A brand mascot can help you promote your business. However, a wrong character can confuse your customers or hurt your brand. So, it is important to choose the right mascot for your business. A lot of work is needed, from planning to sketching and digital design. That said, this step-by-step guide will make creating a mascot design and modern branding easier. 

Table of Contents

Step 1: Define the Purpose and Goals

goals and target illustration

Before creating a mascot, you must define its purpose and relevance within your marketing strategies. This involves careful planning and alignment with your brand’s goals. Determining the role of your mascot is also crucial in your branding efforts. Having a clear goal will help avoid confusion among your target audience. 

Here are the different roles of mascots in marketing: 

  • Brand Spokesperson
  • Engagement Tool
  • Character Development
  • Educator
  • Influencer
  • Cultural Ambassador

Step 2: Research and Inspiration

Companies must design mascots that appeal to a specific target market. You should conduct research to determine unique and visually appealing traits suitable for the target audience. For example, KFC created a human character that represents a real person: Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC. He embodies the brand’s dedication to quality and flavor, his image gracing KFC storefronts and chicken buckets worldwide.

Finding inspiration for your mascot design is also essential. However, organizing it into a cohesive base for creating a design can be overwhelming. A mood board can solve this dilemma. 

Mood boards are physical or digital collages that organize images, text, materials, and other design elements into a layout representative of the final design. They’re sometimes called inspiration boards and can be used for creating a mascot, product design, or any other type of design project. So, create a mood board now, gather ideas, and visualize your mascot’s overall style and personality. 

Want to bring your mascot idea to life?

Get visually appealing mascots and other graphics only from Penji!

Watch Quick Demo

Step 3: Conceptualize and Sketch

sketching

While planning the whole strategy before designing your character is optional, we advise you to create a rough visual and content plan in advance. Sketching will help you know exactly what you need and plan your budget effectively. 

Before trying different designs, you need to support your character with a story. You don’t need a full diary of your character’s life. Adding some key details can start building your mascot’s personality. 

Step 4: Choose the Right Style and Characteristics

Mascots are more than a speechless design attached to your logo. In the digital world, a brand spokesperson is essential to connect directly with your audience. With that said, it is worth dedicating time and effort to create your mascot’s personality. 

Creating a mascot personality is not an easy task, but let’s try to simplify the process. Most of the work is based on choosing between various archetypes. Here are some questions that can help you create the mascot’s personality: 

  • What role are you going to give to your character in the company? 
  • When creating an animal or object character, do you want them to look and act like humans? Do you want them to wear clothes or speak? 
  • How will you mix the human and the animal or object traits to create your mascot? 
MMs green character design

Meet Green, one of M&M’s characters. Source: M&M’s

Let’s take M&M’s Characters as an example. They can speak, watch movies, etc., and are almost like humans. But they still preserve one of their object traits—they are still candies, and people still want to eat them.

Step 5: Create the Digital Design

At this point, you’re ready to create the digital design of your mascot. Here are several software and tools available that can help you create a fantastic mascot design. Here are some famous options:

  • Adobe Illustrator: Adobe Illustrator is a vector-based design software for graphic designers and illustrators. It offers valuable tools for creating and editing logos with lots of customization features.
  • Adobe Photoshop: While primarily an image editing software, Adobe Photoshop can also be used to design logos. It helps create and manipulate graphics and extensive typography and effects options.
  • CorelDRAW: This vector graphics editor offers a range of tools specifically designed for logo and mascot design. It has an intuitive interface and supports vector and raster elements, enabling you to create professional logos.
  • Inkscape: Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics tool. Although it may not have all the functionalities of paid software, it is a powerful tool for logo design.

Step 6: Get Feedback and Refine

mascots designed by Penji on blue background

Mascots designed by Penji

Once you have designed your perfect mascot, it’s time to put it to the test. A lot of people skip this step, and they start using their mascot everywhere. This can create specific problems, such as unforeseen design flaws, technical issues, negative associations, or even controversy.

You must test your mascot with a small group of people. To do this, ask for inputs from your internal team or organize focus groups with members of your target audience. If it’s impossible to gather feedback physically, you can create online surveys that include questions about the mascot’s likability and relatability.

You can share these surveys on online platforms used by your target audience or email marketing. Once you get a positive response, you can use your mascot on different marketing channels like social media, websites, or email campaigns.

Step 7: Finalize and Implement

The final step in creating a mascot is integrating it into your marketing strategy. An effective mascot should be more than just a logo; it should be a character with a rich backstory aligned with your brand’s identity but with its distinct personality.

Duo Duolingos logo

Source: 1000logos
Duolingo’s Duo the Owl is an excellent example. Beyond being a prominent part of Duolingo’s brand identity, Duo has cultivated a mischievous social media presence that has captivated Gen Z audiences. This strategy has made Duo an iconic status and contributed significantly to Duolingo’s brand image.

Creating a Mascot is Easy with Penji

Implementing this guide to creating a mascot can help you create your own iconic brand character. It’s worth considering starting with a clear purpose in mind, researching and gathering inspiration, and using the right tool to create your mascot. If you’re a new entrepreneur, you might need other branding collateral to promote your brand to a wider audience. 

Are you ready to simplify your branding journey? All you need to do is sign up for our unlimited graphic design services and get started. Sign up today and experience the Penji difference. You can also watch the demo video and see how our talented designers handle your branding needs so you can focus on what truly matters.