First you want to open up CS5 and create a New Document with the width of 3872 pixels - height 2176 pixels, resolution 240 pixels/inch and Transparent Background contents.
It should now look like this
Create a new layer and then you then want to select the rectangle marquee tool and by dragging it across your template select the size line you want.
Then you want to select the paint bucket tool and fill your "line" with whichever color you would like. Normally to get that opaque look you should select a darker gray, or off white color. For this tutorial I used #a69e9e. You then click on your "line" filling it with your selected color.
Then you want to go back to that layer and adjust the main opacity of that layer to your liking. For mine I normally use 30% opacity.
By hitting CTRL-D you will deselect the "line." so that you can go on to make your box in the middle. Create a New Layer, then select the rectangle marquee tool again and create a small box in the middle of the "line" you may use the rulers to make sure its perfect.
Go to the paint bucket tool again and select the color that you want to be in the middle of your line. After selecting that color click in your box to fill it with your selected color. I chose a pink for this example.
Hit CTRL-D again to deselect the square and then create a New Layer. (this part is optional if you want a two toned square) Once you have created your new layer select your rectangle marquee tool again and create a square in the middle of your other square. Here is the change, after you have made your second middle square go to SELECT and choose REFINE EDGE.
Then adjust the edge by the changing the smoothness and feathering of your box so that the lines are not as defined. Click OK.
Then select your paint bucket tool and fill that box with another color, whichever you choose. For this example I chose white. Then you hit CTRL-D to deselect the square.
Now you are ready for the prettys! Click on your first layer which is Layer 1 and then add a New Layer. This layer is going to be your background pretties...if you want them! Choose a brush or other vector that you like and paint it behind the square. Because of the sequence of the layer the paint/vector will be behind two tone square that you created. It should look something like this!
Now my brush only goes one way, so to get the swirlies on the other side of my square I am going to create a NEW template. Go to FILE create NEW and just keep the same settings that are already there, just make sure that the background is transparent. Once the new template has opened using the same brush/vector paint with the same color as the one that you did on your logo. If the new one is bigger than the other, no problem...we'll fix that!
Now you are going to go to Image and select Image Rotation and then Flip Canvas Horizontal.
It should now look like this
Select the move cursor and drag the painted swirlies from the NEW template to your logo template. It will automatically create a new layer when you drag it!
Now, its the not the same size right? Hit CTRL-T then using the diagonal corners drag out or in to the right size.
Then hit ENTER. Then choosing the move tool move your new swirl layer into place behind your square. You should have something like this!
Then comes the easy part! If you have to many layers at this point you can right click on your layers pallete and choose Merge Down on each layer. Its important NOT to choose flatten image because then you will loose the transparency of the image. Then choose your Text tool and click in the middle of your square. You can put just an initial in here or whatever you would like, at whatever font you like, and whatever color you would like. I am putting an L for the first letter of my business with a pretty font I have called Jelly Cake. Don't worry to much about the perfect size at this point....there is an easier way! :)
Then to get that oh so perfect size just hit CTRL-T, then drag the corners of your box to your desired size, and then you can move around that box to make sure its where you want in the box! Told ya...much easier! :)
Press ENTER to lock in your size, and then you can be done if you want! But, I want people to know what that L means if they see it somewhere other than somewhere like Facebook. So, selecting the TEXT tool again I just click on the right side of my gray box and type in my business name. Again, you can use whatever font, color, or size that you want. Don't forget about that CTRL-T to resize your lettering if you need to.
You are DONE! Congratulations on your new logo! Save the file as a PSD file and it is ready to go. It can now be put into any image that you want! :) When you place it on an image and its to big use that CTRL-T to resize it to fit your image! :)
You can be as creative as you want with this logo. Instead of a square in the middle maybe use a circle. Really its all up to you! Have fun!
