HOW TO Create your own logo

1 Create a document

Open the app and click “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 shape

Tap the Shape tab in the toolbar. Scroll through the shapes until you find the rounded square. Draw this on the canvas, holding Shift for proportion, controlling the roundness using the green handles on the corners.

3 Add gradient

Click 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 contains over 200 vector shapes. Click the Science category in the menu near the top of the Shape tab, and click the Atom icon. Draw on to the canvas, holding down Shift to maintain proportion.

5 Add mask

Ctrl–click the atom layer and select Add Mask. This will add a mask frame to the layer (in a similar way to 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 to show anchor points and angle handles. You can select multiple points by holding Shift 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 type an “i”. Next, choose a suitable italic, serif font. Scale it up to fill the space. Use the Align tool, at the top of the Arrange tab, to center 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 for a soft shadow, using the Opacity slider to lower the darkness. Experiment with other looks in the Effects panel.

9 Export

When you’re ready to save your logo, 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.