HOW TO Create your own logo

1 Create new document

Open the app and click on ‘Create an empty new document’. Enter the dimensions you want. Pixelmator Pro runs in RGB as standard, so take this into account for print requirements. Edit the workspace to suit your needs.

2 Draw a rounded square

Tap the Shape tab in the toolbar. There are plenty of shapes, so scroll through and find the rounded square. Draw this on the canvas, holding ⇧ for proportion, controlling the roundness using the green handles on the corners.

3 Add gradient

Click on the Style tool and select Vibrant Gradient Fills from the menu at the top. Further down the tab you can adjust the direction and choose linear, radial or angle gradients. Here we’ve used a standard blue gradient.

4 Add icon

Pixelmator Pro has over 200 vector shapes to use in your project. Click on the Science category in the menu at the top of the Shape tab, and click on the Atom icon. Draw on to the canvas, holding down ⇧ to maintain proportion.

5 Add mask

≈-click the atom layer and select Add Mask. This will add a mask frame to the layer (this is similar to the technique in Photoshop). Use the Gradient tool to paint across the mask – black areas will be transparent and white filled.

6 Edit shape

Double-click the atom shape in the canvas to show the anchor points and angle handles. You can click on multiple points by holding ⇧ as you click, or drag over an area to select multiple points. Select the middle four points and delete.

7 Add text

Click the Text tool, draw a text box on to the canvas and write an ‘i’. Use the controls to select a suitable italic, serif font and scale it up to fill the space. Use the align tool, at the top of the Arrange tab, to centre it to the canvas.

8 Add drop shadow

Add shadows and strokes in the Style panel. Toggle Shadow on and adjust the Blur/Distance settings until you get a soft shadow, using the Opacity slider to lower the darkness. You can experiment with other looks in the Effects panel.

9 Export

When you’re happy with the project and ready to export, go to File > Export. Select the file format and export; if you want a transparent background you will have to delete or turn off the default Image Layer and save as a PNG.