicking on your "Type" tool located in your toolbar. It can be identified as the uppercase letter "T." This will change your options bar to type and font options.
Choose your font and size. Choose your font color by clicking on the color square in your options bar. A pop-up will appear. Drag the color circle, using your mouse to choose your color. You will have a new layer when you type in your letters.
Save your work. Label your work "YourLogoName_Unflattened." This will save all your layers.
Save your work again and label it "YourLogoName_Flattened." Save it as a JPEG file. A pop-up will appear. Use your slide bar and move it to 12 (maximum) for your compression. Making your logo compression a 12 will provide the crispest image possible. A JPEG is an image file format that compresses (flattens) an image. This will combine all your layers and make them un-editable.
Print a test page of your logo onto your paper with your colored printer.