Chapter 6: How to create a logo for your TpT store

Now that you have chosen your store name (see previous chapter), it’s time to create a logo.

This chapter shows you how to make 4 different types of logo. Tweak the steps your own way to land on your own design!

(There’s a PowerPoint Template for this chapter! Download it here.)

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Four main types

1. Just a picture (actual photograph) of you cropped into a circle

Yes, this is not a real photograph, just a placeholder for where you put your actual photograph. Make sure to choose one that clearly shows your face!

2. A picture of you + text overlay

Again, your real photograph.

3. Mostly text logo

4. Mostly graphic logo

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Create the logo in PowerPoint

Download my Fonts and Clipart Starter Pack to find fonts and clipart you can use to follow along with this tutorial. You can find links to more font options in my Notes on Choosing Fonts.

PowerPoint Steps Part 1

1. Insert your picture

Insert > Pictures > Picture from File
Select the picture you have prepared for the logo, and click the Insert button.

2. Crop to shape

Select your picture
Go to Picture Format > Crop > Crop to Shape > Oval

It won’t look right yet. The crop will follow the shape of your photo. If it’s long like this one, it will crop to an oval.

3. Adjust the crop

Click on the Crop (Picture Format > Crop) icon again to reveal the cropping area (you’ll see dark shade in the areas that are cropped out)
Move the handle bars to adjust the size of the cropped circle. Adjust it to precisely 4 in x 4 in. Zoom in to adjust if you can’t get to precisely 4 in.
Move (crosshairs pointer) the cropped circle or the photo around to get to the exact part you want to crop. Adjust the picture’s size if necessary.

That gives you Logo Type 1!

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PowerPoint Steps Part 2

This is going to be the longest part.

1. Add a rectangle for text overlay

Go to Insert > Shapes > Rectangle
Click and drag anywhere on the slide to create a rectangle

2. Format the rectangle

Select the rectangle
Go to Shape Format > Format Pane > Fill/Line/Transparency
Size = change height to 1 inch
Fill = Solid color, color = White, Transparency = 30%
Line = No line
Move the rectangle to where you want it to seat on your logo image.

3. Add a 4 in x 4 in circle shape

Repeat steps 1 and 2, but with a circle shape
Size = change height and width to 4 in x 4 in (same size as the logo picture)
Fill = Solid color, color = White, Transparency = 30%
Line = No line
Move the circle to the exact same position as the cropped picture.

4. Intersect the circle and the rectangle

Select both the rectangle and the circle at the same time (hold SHIFT while clicking)
Go to Shape Format > choose Merge Shapes (look for the 2 overlapping circles)
Select Intersect from the drop down menu
The extra white areas of the rectangle are now gone.

5. Add a text box for each word in your store name

Go to Insert > Text Box.
Click and drag anywhere.
Add the first text box for “Chunky”.
Add a second text box for “Crayons”.
Add a third text box “Unlimited”.

6. Change fonts.

Go to the Home tab
Chunky = KA Juniper (size 20) (replace with other fonts if you don’t have KA Fonts)
Crayons = Happy Covers (size 40) (from my Fonts and Clipart Starter Pack freebie!)
Unlimited = KA One Wish Script (size 20)

Play with contrasts to create your own font combinations. This example features (1) a serif font + (2) a thick font + (3) a thin script font

7. Change colors for each letter in ‘CRAYON’ (optional font styling)

Highlight only one letter at a time
Go to Home > Font Colors > More Colors (a new dialog box will pop up) > Eye Dropper tool
Shift the Eyedropper over the color you want on your color palette and click it to ‘pick up’ the color (see Working with Colors)
Then click Okay in the dialog box.
Repeat the steps for each letter, choosing a different color each time.

8. Add a border around each letter (optional font styling)

Select the ‘CRAYONS’ text box.
Go to Shape Format > Format Pane > Text Options > Solid Line > Width
Width = 1.8 pt, or whichever you prefer.

9. Adjust character spacing between ‘A’ and ‘Y’ (optional)

Powerpoint doesn’t always respect the kerning (spacing adjustments) that comes with the fonts. In this case because ‘A’ and ‘Y’ are both sloped characters, the default spacing between them looks wider. So we are going to use the Character Spacing icon to adjust them.

Between the two letters whose spacing you want to adjust, highlight the 1st letter. (Between ‘A’ and ‘Y’, highlight ‘A’)
Go to Home > Character Spacing (look for the icon with ‘A’ and ‘V’ with arrows underneath)
From the dropdown menu, click More Spacing. A new dialog box will pop up.
Set it to: Spacing Condensed (select) by 3 (type it in) points.

10. Export the script font as SVG (Optional)

Powerpoint (on my laptop, I don’t know if it happens to other people) disrupts the spacing of the script font when exporting the logo image.

To preserve the character spacing, here is a workaround: save the text box as an SVG image, then insert that text box back into Powerpoint.

Right Click > Save as Picture > Save as Type > SVG

Go to Insert > Picture > Picture from File
Move the original ‘Unlimited’ text box to the side
Insert the Unlimited SVG you have created back into the powerpoint and add it to your logo.

11. Add glow to make the text stand out (optional)

Select the ‘Unlimited’ text box.
Go to Graphics Format > Format Pane > Effects > Glow > Color/Size/Transparency
Color = white
Size = 5pt
Transparency = 24%

12. Design an icon from clipart

Insert clipart (3 x chunky crayons from my Fonts and Clipart Starter Pack).
Arrange them into a simple design.
Select all the clipart pieces, right click and group them together.
Resize, and add them to your logo.

That gives you Logo Type 2!

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PowerPoint Steps Part 3

Start on a new blank slide.

1. Add a border

Insert a circle

Go to Insert > Shapes > Oval/Circle
Click and drag anywhere on the slide (while holding down the SHIFT key) to create a circle

Change the Fill and Line

Select the circle, and go to the Shape Format > Format Pane
Height + width = 4 in
Fill = Solid fill
Fill Color = white
Line= Solid line
Line Color = black
Line width = 7pt

2. Add a 2nd border (optional)

Copy and paste the circle from step 1
Change both the height and width to 3.7 inches
Change the Line Width to 2 pt
Move it into the first circle to become an inner border

3. Arrange the text boxes and clipart group

Copy the 3 text boxes and the clipart icon from earlier and paste it into this slide
Resize all of the elements
Arrange them into your new logo

4. Add fillers/decorative elements

Insert a circle shape
Set the height and width to 0.2 inches
Fill = Solid color
Fill color = pick a color you want
Line = No line
Copy and paste the circle shape many times and change to different fill colors.

5. Experiment with border styles and colors

Select the border (one at a time if you have more than one)
Go to Shape Format > Format Pane
Test out every Fill and Line option that’s available in PowerPoint (color, thickness, texture, dotted, dashed, etc)
Choose the ones you like!

That gives you Logo Type 3!

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PowerPoint Steps Part 4

1. Copy the border and the clipart icon into a new slide

Add another new slide.
Copy the circle border from the earlier steps into the new slide.
Copy the clipart group (the crayons) into the new slide, and make it bigger to occupy the center.

2. Copy and paste all the words into one text box

Copy and paste the 3 text boxes into the new slide next.
Then copy and paste them into a single text box.
Set them all to the same text size for now. In this example, they are all 36 pt.

3. Add text transformation effect

Select the combined text box you created in the previous step
Go to the Shape Format > WordArt Styles > Text Effects > Transform
Under Follow Path, choose the Arch Down option

4. Resize the text arc

The arc follows an invisible circle. So to format the arc, change the size/shape of that invisible circle.

Select the combined text box
Go to the Shape Format tab
Set both the width and height to 3.6 inches
Move the text arc into the logo

5. Adjust the arc

Before adjusting, change the fonts sizes as you see appropriate. In this example,

CHUNKY = 32 pt
CRAYONS = 45 pt
Unlimited = 32 pt

There are 2 ways to adjust the arc.

One. Add spacebars at the front. (my preferred option)

Two. Click on the yellow-ish box on the right side of the circle and drag. It’s a little bit less precise this way.

6. Add fillers.

Just copy and paste the circles you created in Logo Type 3 into this one and arrange them.

That gives you Logo Type 4!

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Exporting your logo

1. Select all and group everything

Select all: CMD + A (for Mac), but you have to make sure there are no other elements in that slide.
Otherwise, you can also select all your elements one by one, or drag your cursor wide enough to catch all the elements.
Right click on the selection line of the biggest circle, then choose Group > Group (the right clicking part can be tricky when you are selecting so many elements).

2. Right click and Save as Picture…

Right click on the selection line of the group, then choose Save as Picture…

3. Save as PNG

Save the logo as PNG so that the area of your logo outside of the circle stays transparent. (PNG file format = transparent background)

And you’re done!

Summary of the logo elements

Picture of you (optional)
Fonts. Create your own combination of fonts by looking for contrasts like (1) Thick vs thin and (2) Serif vs handwritten vs script
Clipart. Make sure the Terms of Use of the clip artist allow you to use his/her/their clipart in your store logo. I think most TpT clipart sellers allow that. You can certainly use mine.
Border. There are other border possibilities you can explore if you are design savvy.
Design elements or fillers. (optional)

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Chapter 6 Action Steps

If you have followed along with the PowerPoint steps, there is a chance you have a decent logo by now. Otherwise, get creating! You can use my PowerPoint file for this chapter as reference/template.

Next → Chapter 7: Sign up for a TpT seller account