The Practical

Guide to
Logo Design
Resource by Lindsay Marsh
How do we create a logo that
exudes meaning, truth, values
and ideas that are important
to the underlying company?

That answer is complex and involves

lots of rich research and exploration.
Let’s get started...

Index

03 Section 1: Logo DNA

07 Logo Design Value

09 Section 2: Basic Logo Design Terms

13 Section 3: Finding the Right Logo Category

41 Section 4: The History of Art and Style Movements

66 Dominant Art Movements

67 Section 5: Logo Design & Branding

 1
CTION

A
INTRODU

D N
section one //

Log o
Logos are
the visual
representation
of the essence
of an entity.
you nostalgic
Cola-Cola gives
Nike motivates, easier.
an d A m az on makes your life
vibe s we define the
amples of how
These are all ex sful logo will
nc e of a co m pany. A succes
esse rn them into
mmaries and tu
capture these su
d typography.
visible icons an
Branding iron from Swedish stallion depot.

Claiming
ownership.
Branding comes from a tradition
of burning the skin of livestock
so it can be identified and
returned back to the caretaker.

It usually included a series of numbers

or the name of the farm or company.
Fortunately, this practice has been
swapped out for more humane methods,
but the same basic principle defines
modern branding for companies.

We need logos to help audiences identify

a company’s ownership of a product,
advertisement, video, social media
post or event. The logo also needs to
distinguish the company’s product and
service from others in similar industries.
Answering the question “what makes
your company different?” is the first step
in developing a unique identity that can
last not just years but decades.

logo files found on www.brandsoftheworld.com

 The symbol
for peace
forever
tarnished.

Symbols and icons are just a vast

combination of different shapes and
letterforms without context or meaning,
except what is given to them.

The swastika used by Nazi Germany in World War

II actually has innocent origins as a symbol of well-
being in the Asian world for thousands of years,
especially in India. It was even used by large
corporations before WWII as simple icons of good
luck and fortune. After Nazis used it as their main
“logo” of the Third Reich, it was mostly associated
with fascism and represented a desperate time in
human history.

Top: Wood Buddha in meditation position, with gamadian

(reverse swastika), on lotus flower,motifs

Bottom: Voussoir Fragment with Floral Motif and Swastika

Humans give context to what seems to be a

meaningless array of shapes. If we do not put
meaning behind our logos they will only remain a
useless collection of objects.

British Museum cinerary urn with swastika motifs

 The Pepsi logo has evolved to adapt to younger generations to
remain relevant.

Meanwhile, the Coca-cola logo has remained largely unchanged to

have a more nostalgic appeal.

Evolve styles It hired pop icons to peddle its product and tried to
remain relevant to younger and younger generations,

or preserve
while Coca-Cola focused on the good times of the past.

tradition?
Every logo should be unique, as is
every company.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi both started out selling

carbonated soda drinks but with only slight
changes in appearance and taste. Today, their
logos are anything but similar. The Coca-Cola logo
has intricate typography details like long extended
tales with curves and unified script lettering. It
is exactly the kind of treatment that represents
tradition and nostalgia.
With two totally different company strategies but very
The Pepsi logo appears postmodern with its
similar products, how could one style of logo address
geometric circle icon and graphics. The lettering
both? These companies knew their audience, they knew
has a thin stroke, is all lowercase and has curves
what resonated with them and continued to foster a
that echo the circular symbol. In the 1980’s Pepsi
connection with their brands and logos.
started to differentiate itself from Coca-Cola as the
“Choice of a New Generation”.
THE VALUE OF
A LOGO DESIGN
They Add Professionalism They Add Brand
Have you ever determined the quality of a Recognition
company or product based on its logo or
We know a Nike shoe when we see the
package design? A high-quality polished
classic Nike swoosh. Establishing a
logo design can build a huge amount of trust
consistent typeface, symbol or style for
with a customer.
a company can help a company in
future marketing efforts.

They Are the They Add

Starting Point for Character
Visual Branding Small nuances in the type
treatment like a slanted T or
After establishing a company's a soft script lettering can
voice, target market and
positioning in the market, one
COMPANY add unique characteristics to
a company. If created
of the first visible design carefully, logos can instantly
elements created is the logo. be associated with its target
This is the core style in which demographic.
most future branded design
elements will originate.

They Add Connection

Think of one of your favorite brand logos.
Is it one of those logos you are so happy to
put on your car as a bumper sticker? This is
called brand loyalty. Some logos can be
used by companies to extend a connection
with their audience. They can also
symbolize a common goal, life mission or
status among consumers.
 2
section two //

Think of this first

BASIC TERMS

section as a quick
crash course in
basic logo terms
and theory.
After reviewing this section you will be able to
recognize and understand the language used to
describe logo design examples, history and usage.
You can review this section at anytime to remind
yourself of specific terminology.

Same thing,
many names.
You may notice throughout the
next few sections lots of
alternative names for terms.
That is because several names
have alternative titles that are
all industry acceptable uses.
Logo
Logomark Logotype
(AKA: Brandmarks, Symbols) (AKA: Lettermarks) Marsh
The graphic or visual icon in the The Typography portion of a logo Museum of
logo Modern Art

Watermark
Marsh Low contrast use of the logomark or logotype.
Usually used as a subtle background element.
Museum of
Modern Art

Combination Mark Marsh Helvetica

(AKA: Logo Lockup) Museum of Baskerville
Modern Art
The appearance of both a logomark and
a logotype together as one unit.

Marsh Type Choices

Some logos use only one typeface, while others use
Museum of more than one. Some companies develop a custom

Modern Art
font to further the unique qualities of their logo.

Typography Only Presentation

SPARK YOUR IMAGINATION Tagline
Most logos should be able to exist without any
Supportive
company accompanying symbol if needed.
slogan
Signature Mark
The lockup of a tagline, logomark and
logotype together as one.

Marsh White space

(Aka Clearspace)
Museum of
°
28

The logo design actually expands outward with an

invisible space called clearspace that surrounds the

Modern Art logo. This ensures those who use the logo will make
sure there is enough space around the logo that is
clear of any other design elements to keep it clean
and consistent.

Construction Grids
AKA: Logo Grid or Grid Systems)
This assures proper margins around the logo, establishes angles, spacing and shows grid consistency. Logos
do not have to be adapted or created using grids but can be helpful when creating logo usage guides.
Logo
Marsh Marsh
Museum of Museum of
Modern Art Modern Art

Full Color Single Color

Keep logos to as few colors as possible while still You must have a single color version of your logo for
having maximum impact. High amounts of colors reproduction purposes. Preferably in both a solid
used in certain print mediums, like screen printing single color and one using just white or black.
t-shirts, can dramatically increase print costs.

Mobile Friendly Versions

Logo Orientations All logos must pass a visibility test. This

100 Pixels
Logos must be able present themselves in a means that ALL elements can be understood
vertical, horizontal or square format if possible for and visible when seen as an inch square or
maximum flexibility. 100x100 pixel image. Static logos remain
the same size at all times while dynamic 100 Pixels
logos scale like icons in digital applications.

Marsh
Museum of Marsh
Modern Art Museum of
Modern Art

S
H
M US
E App Icon & Favicons
These will be the smallest versions of your logo.
U
R
MA

Marsh
Museum of
O F

Modern Art STANDARD ICON SIZES

in Pixels
M
T

O
R
A E R N
D Base Size 32x32 Pixels

Logos that have a seal or circular shape must also have

a version of the logo that can fit in small horizontal
spaces, like a website or mobile app header. 16x16 32x32 64x64 128x128 256x256 512x512

Marsh Marsh
Marsh Museum of
Museum of Museum of
Modern Art Modern Art
Alternate Colors Modern Art

Not every logo will require

different color combinations but Marsh Marsh Marsh
Museum
Museum of Museum of
those that do increase their Modern Art Modern Art Modern Art

ability to be seen in different

design mediums.
Marsh Marsh Marsh
Museum of Museum of Museum of
Modern Art Modern Art Modern Art
 Identity Design
The complete visual brand which
normally includes a logo, brand
assets and design examples that
show how to extend the established
brand style outside of the logo.

Brand Assets
Supporting graphic elements
that compliment the logo and
brand style. Logo Application
Applying a logo to various print and
digital applications allows you to test

RK YO
the logo visibility and to help visualize

PA the logo appearance beyond a blank

sheet of paper. This can include the use
S

of mockups like the example here.

UR I A
M

Marsh Marsh Marsh

GI Museum of Museum of Museum of
N

Modern Art Modern Art Modern Art

NATIO
 COOL WARM NEUTRALS

Vivid Light Green Vivid Yellow Light Gray

Hex #662D91 Hex #662D91 Hex #662D91

R: 102 R: 102 C: 75 R: 102 C: 75
C: 75
G: 45 G: 45 M: 98 G: 45 M: 98
M: 98
B: 145 Y: 0

Logo Usage Guide

B: 145 Y: 0 B: 145 Y: 0
K: 0 K: 0 K: 0

Vivid Green Vivid Orange Gray

(AKA: Logo or Brand Standards Manual) Hex #662D91 Hex #662D91 Hex #662D91
A multiple page manual that sets rules and R: 102 C: 75 R: 102
G: 45
C: 75 R: 102 C: 75
G: 45 M: 98 M: 98 G: 45 M: 98
guidelines for how to use the logo and B: 145 Y: 0 B: 145 Y: 0
K: 0
B: 145 Y: 0
K: 0 K: 0
accompanying assets such as minimum
Vivid Purple
recommended size, color options and logo Hex #662D91
Vivid Red Black
Hex #662D91
presentation recommendations. R: 102
G: 45
C: 75 R: 102 C: 75
Hex #662D91
R: 102 C: 75
M: 98 G: 45 M: 98 G: 45 M: 98
B: 145 Y: 0 B: 145 Y: 0 B: 145 Y: 0
K: 0
K: 0 K: 0

Vivid Dark Purple Vivid Pink

Hex #662D91 Hex #662D91
R: 102 C: 75 R: 102 C: 75
G: 45 M: 98 G: 45 M: 98
B: 145 Y: 0 B: 145 Y: 0
K: 0 K: 0

Proper Usage

Do Don’t
1x

Marsh Marsh
Museum of Museum of
Modern Art Modern Art

Do give the logo at margin that is at least 1x as Place the logo too close to prominent objects.
defined by the grid example above.

Marsh
Marsh
Museum of Marsh
Museum Marsh
Museum
Modern Art Museum of Modern Art Modern Art
Modern Art

Do use which logo orientation fits the space best. Do not tweak the logomark and logotype ratio
or proportion to each other.

Vivid Purple Vivid Purple

Vivid Orange Vivid Orange

Vivid Purple Vivid Purple

Vivid Orange Vivid Orange Do not use the logomark without its
accompanying logotype non-apparel items.

Use the logo in the approved color combinations only.

section three //

finding the right

logo category.
LOGO CATEGORIES

Logo categories are specific logo structures that

3
establish a standard arrangement of the logomark
(symbol) and the logotype (the typography).

Studying each logo category and, most importantly learning

WHEN to use them, can not only speed up your logo design
process but help you create more effective logos.

This section will review six main logo categories that you can
have in your arsenal when it comes time to create your first logo
design concepts.

Your goal before you even start the concept development

process for your logo (which we will get into later), is to select
a small handful of logo categories and layouts that you think fit
your company’s profile and needs.

A mascot logo might not be very useful for a hospital, unless

perhaps it was for a children’s wing. An emblem logo may fit
perfectly with a university, which may need to include additional
symbols and information to further communicate its mission.

Figuring this out early and knowing your options can help you
save much time when it comes to jotting down logo shapes,
arrangements and layouts.
 Logo
MONOGRAM LOGOS ABSTRACT LOGO MARKS
Other Terms: Abbreviation Logos

WHEN TO USE WHEN TO USE

Company has a long name. When you need to communicate complex ideas,
emotions or emotions with simplified imagery.
Company wants to be known by an
abbreviated shorter name.

WORDMARKS COMBINATION MARKS

Other Terms: Logotypes,
Typography Only Logos

WHEN TO USE
For a company that is looking for maximum
flexibility with their brand assets.

WHEN TO USE For companies that need a supporting visual aid

to describe there product or industry.
For companies with shorter names

When the company name is more

recognized than visuals or symbols or
when symbols distract rather than
support the company name. EMBLEMS OR CRESTS
Other Terms: Seals, Badges


MASCOT



WHEN TO USE
WHEN TO USE For a company wanting to focus on tradition, history or highlight prestige.

For companies looking for a brand When multiple visuals are required.
representative that can further tell the brand
story via a high personality character. Gives logos maximum flexible for placement on various backgrounds.
section three // LOGO CATEGORIES

Monogram
Logos AKA: ABBREVIATION LOGOS
OR LETTERMARKS

Monograms seek to
simplify a company name.
A company may have a long complex name,
such as IBM (International Business Machines).
Imagine if every time we talked about an IBM
computer in the past we mentioned its full
name? It would have been less memorable
but also would have made it harder to create
commercials, ads and other media with such a
long, laborious name.

General Electric has a similar monogram logo

that can serve as a company identifier without
typography or the full name nearby. GE
needed to have a logo that could be placed
on appliances and machines that did not take
up a large amount of room. Having to spell
out General Electric and have the monogram
IBM no longer goes by it’s full name but
mark would take up valuable space on
only by it’s abbreviation IBM. This is a
classic example of a monogram logo. product labeling.

Some business, like insurance companies,

INTERNATIONAL
lawyers, consulting firms and even IT
companies can have names so long it would

BUSINESS make it impossible to ever reduce the logo

down in size when needed. This is where
MACHINES monograms can be useful.

A logo using the full company name would

be very difficult to use and look busy.
In this example of an insurance business, Marsh,
McKinley and Crowley Insurance Collective, it looks
awfully hard to identify the words when used in an
app icon, e-mail signature and a mobile website
header. When there is a monogram complement
that can be used in isolation from the full name, it
becomes easier to adapt the logo. The MMC can be
easily identified by those who are already familiar
with the company name or have seen it in another
place on a design. And other times the abbreviation can appear as
the only text on a logo without the inclusion of
a the full company name. 3M is a solid example
of this. 3M’s full name is The Minnesota Mining

 and Manufacturing Company (whew!). Now just

imagine having to include the full name below


the abbreviation 3M? It would look clunky,
outdated and just useless in helping people
identify the company as it is now known as 3M

 alone.

INSURANCE COLLECTIVE

Company names that are long and involve multiple names

could benefit from a shorter monogram logo complement.

Sometimes the abbreviation of a company’s full name

can come to so dominate in the minds of consumers
that people may even forget the company’s actual full
INSURANCE COLLECTIVE name. I cannot think of a finer example than BMW
cars or Bayerische Motoren Werke, or Bavarian
Motor Works. We just use the term BMW without
There might be some cases where you can use “MMC” as the
main company identifier and some cases where the names much thought to what the B,M and W stand for. It has
need to be listed nearby or as a smaller part of the logo. The become an entirely new word in itself. Rarely have I
longer the company uses an abbreviation, the easier it becomes ever quoted the entire company name when referring
recognized by its abbreviation versus the full company name.
the company.

INSURANCE COLLECTIVE

INSURANCE COLLECTIVE

For this mobile website

layout, having a
monogram logo gives
more space.
Monograms
as artwork
Monograms do not always
have to be simple letter
presentations they can
become entirely new
symbols that represent a
companies brand. Louis
Vuitton’s logo overlaps the L
and V letterforms to become
a unified design icon. This has been used successfully
as a pattern on their handbags and other accessories
for decades.

PlayStation is another company that has a logo

that fuses both the P and S to make a stand alone
symbol. As a game console that needs to have its
logo appear small, this was necessary to have a logo
mark option along with a logo type option and a
combination mark.

A popular new style of

logo design takes this
basic idea of monogramed
letterforms and combines
entire words into one
element. Since they are not abbreviating a word they
cannot really be considered monogram logos. But
they can be an interesting idea for shorter words,
names or phrases, if you are interested in using a
monogram “like” styling.
 Deciding to use an abbreviated version of
Monograms
When to use

a company name or monogram is a huge

strategic company decision. As a
designer your task is to ask or prompt a client
if this is needed or is even a possibility.
There are huge implications for deciding to use this type of logo structure
because you have to establish familiarity with the abbreviations as a brand
mark. As a designer this can be done through repetition in various design
assets across multiple channels (digital and print). This makes sure the viewer is
educated and made aware of the connection with the letters and the company
full name or purpose of the company. That means a company like 3M can
become synonymous with manufacturing of supplies or AT&T with telephone
communication.

This is another reason why choosing a logo category after careful deliberation
and research is helpful. You can easily eliminate the need to pursue categories
that would not fit well with the company ethos or its goals.
 Monograms are nothing new and are some of the oldest forms of logo design.
Monograms from Draughtsman’s Alphabets by Hermann Esser (1845-1908).

A company like NETFLIX may not want to be known

as NF or NFLIX because their name is already
established, well known and loved. That name is also
short enough to stand alone. The same reason why
YouTube does not want their logo to be seen as YT.
Not all logos need a monogram. Each case is unique
and competitor and industry research helps us to
decide what might be best.

Larger corporations perform user studies which help

them evaluate the reactions to new company brand
refreshes where they might introduce a company
abbreviation or monogram mark.

If it is received poorly, they may have to go in The app icon to the left is the official Google Store icon.
another direction. Only through research with your What if Netflix decided to go by NF instead? It does not
have the same simple quality that the one on the left has.
company’s audience will you truly be able to gain
authentic and honest reactions that can steer the
direction of your logo design.
Abstract Logos
Abstract logos usually contain rough
outlines, shapes, curves and lines to
try to depict the ideals and meaning
of a company name or product.

What makes them abstract,

and not illustrations, is the over
simplification of an idea.
How do you create a
symbol that would depict
strong
large expressive words like independent
innovation, passion or powerful
perseverance?
determined
After doing lots of initial research, companies
may establish a short list of words that describe unique
the very essence of their business.
glass-breaker
Some of these words feel almost impossible to
visualize. Abstract logos help to communicate proud
complex words or phrases with a visual
representation, usually in the form of geometric
shapes, outlines, mosaics or splotches. This
The above example are words developed during the word
allows the designer to be creative and push mapping process in which words are created that help
boundaries of typical design patterns. Instead to describe the core of the business ethos, attitudes and
of drawing an exact object we are creating company personality. Trying to express these words visually
can be a challenge for even the most experienced designer.
feelings and emotions.
This is where the study of CIRCLE
shapes comes in handy. A PPROAC H A BLE , FRI E ND LY

Let’s say we have a logo that we would like to

have a soft approachable feel. A circle works well
in this case because there are no sharp edges or
anything impeding its direction. It is continuous,
curved and if you follow its outline, it never ends.
Circular shapes are great for showing an infinite
amount of possibilities and it is great for Lululemon Athletica logo

representing a flexible company or product. STARBUCKS TRUE LOGOS. GENERATED BY CHI NGUYEN (CHISAGITTA)

Let’s use a square shape. Now, everything feels

contained and orderly. The right angles are sharp
and steady with little movement. This could easily
show a company that is stable and professional
that holds true to its values.

Just a simple change in shape can

cause huge shifts in our perception of
the company. SQUARE
S TRO N G , S TA BLE , H O NE S T

What if we used a combination of different

geometric shapes. This could allow viewers to see
the company as inclusive and open to change.
It can represent diversity in its music of shapes,
colors and angles.

MIX
CO MP L E X , O P E N , F L E XI B L E
Adobe uses a rigid square shape in its logo to present
stability, strength and honesty. Even the Adobe software
icons maintain a square like shape, although recently in
2019 an 2020 they shifted their app icons to a rounded
edge look to appear soft, modern and more relevant.

I think a successful
abstract logo has
more complexity
and intention than
first realized.
 o m p l ex
e n t i n g C
Re p re s b o l s
w i t h s y m
Ideas
s h a p e s
&

This example of the official

Olympic logo has a series of
random rings overlapping.
Without any context this would seem redundant and too
complex. An artist named Coubertin created the logo
in 1913. The 5 rings represented the 5 main continents
that participated in the Olympics and the 5 colors used
represented every color in all the countries flags who
participated in 1913. The rings symbolized the human
being and continuity with its interlocking feeling
of unity.

Univision adopted a new logo, which

it still uses today, that was created by
famed designer Tom Geismar in 1989.
“The mark is derived from the initial letter U in the company name and is
broken up into four colorful panes. The top left pane, which is identical to the
lower forms but flipped on its side, gives the mark its unique character. While
overall the form is clearly a U, the flipped pane also makes it into a colorful
abstract bird or flower.”
Quote from univsion.com

Just like a fine wine this logo has complex rich notes. It represents
a tulip, the letter U as the first letter of the company but also the unification of
the company as it slowly acquired more stations to become the number one
leading Spanish language network in the world.

They recently unveiled a new 3D version of the logo that further defines a
360 degree approach to media which includes Internet, social media and
more.
Bottom: The most recently updated
“3D” version of the original tulip icon. I think this examples proves that complexity can exist in the simplicity of
geometric abstract logos.
More than meets the eye...
Another example is Chase Bank, created by
Chermayeff & Geismar Associates. One of the
challenges in the banking industry is the likelihood
of a possible merger with another bank and
sometimes that can mean a name change. Using
a monogrammed logo using the companies name
may prove difficult and expensive if this where to
occur. They needed to drum up a symbol that could
represent a modern growing bank institution but
was also able to shift and flex in an unknown future
environment. An abstract logo was the perfect
pick.

“The four parts of the octagon—originally black, brown,

green, and blue—represent forward motion, while the
white square in the middle suggests progress originates
from the center. ‘Like the bank itself, the symbol is a single
unit made up of separate parts,’ the designers noted.”
chase.com
Ancient Chinese Coin

This was radical at the time of release in 1961.

Rarely did you see large financial institutions use
abstract style symbols; they were mostly monogram
logos at the time.

The main symbol can be seen as a vault with the

This proves there is way
white inside being the safe contents inside secured more to an abstract logo
by the Chinese coin inspired octagon shape.
than something that looks
Rarely should geometric shapes be used without
purpose and meaning behind them. How shapes
pretty and unique. Stories
interact, intersect, repeat and even what colors are
used can show human emotions, intentions and
help to write how you
ideals. construct abstract logos.
 The Spotify logo has a similar origin in which it
was inspired by its service and product.

“The Spotify logo consists of a green circle

with three frequency waves inside which has
the meaning of sound and movement. Also this
design is a display of creativity, determination
and excitement.”
Spotify.com

Using Symmetry
Abstract logos can also be symmetric and
orderly. Take for instance Huawei logo design.
Draw a line down the center and both the
left and right sides are equal. Huawei in
Chinese means “flower” and it is beautifully
represented in a symmetrical mark.
 abstract
popularity
Hugely popular in the early 2000s,
abstract logos popularity have
been waning as of late due to the
fact that complex abstract symbols
are harder to adapt to smaller
mobile screens and devices.

This has encouraged companies to have a logo type

or typography only version of their logo that equally
represents the company. Also, this has forced the
simplification of abstract logos to their most basic forms.

Nike was an unintentional pioneer in super simplistic

abstract logos with its super famous Nike “Swoosh”.
The Nike logo is super simple and can exist outside of the
company name and still be recognizable. It can also scale AirBnb released an initially unloved abstract logo
down to smaller sizes without any loss of visual acuity. design in 2014 that created a monogram A that has a
continuous line that also formed map location icon as
the inside of the letter. Some people originally viewed
the logo as something phallic that looked like human
genitalia and the world came up with many memes
based on the new logo design.

Super clever and still used today,

the brand overcame the initial
public reaction and created an
easily identifiable abstract symbol
that properly represents the
company’s ethos as indicated on
the left.

The logo design created by

famed DesignStudio Group
stands the test of time by
symbolizing more than just the
company’s service.
Image sourced from https://design.studio/work/airbnb
Pictorial Logos
Pictorial logomarks are a larger
category of logos that use
graphic elements to represent a
company.

An abstract logo could

be considered a pictorial
logomark.

What makes the pictorial logomark a larger defined

category is that the graphic element used is usually
more accurate, defined and exact. Graphics in
pictorial logomarks can have a large amount of detail
and be more literal, allowing for more character and
charm.

The Starbucks logo is a great example of a pictorial

logo. The Starbucks Mermaid graphic is detailed, DETAIL
including the “two tails woman” and her flowing
hair. An abstract version of this logo could look very
different, with less detail and more of a symbolic
graphical representation.
STARBUCKS TRUE LOGOS. GENERATED BY CHI NGUYEN (CHISAGITTA)
Companies that have part of their names easily
represented by a picture can benefit from a The Puma logo has become so recognizable over the years
that many times it exists as just the logomark without the
pictorial logomark. For example Puma, which logotype.
sells athletic wear, has a literal puma as a part of
their logo. It is a nice logical symbol to use when
your name is Puma. Sometimes the path to least
resistance is going with the flow of a company
name.

Apple did not resist when revamping their logo

decades ago with a very simple apple icon. It is
defined and exact but still simple enough to be
placed just about anywhere. There is no doubt
that this is an Apple. Abstract logos on the other
hand take a few moments to fully appreciate.

Now imagine the original apple logo from 1976

that features Sir Issac Newton sitting under an
apple tree on the back of your laptop? Apple had
to evolve its pictorial logo to be used effectively Apple’s absolute first logo, In 1977 Apple adopted the
pre-1976. Drawn by then co- familiar apple silhouette we
on products.
founder Ronald Wayne. see today. It first appeared
in rainbow form but not as a
single solid color.

The Firefox browser logo has seen

many changes over the years. Like most
modern logos it has seen a dramatic
simplification. It is easily identifiable
as a Fox but with an almost fire like
appearance to the tail. The great thing
about pictorial logomarks is the ability
Through the process of simplification you can see how it goes for a symbol to be quickly associated
from a literal interpretation of “fire” and “Fox” and it slowly with the company name.
evolves into a more abstract version of the original logo.
Wordmarks
(AKA TYPOGRAPHY ONLY OR LOGOTYPE LOGOS)

Wordmarks refer to logos that

only use letterforms in their logo.

They are void of any

graphics, symbols or icons
that are not in the shape of
a character (or lettermark).

Even though they consist of only letters wordmarks can

still be very stylistic and iconic, like the Coca-Cola logo
with its custom script lettering and long distinct tails.

Wordmarks are nothing new. These

various workmarks from the 1930s -1960s
contained very expressive typography
elements.
Letters can express a lot in the minute details
of their letterforms. Barbie’s logo has a hand
written script typography that is both feminine
and fun which matches its clientele.

2016 2018 UBER uses a simple sans-serif with uppercase

letters to look uniform and consistent. The
new Yahoo logo has a slanted exclamation
point to indicate movement and playfulness.

The Uber logo on the left was part of a 2016 rebrand. It

recently switched back to the softer lowercase letters in 2018.

Netflix decided to have the letters follow a lower arch

OLDER VERSION
to give it a reminiscent feel to old movie theater posters
and productions.

A lot of companies develop custom typefaces to use

in their logos and other design assets so that each
character can be carefully crafted to reflect the
company’s personality. It can also save the company a
ton of money in font licensing fees that would typically
be paid to font foundries based on how many times it is
used (impressions).
UPDATED LOGO

You can see the shift from the older

Netflix Logo with dramatic drop
shadows that uses the font graphic. A
2014 logo refresh allowed Netflix to
develop its own typeface called Netflix
Sans (with the help of the type foundry
Dalton Maag) which featured chunkier,
easier to read characters and was
optimized for the web.

The uppercase letters were designed

to appear more “cinematic” and the
lowercase letters to appear more
“compact and efficient”. You can even
notice a similar arched flow in the lower
case T in the Netflix Sans typeface.
Subtle details like this allows the Netflix
Logo to remain unique.
Some companies create a custom
logo that does not have any
relation or similarities to any
other typeface out there.
Allbirds, a European shoe company that sells sustainable
shoes, is a great example of this in action. It uses softer
lowercase letters throughout giving it a softer feel. It also
has this custom lowercase “s” that seems to dip below
the baseline that forms the shape of a bird.

You can zoom in and look at further minute details like

the increasing height of the two “L”s that allow for a
more gradual step up so that the word has a nice shape.
It could also indicate the flight of a bird moving upwards.
It also uses a monoline stroke which continues the soft
approachable look as there is almost no contrast with
how thick the stroke line is in various parts.
ALLBIRDS.COM/PAGES/OUR-STORY

The space between.

The FedEx logo at first glance looks like a simple
capital “E” and a lowercase “x” put together to form
the word “Ex”. Upon second glance you can make
out an arrow that forms between the two characters.
This arrow indicates forward movement of your
packages.

This is negative space that is used to create an object

without having to use extra graphics or symbols
outside of the typography.
Just another
sans-serif OLD NEW

logo refresh.
Hugely popular in the early
OLD

2000s, abstract logos popularity

has been waning as of late due
to the fact that complex abstract NEW

symbols are harder to adapt

to smaller mobile screens and
devices.
In the graphic design community there has been an outcry OLD

and critique over the monotonous and predictable logo

designs coming from larger companies. As mentioned
before with the Netflix logo, the thickening of all
characters in word marks is becoming almost essential as
well as the overall simplification of logos. This assures the NEW

logos readability at smaller and smaller screen-sizes. We

can criticize this gradual shift to simplicity and monotony
but companies are adapting to future needs and it may be
necessary to prevent companies from remaining stagnant.

This does not mean companies need to remove all

personality from their original logos. They can use
subtle touches to keep originality in mind. Durex, a
latex company, did a recent logo refresh in 2020 that
modernized the logo without loosing its original identity.

It got rid of the solid shape and made it into a single

OLDER VERSION
border. It also disconnected the top of the “d” from the
outline so it can be more readable as a “d”. They also
rounded the top of the “d” to keep consistent with the
slightly rounded ends of the characters in the other letters.
It simplified one of the legs of the “x” making it soothly
transition into the stroke. The border now has the same
stroke thickness as the characters, giving it uniformity. It
redesigned the logo yet kept some original details so it can UPDATED LOGO
keep brand recognition for prior customers.
Mascot Logos
Mascot logos contain
special characters created
by the company to
represent them and
their company values.

You will see mascot logos mostly

used for both sports teams, fast
food and convenience food
companies.
A word of caution when
creating a mascot logo: make
sure you continue to foster and
support the mascot in future
brand communication and
marketing.
Rarely can you get away with including a mascot
and not creating a backstory or personally for that
mascot. This is a big brand decision and creating
a mascot is like caring for a dog. It is an extra
responsibility that should be carried out with enough
time for that mascot to become a familiar character
and lovable icon that your audience will enjoy.

Mascots are great for companies that need a

representative to show off their personality, quirks and
uniqueness. Food brands love to use mascots because
having a punch of personality is hard when the only
visible brand element most consumers see is on the
product packaging. I tend to think of Pringles cans
and the Kool-Aid man that almost seemed to leap off
the packaging and into our imaginations as kids. A
face can communicate so much more than symbols
ever can. Squinty red eyes are mischievous, a toothy
grin is approachable and ripped muscles can evoke
strength and power.
 Mr. Clean products takes
their mascot very seriously -- it
appears front and center on
all of their cleaning products.
Not only that, their mascot represents the company
on all commercial TV spots and digital ads. Most
of these mascots come with entire life stories and
bios written by ad agencies to make sure they stay
consistent with brand messaging. Mr. Clean has
had to update his look over the years. In 1957,
Harry Barnhart created the idea of Mr. Clean
while Ernest C. Allen, an art director, gave him his
look. He even has taken on a new more attractive
look to appeal to a younger audience, as the next
generation purchases homes and begins to find
their cleaning products of choice.

MailChimp, an e-mail creation

OLD service, has presented a monkey
named Freddie as its spearhead
for many years.
At its start, the logo featured a really detailed script
NEW typeface which was popular in the mid 2010s. Because
the script typeface was complex, rarely did you see the
mascot and the logotype together as one, which made
it hard for a brand user to connect both the mascot and
the script typeface. During a large re-brand in 2018
they continued to simplify the mascot to just one simple
flat color. This allowed the company to use both the
mascot and company name together for further brand
recognition.
Combination Marks
Combination marks are
the simple unification of
both a wordmark and a
logomark.

The Apple logo is the perfect

example of a logomark that
can exist alone without the
need for a company name.

The Apple logomark is so well known there is no a

need for a logomark to be added. For companies
who do not have this huge amount of
prior brand recognition a logotype and a
logomark may be required.

Dropbox has an isometric logomark in the shape

of a box that complements the wordmark. Because Most companies will not be able to accomplish what
the icon is so simple, you rarely see it without the Apple has done with their logomark. Rarely can
companies pull off using just the logomark without a
logotype, as one helps to identify the other. company name nearby and still be recognized. This
takes decades of brand awareness.

COMBINATION MARKS ALWAYS INCLUDE BOTH ELEMENTS

LOGOMARK LOGOTYPE
Lacoste, a high-end clothing
brand, has a mascot alligator
logomark in combination with
its Lacoste sans-serif typeface.
Just like Apple, the logomark can exist alone and
is identifiable on clothing. When used outside of its
main product it would not be as easily identifiable,
such as store signage, advertising and digital ads.
There are times it needs to use its combination mark
and times when it can exist as separate elements.

Both type and symbols do

not always need to be totally
separated from each other.
The Doritos logo seems to effortlessly fuse the two
together as one main logo. This is especially useful
on store shelves where that added graphic of the
Doritos shape focuses the viewer’s eyes into the
brand name Doritos.
Emblems
Emblem logos take the fusing
of logomarks and logotypes
more seriously by taking
on a seal or stamp like
appearance.
Emblem logos can be powerful as they can easily
exist on any background, simple or super busy.
They derived from family crests (heraldic crests)
or business signs (which was the earliest form of
company branding) which indicated their family
tradition or craft. For example, the blacksmith may
have a hammer and an anvil.

Crests for families who achieved knighthood would

be indicated in the crest by a piece of head armor.
This was a symbol of pride and would be hung up in
the main house for all to see.

Companies that have a lot of history could

benefit form an emblem. Also those which are in
a distinguished field like a college or university.
Harvard, for example, uses crest as their logo
along with the word VERITAS (Latin for “truth”) on
three books. The books indicate that this is a place
of study as well as establishing their values. The
crest contains a huge a history for the university
and it would be hard to accomplish this with other
logo categories like a simple wordmark.

Modern examples of emblems include breweries.

Southern Tier Brewing Co., located in Lakewood,
NY, has a circular logo which includes the company’s
full name, embellishments like laurels to give it a
traditional feel and ultimately symbols inside which
clearly indicate that this is a brewery. This logo
adapts beautifully to online websites, social media
and more. Because emblem elements are tightly
packed together they take up minimal space. They
can easily be used for packaging and cans that have
narrow sight range.
 4
a brief history
of art & style
section four

movements.
Logo categories usually do not change very often. A
combination mark is a combination mark, a emblem is
an emblem and so forth. But logo styles change with
the passing years.

Some trends like art deco, which was popular in the

1920s and 1930s, are still relevant with logos today.
Meanwhile, other trends like gloss 2.0, popular circa
2004-2008 are seeing a drastic reduction in popularity.

This section will review common long lasting

trends that are both essential to know as a
budding logo designer.
 Design today
builds on all
of the style
movements of
yesterday.

More expression
and countering austerity

Excitement in
everyday things

Simplify when possible

Opulence and detail

Form follows function

Dynamism and
movement

What is great about

studying styles of the past
is understanding how one
influenced and inspired
another. Because we have
this rich history we can draw
our inspiration from many
sources and styles.
 c k y t o b e i n
r e v e r y l u to
We a n d t o b e a b l e
s i t i o n a ch
our po a w o n d e r f u l r i
s u c h
draw on y.
i g n h i s t o r
des

I like to compare art and sake of giving a design a single driving purpose to be
clear and on point, with the Swiss design style taking
design movements to a multiple that even further with the use of grids.
floored building with the level
It is safe to say that even today these back and forth
underneath being required to style movements are evident in current design trends.
build the next level. For example the web 2.0 micro style that was popular
with logo design in the first decade of the 21st century
You will notice in this section how some art had glossy realistic effects. This design style overtook
movements were started to counter the previously most new logos that came out at the time to the
dominant art or design movement of that time. For point where designers wanted to challenge the over
example, the latest postmodern movement was acceptance of that trend. As a response there was a
a counter to the austere, simplistic, purposeful movement back toward flat simplistic logo designs,
and calculated Swiss design style that absolutely void of unnecessary details, gloss and effects like
dominated the design space for decades in the mid- gradients and drop shadows.
20th century.
Once again, as of late we are seeing a movement
This is also true for the Bauhaus movement, which away from flat design and toward more expressive
was a response to the Art Nouveau movement. Art typography like the hand-written typography
Nouveau was very ornamental with lots of details as movement that we are currently in.
well as Art Deco which also encouraged lots of fine
lines, details and flourishes. The German Bauhaus Trends, change and evolve but they also have a
movement, as you will study further in this section, history they build upon and understanding that history
tried to reduce all unnecessary components for the is important.
Bauhaus
Unifying the arts to
create aesthetically
pleasing, practical
design.
Bauhaus was a German school that was open from 1919 to 1933.
The word Bauhaus in German translates to “building house”.
This school, and eventually an influential movement in art and
design, sought to make everyday objects effective and maintain a
sense of simplicity and beauty.

It was born in the era of modernism in Germany where artists

wanted to create new expressions and forms of art and style and
leave the traditional era of design behind. It focused on producing
well designed products that could easily be mass produced for a
larger portion of society instead of just the wealthy elite. There is a
industrialized influence on Bauhaus as it introduces technology and
new materials into its product designs.

The Bauhaus school of thought eventually impacted

the future of architectural design, product design and
even typography.

Geometric typography was influenced by the precise but rounded

characteristics of the Bauhaus style. It has a holistic approach to design and
the arts without distinct borders between different design and art fields.

There is a heavy desire with Bauhaus style to focus on a more scientific

approach to solving design problems. This paved the way for grids, the
golden ratio and other more mathematical interpretations of design.

The Bauhaus style consists of basic geometric

shapes which serves as its main form of
inspiration. There is a distinct use of rounded
edges combined with sharp rectangular
edges. It sought to break free from past artistic
expressions and focused more on the simplistic
nature of clean lines and less on emotions. It
wanted to provide order to a disordered world.

It also overlaps geometric shapes and makes sure to follow the basic
theories of color, layout and hierarchy to achieve a basic balance and
flow. Bauhaus design is seeks to make things as simple as possible, without
the use of anything unnecessary. You can see this in logos designs that are
influenced by this style.
GRUPO G7 DAVID SILVA - | BEHANCE.COM MARCOS ROZA | BEHANCE.COM FELIX BAKY | BEHANCE.COM

form follows function

 Bauhaus
today
BEATS BY DR. DRE

It is easy to see the influence

the Bauhaus style had on
current logo design.
Most of these examples continue to use basic geometric
D LETTER LOGO | D MARK BYPASS TECH | BEHANCE.COM

forms to construct their logomarks. The Beats logo by Dr.

Dre is a great representation of the Bauhaus rounded
letterform and surrounding circle.

Bauhaus can have sharp angles but with it come the

softer rounded edges. All of these marks are at their
most simplest form without any unnecessary design
elements. This style of logo works well for the modern
digital world because of this simplicity and “back to
basics” look. This style has been around for almost
100 years, yet, it is not a style that will be going away
anytime soon and encapsulates clean classic design.
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 art deco

Workers sorting the mail, a

mural in the U.S. Customs
House, New York City, by
Reginald Marsh (1936)

Chicago World’s Fair, A Century of

Progress, Expo poster, 1933

The Chrysler building in NYC.

 Lady with Panther by George Barbier for Louis Cartier,
1914. Display card commissioned by Cartier shows a
woman in a Paul Poiret gown (1914).

Dramatic, opulent
detailed and
luxurious.
The Art Deco movement was inspired by cubism, a style
of painting pioneered by Pablo Picasso. Cubism was also
heavily influenced by basic 3D geometric shapes like the
cone, cylinder and the sphere.

You can
Art Deco is less of a specific art style but a collection of
see the
styles of that era. It developed in the early 20th century details and
around the period of WW1. It developed through a desire ornaments
to show excitement for the rapidly developing technology in this classic
design for a
and industries of its time and the successes that followed.
deck of cards.
It is defined by extravagant opulence with lots of details,
sharp angles and modern day materials like smooth
rounded plastic and glass.

The style of the Art Deco movement inspired buildings like Pablo Picasso, 1910, Girl with a
the empire state building and the Chrysler building. Mandolin (Fanny Tellier), oil on
canvas.
 SNOB HÔTEL ASÍS . | BEHANCE.COM
It heavily influenced
the development of
varying typography

CW MONOGRAM AND HEART STEFAN KITANOVIĆ | DRIBBLE.COM

characteristics like long
stretched dramatic
letterforms with both
pointed ends but
geometric inspired
curves.
The current influence of Art Deco can be
seen in logo design in a lot of different
ways. You can see it through the use of
typography, as the ultra stretched letterforms
CORNERSTONE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH PETER VOTH

you see used often today where originally

inspired by Art Deco.

You can also see it in detailed line art, super

popular in logos for coaching, personal
development and hospitality.
 Because Art Deco is not
just one single defined style
and is a collection of styles
of that era, you can see
different representations of
Art Deco typography based
logos.
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You have the classic stretched letters with the
center arm of the “E” being placed lower on the
letterform as well as underlined characters like
the “O” in the Metro example.

You also see more stylized

ligatures.
You will noticed in this modern typeface
interpretation the two “L”s with the
second one nested in the first one.
This is very commonly seen in Art
Deco.

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Swiss
international
Design
aka International
Typographic Style

Volkswagen applied Swiss design to its advertising to

create wide open whitespace. Before this time, using
too much whitespace was considered wasteful of the
given space. Swiss design accentuates whitespace and
it even becomes a design element itself.
Grids, white
space and sans-
serif typefaces
rule.
The “form follows function” ethos of the Bauhaus movement
can be clearly seen in the Swiss design style that became
popular in the 1950s by designers in Switzerland and has
heavily influenced modern day design. You can almost see
this as a continued evolution of Bauhaus with its use of super
simple geometric shapes.

Grids are a mainstay of the Swiss style as it helps to

logically maintain order but also present information in
easily digestible ways. What really makes this style stand out
among other styles is its generous use of heavy whitespace
between elements. This ensures the design maintains
readability and has a simple direct goal.

Typography plays a larger role and even starts to become

the design itself. It features mostly sans-serif typefaces void
of any details or serifs. Typography is usually left aligned
with ragged right edges.

This is also the style that bore the typeface Helvetica, the
most popular sans-serif typefaces today and is even used for
the NYC subway any many other government institutions.

helvetica
This is Helvetica, used on all of the wayfinding signs in
the New York City Subway. Helvetica was developed in
1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger

is
awesome.
 The Golden Ratio, (which
is covered in more detail
later) was important to
Swiss design.
Any grid created with a structured math
equation was now in a Swiss designers
tool belt. We can see a resurgence in grids
being used in all facets of logo design,
from overall layout to the construction of a
logomark, as seen in these examples.

Just like Bauhaus, there is a general

focus on simple geometric shapes and
simplification. Rarely does one design
movement exist independently without
being influenced by prior design
movements.

Marsh of
Museum Marsh
Modern Art Museum of
Modern Artt

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 P o p a r t

Roy Lichtenstein, Drowning Girl, 1963, on display

at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) by Andy Warhol, 1967.

 The everyday
becomes
exciting.

Originating in the United States and the United Kingdom

was the colorful bold style of Pop Art. We often times
think of the famous artist Andy Warhol when we think of
this over-the-top style.

Pop Art challenged the traditional forms of fine art by

using everyday, mundane objects as its subject matter,
usually in a comic book like style. A famous example by
Andy Warhol is his painting of a simple can of Campbell’s
Soup. These normal everyday objects became interesting
and resonated with viewers because Pop Art was very
relatable -- a far cry from the delicate picture of perfection
from the Renaissance era.

What defines Pop Art is a haphazard, rough style that

focuses on the subject, less on grids and less on being
precise. Rough sketched lines, torn newspaper and
collages where common elements used in Pop Art.

Pop Art defined the 1960s advertising style with colorful

sometimes sarcastic sense of humor. It brought a down-to-
earth style mainstream to sell products. There was a huge
resurgence of the Pop Art style in the 1990s.

Halftone pattern, popular with this movement.

Half Dollar (1962 - Robert Dowd)

Do not let
rules limit
your style.
One of the most well known logo designs
of our time is the famous red lips for the
band The Rolling Stones. It makes a big
statement with a comical undertone and
a slight defiance of social norms.

Most logos that adapt a Pop Art style

have very expressive typography like
in the Pizza Head logo by designer
Wintrygrey. It usually consists of custom
hand-written typography where text
characters, rather than follow a straight
line, caress each other and fit together
like a puzzle piece.

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 2005 - ‘Moving Cube in Wire’ an abstract copper
wire sculpture, painter-artist, Fons Heijnsbroek

The Memphis style was popular in the 1990s.

Poosd
t ern
Br i g h t a n d
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postmodern n w ith nonlinea
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tend to loo

Abstract logos where born out

of this movement of breaking the
grid but also providing this fluid
movement with rounded edges
and overlapping elements.

Logo Marks #3 Ted Kulakevich | Dribbble.com

 Variable width open type font was developed
specifically for Parsons. You can see the random
widths applied in the bottom row compared to
a standard even width spacing above.

The Parsons Logo

Parsons, the design school part of famed The New
School in NYC, adapted a random variable typeface
for its branding standards called Neue Random,
created by Peter Bil’ak in conjunction with the design
studio Pentagram. It would randomly set different
character widths as the user typed, thus
creating this totally rule-breaking look to its
typography and its logo.

This was controversial at the time (and

most things that are postmodern try to
be), but it is decidedly intentional about
being different. The design school has
a philosophy of trying new things and
developing the future of design.

Images retrieved from

the Parsons’ branding
standards manual at
newschool.edu.
 “
What has made styles evolve in the
the future

last decade has been an increase in

user experience design.
UX (as they call it), puts the user as the center focus making sure
there are no roadblocks to accomplishing their goals, wishes
and desires. If it is a food ordering app, then focusing on UX
will allow the user to quickly get to the checkout and process the
The move
order while also enjoying the smooth, easy experience. Perhaps
the app makes sure they did not forget a drink upon checkout
with a notification or provides a very visual experience so you
to digital
can flow through the app quickly.
merged
The digital age has brought us into new territory. Now that digital
devices are super small and mobile everything we create as
designers must be adapt to this new world. Complicated detailed
style with
logos are still great for other brand assets but for the use as a
main company identifier, you must think about the small spaces it
must exist in.
usability.
This is where the latest styles have developed in the digital
This is where the latest
styles have developed in the
digital age.
Google.com logo used from 1999 to 2010.
Before mobile devices were our main interaction with
the world we browsed the Internet using desktop
computers. The screens were generous and allowed
the creation of more complicated logomarks with drop
shadows, blurred highlights and layers. I tend to think
of the original Yahoo! and Google logos when I think
of this style in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Yahoo.com logo used from 1996 to 2009

Apple then changed the world with their

high gloss slick looking iMac computer with a
transparent back and more individualized color
choices. Their advertising changed, too with the
added super glossy slick looking effect.

Apple Inc. “No artificial colors.” Print

advertisement for iMac G3, 1998.

This was a move to make brands look high tech Apple logo created in 1998. Logomark for wordpress.org.

and ready to move into the future with the latest

technology. Other brands followed with this glossy
look and adopted the name web 2.0, in reference to
how much the web has evolved in the 2010s.

A lot of tech companies followed suite with these

extra details. Popular effects included a reflection,
YouTube.com Logo from 2005. Logo for Skype created in 2005.
like the logo was sitting on glass. Others used
gradients, curved highlights, and anything that could
emulate glass.
Apple then released the
iPhone and with it came
these hyper realistic looking
icon designs.
This is called skeuomorphic design, where layers and
realism was favored. These icons almost have a tactile
feeling to them with textures, patterns and highlights.

INSTAGRAM APP PRE 2015 SKEUOMORPHIC DESIGN EXAMPLE

Skeuomporphic icons had ample details,
effects and layers.

The original iPhone home screen from 2007.

 the era of
flat design:
WARNER BROS. PICTURES

2008 - current
OLD LOGO UPDATED LOGO

If it could be
simplified, it was.
As we moved into the second decade
of the century, we experienced a
OLD LOGO (WEB 2.0 STYLE) total counter movement to all of the
detailed and effected driven design.
The flat design era was upon us.
This was a counter to the web 2.0
look that almost every company had
employed. As we have talked about
before, once one style or movement
has gone too far, a counter movement
ensues and the future is no different.

UPDATED LOGO (FLAT STYLE)

Flat design has zero effects, drop
https://www.dropbox.com/branding
shadows and details. It also over-
saturated the space of the 2010
decade. Just like the Swiss style of
the mid 20th century, it favored an
overall simplification of all design
elements. If it was not necessary,
design elements were removed.
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE

OLD LOGO UPDATED LOGO

 Back and forth goes the
styles.
Now the pendulum swings the other way. In the last few
years more hand drawn elements are sneaking their
way back into logos while also keeping it flat and clean,
unlike the logos of the early 21st century. This is because
companies are making sure logos remain expressive and
unique but also can adapt to those smaller screen sizes
and be practical for the sake of the user.

Logos & Marks 04 Miscellaneous

By Ahmed iliraqi James Lafuente
Project found on Behance.com Project found on Behance.com

LOGOFOLIO (Vol. 3) Logo Collection

Tristan Nuit Lex Revolter
Project found on Behance.com Project found on Behance.com
Dominant Style Movements in Graphic Design
The swinging pendulum from one extreme to another
For every major style and art/design movement there is a counter movement. No one style within a movement dominates for a long period of time.
Some movements continue to span decades, producing several different sub-styles and then evolve into the next movement. When a dominant style fades out
they can still be influential in the future as a foundation and inspiration for a future style and movement.

DIGITAL SKETCHING
Complexity ART NOUVEAU (1890-1920) ART DECO (1910-1930) POP ART (1955-1980) WEB 2.0 (1990’s-2000’s)
& ILLUSTRATION (2010’s)
Expression, detail
& favoritism VICTORIAN SURREALISM AMERICAN PSYCHEDELIC GRUNGE STYLE
toward individuality (1800s) (19001930) KITSCH MOVEMENT (1990’s 2000’s)
PUNK
(1950s) (19581975)
(1970S  1980S) AUTHENTIC
Transitional periods CUBISM
REPRESENTATION
(19001930) NEW YORK
Many styles exist between the transition (2010-present)
SCHOOL DESIGN
between the more extreme design approaches.
LATE (19401970)
RETROFUTURISM
FUTURISM EARLY MODERN Other names 3DIMENSIONAL STYLE INTERACTION DESIGN
(19001930) MODERN (19451960) Steampunk & SKEUOMORPHIC (2010’s - present)
Cyberpunk
DESIGN
MINIMALISM (2007-present)

Simplicity BAUHAUS (1919-1933) SWISS DESIGN(1950-1980) ADVERTISING

BOOM (1950s-1980s) FLAT DESIGN (2000’s) THE FUTURE

Effective, defined
and functional. Mass 1900 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
appeal and marketability.

LARGER MOVEMENTS MODERN POST MODERN DIGITAL AGE

Dominant Style
Movements in Graphic
Design
The swinging pendulum from
one extreme to another.
For every major style and art/design movement there is
a counter movement. No one style within a movement
dominates for a long period of time.

Some movements continue to span decades, producing

several different sub-styles and then evolve into the next
movement. When a dominant style fades out

they can still be influential in the future as a foundation

and inspiration for a future style and movement.
5
section five // THE BIG PICTURE

logo design
& branding

We cannot start
a logo design
without first
understanding the
company's values,
DNA, ethos, goals
and mission.
Branding is a huge part of that process. The types of
questions we ask our clients and the conversations we
have can help dramatically shape our concepts and
ideas.

Branding is multifaceted and includes company

ideals, brand voice, visuals and even includes how to
interact with its audience.
 business strategy

customer marketing placement/

managment distribution

brand
strategy

brand brand
story voice

product culture
differentiation brand the brand
goals logo audience

brand brand
message values

brand
identity
mission/
vision/ pricing
goals

At the center of the galaxy.

to make sure the brand has continuity. You want to
The logo is the starting point of any be able to look at an ad for a company and know it
is them without having to look at the logo.
visual representation of a brand.
This is because we have recognized a similar visual
pattern that reminds us of their special and unique
Only once you establish the core values and mission
“look”. But that company visual DNA was not
of a company can you begin tackling the visuals of
developed in isolation, it was derived from the logo
a brand. But once that develops, no other visual for
design.
a brand comes first. All brand assets, icons, visuals,
backgrounds, photos, headlines, ads, banners or
You can see why everything visually starts here and
graphics only come after the development of the
ends here. It is the reason why companies will pay
logomark or logotype.
ad agencies millions and millions of dollars just to
develop a logo that looks like it took an hour to
Study popular company logos and see if you
create. And just like human DNA, when you zoom
notice similar design elements that exist outside of
in further with a microscope you can see beautiful
the logo. You might notice that brands use unique
details that makes it special and why it took so
properties of their logos to develop and expand
much time to craft.
their library of visual resources to use on all designs
 mission/ customer
vision/ management
goals

product placement/
differentiation distribution

broad
business
strategy
pricing culture

WHERE DOES
marketing
LOGO
DESIGN
brand brand
story voice

brand
IN THE
brand
brand
goals
strategy audience

OVERALL
PROCESS brand brand
message values

brand
identity

bill-
boards

website

way-
brand brand
the
finding
signs events/ extention extention Display

logo
large digital
specific

Ads
display

b
large ex ran
banners te d
n

nt
te d
io

io
ex ran
nt

sign & n interactive

mobile
b

car wraps
extention
brand

letter- print flyers/

head
collateral postcards

magazine
social ads

apparel
media
packaging
internal posters
commun- cover/
ications profile paid
photos posts
organic
posts/
video
The stuff that
comes before
the logo design.
EVERYTHING about the company can
influence the logo design process.

Each company has a different story to tell and

every company has a different set of values, goals
and culture.

Let’s say we have a high-end fashion start-up

that wants to create a logo that connects with its
audience. How on earth do we know where to
start? So many questions should start to flood your
mind like...

Who are you wanting to market to?

How are you priced compared to your

competition? Who is your competition?

What makes your stuff better than them?

Why should I care about your products?

What do you care about as a company?

What is your company culture like?

Where geographically are you going to

market your product? Will it be North America?
Africa? Totally different cultures, languages and
market psychology.

What type of tone do you want to set? This

goes along with brand voice: do you want to have
a soft tone, strong tone, daring? Sweet? Nostalgic?
What is your brands personality?
 Starting business business business
here strategy strategy strategy

marketing marketing marketing

Starting
here
brand brand brand
strategy strategy strategy

brand brand brand

identity identity identity

Starting
here
the the the
logo logo logo

CEO AD AGENCY OR
COMPANY FOUNDERS BRAND GRAPHIC
C-SUITE STRATEGIST DESIGNER

Where do I come in?

Do I have to come up with the business walks the company though developing their brand
voice, tone, personality and inspiration.
strategy?
This usually involves lots of intense meetings with the
If this is all a bit foreign to you, do not panic! We
leadership of the company and the ad agency. They
all have certain roles to play depending on where
will develop a brand strategy together and start to
we fit in this process.
move further down the line creating the brand identity
and logo.
As a graphic designer, our roles are simple. We
ask the right questions that will help us gather
Further up the in the process is the company
the information we need to start the logo design
stakeholders themselves, usually a CEO or founder
brainstorming process. This can be done through
that will work with their team to determine the
a simple concise custom client questionnaire or
company’s product line, price point and distribution
having a conversation directly with the client to
of the products. This would be the business strategy
discuss the companies brand or overall business
portion of the process and rarely would include those
strategy.
without a varied background in marketing, leadership
and business strategy.
Those who may be involved earlier in the process
may be ad agencies or a brand strategist who
6
section six // THE PROCESS

The logo
design
process
 Logo design is broken down
into 6 main steps:

1
Research
Understanding the Company DNA
Competitor logos, Company Values, USP
(Unique Selling Proposition)

2
Ideation
Creating a Main Idea
Word Mapping, Client Conversations

3
Concept Development
How Can We Show That Idea Visually?
Sketching, Iconography Study and Typography
Testing, Picking a Logo Category and Style

4
Concept Refinement
Detailing Our Main Idea
Getting Client Feedback, Picking Our Direction,
Revising Concepts and Finalizing Our Visuals

5
Concept Presentation:
Presenting Our Final Concept for Approval
Developing a Case Study Presentation

Execution
Logo Application and Usage Guidelines
Creating a Library of Various File Formats and Sizes 6
7
Logo Expansion
Beyond the logo Thinking Beyond the Logo and Looking
at The Larger Branding Picture
This is not an exact Ask a different
science but a unique designer and they will
method of approaching have their own unique
the process. logo design process.
Some designers focus on the first step, the research

1
phase. They may have a tried and true client
questionnaire they send each client or require a phone or
video call before proceeding to step 2. Some designers Research
move right into researching on their own the company’s
competitors and industry, only asking the client a few

2
brief questions before proceeding or depending heavily
on a provided client brief.
Ideation
I personally like to hang out in stage 1 (research) longer
than most. Research takes the most time for me because,

3
once you have a wonderful understanding about the
company, service, industry and their target market, all the
other stages seem to go by very quickly.
Concept
Development
I think people get stuck on stage 2 (ideation) because

4
they do not get enough information in stage 1. Some
designers get stuck on stage 3 because they do not spend
enough time developing “rough ideas” in stage 2.
Concept
Refinement
Moving down the different stages, people can get so

5
wrapped up in stage 3 (concept development) and stage
4 (concept refinement) that they easily forget about stage
6 (execution). They have this wonderful looking concept
Concept
that ends up not being very practical. It does not look Presentation:
good in small mobile devices or, even worse, does not

6
scale well and lacks readability.

I do not want these steps to put Execution

you in a limited box of rules: you
have the freedom to add a stage
or modify your process to make

7
it your own.
Logo Expansion
This is just a starting point to help you put important steps
in front of another to facilitate and engage the entire
creative and marketing process.
researc
1
Step 1 // THE RESEARCH PHASE

If logos try to
visually represent a
company's DNA then
the research phase
is the first and most
important step.
This is when we ask the client for any prior company research
that might prove useful in the development of a company
identity. This could be asking for a mission statement, target
market data, demographic studies or asking about their top
competitors. Also, during this phase, you can discover the
unique advantage of their product of service. Why should
consumers be excited about what they offer? Is it better, faster,
stronger, cheaper, higher quality than their competitors? Do
they have a different perspective, goal, or company culture
compared to what is currently out there in their industry?
The great thing about
Should you use all of the suggested
this stage is there are research activities in this section? No,
but there is one I almost ALWAYS
an endless amount of require for my own clients and that is
the client questionnaire.
methods you can use
to gather the research
you need to move into This method requires equal participation by both
you and the client. Asking for all of the marketing

the stage 2 ideation and research data can really overwhelm a client.
This is why you send a custom client questionnaire

process. for each project, so you can tailor the questions

to their unique company profile and industry.
This simple one or two page questionnaire should
never feel intimidating and should ask open-ended
uestionnaire
questions that encourages the client to go into
specific details that you need to move forward in
the creative process.
What Questions
to ask?
Each question needs to maximize of your research, especially for a company that does
not currently operate or have any prior searchable data
the client response quality so it has online.
a high likelihood of generating
fantastic answers you can use.

1
Some of the best questions are the first ones that Client Client
Question-
you ask yourself when thinking about what type of Brief naire
logo might work best for this company.
1 3
For example, we have a new food ordering app that 2 4
needs a logo for their brand new company. We do not
have a current website to explore to generate ideas of
what they currently offer, so all I have to go on is what
the client gives me in the form of a client brief.

2 Client Client
A client creative brief is usually a one or two page Question-
document that the client writes to provide you with the Brief naire
basic ideas of what they need. Some clients provide
wonderful client briefs full of their thoughts and ideas
1 3
about what they are looking for. Some client briefs 2 4
are very vague, offering basic details like “we
need a logo design to extend our reach visually to our
audience,” without any context to who their audience

3
is. Some clients do not know what a client brief
Client
is and do not expect to have to create one. Conversations Client
Question-
naire
You have a few different scenarios and each one is
workable. With a great client brief we can take what 1 3
they said and ask them follow up questions via our 2 4
custom client questionnaire form.

If it mentioned they are a new food delivery app that

aims to shorten the average delivery time compared
to their competition, you can ask in your client You could find yourself in three different scenarios, each requiring
a client questionnaire in the end. Some of your questions in
questionnaire to explain how they make that time
your client questionnaire may develop based on a provided
quicker. Maybe there is something priority that can client brief document. Without a client brief it might be hard to
somehow come out in the logo design. formulate questions but not impossible. Sometimes having client
If the client brief is vague or non-existent then your conversations ahead of time can help you fine-tune your questions
and eliminate unnecessary ones.
client questionnaire becomes the way you gather most
 Custom General Technical
Questions Questions Questions

Unique tailored These might be the Questions that find out When you break your
questions only this same for all of your the clients basic needs questions down into three
client gets asked. clients as they effect for the logo. main categories, it makes
all companies and it easier to formulate
(example: questions that industries. (example: full name, your client questionnaire.
address specific issues, registered trademarks,
problems or values of (example: main competitors). taglines). All question types are useful
the company and industry). and when combined gives
you an amazing amount of
varied client insight.

Question
types
For our example, here are a few questions that come to my mind
custom questions

when thinking about a new food delivery app that is supposed to

be the fastest around.

What method or unique process do

you use to make your app faster?

Is speed the most important aspect

about your app?

Will the app feature other abilities

that your competition will not have?

This is why each client questionnaire is unique. A different set of

questions comes to mind when a new client approaches me.
general questions
There are still general questions that can be asked that can apply to a lot of clients. Some of
those questions include:

What are your goals as we work through this process

together?

What are your expectations for this logo design

process and outcome?

How would you best describe your target audience (or

those you wish to sell your product or service to)?

Who would you consider to be your main competitor?

Are there any examples you can provide of logos or

logomarks you think might match your expectations or
be a good fit style-wise for your company?

There are also technical questions about how they see the logo identity presented. These
technical questions

questions address the visual side of logo design. These are questions like:

What is the exact company name that needs to be

included in the logo design?

Do you have a tagline or secondary phrase that needs

to displayed with the logo?

Please type the full company name you would like to

display on your logo. Will there be any bylines that will
need to be worked into the logo design?

Are there particular colors or combination of colors you

would like to explore during this logo design process?
Any colors to avoid?

We have a combination of general questions, unique custom questions and technical questions
that all work together to give us all the information we need.
TIP What format do I use to ask the client
questionnaire questions? Well, it depends!
You can create your list of questions to be asked in person, at a face-to-face meeting
or online during a video conference. Video conferences have a lot of benefits
because they can be recorded but also you get some critical face time to build a
relationship with the client. In a lot of cases e-mailing a Pdf file can be beneficial as it
gives the client time to think about each question.

PDF
In Person Video Conference Digital Document (Pdf)
Benefits: You build a Benefits: You can record your Benefits: This is the easiest for both
rapport with the client. video to re-watch later. Questions parties as it gives everyone time
Able to change questions can be answered quickly by the to answer the questions on their
on the fly based on client client and without as much time own time. The downside is clients
interactions. commitment as writing them down. may take too much time to answer
questions or not answer them in full.
example
Let’s do another example and create
a finished client questionnaire that
we can send to our mock client. Our
mock client is now an established
retirement community that has been
around for 10 years. They are
looking for a logo refresh and are
open to exploring different ideas.

First of all, they are already established, meaning we

can study their previous logo, website and marketing
materials to gather some data to help us craft our
questions. Since they are a retirement community and
they have nearby retirement facilities we can research
to see what makes them a bit different. After gathering
just a little bit of background, let’s ask the client some
questions to help us get started in our creative journey.

First of all, there are the general questions like “who is

your target audience?” that we can ask most clients as
we just explored. Then there are the custom questions.
Describe the unique community feeing your
If I do not know much about retirement communities facility has? Does it focus more on activities,
it might not be a bad idea to read a few articles community, meals, space or something
about how to find great facilities for your aging parents. else?
This will give me valuable insight to what the target
market finds important when researching a community. How would you describe your competitors?
How are their facilities different?
What I discovered is that most communities are just that,
unique communities. Each one has a different What are ways in which you make this
collective personality. Some are very active with
process as easy as possible for adult
a full-time activities director that helps the community
children with aging parents who are
bond and build relationships with each other. Others
navigating what has traditionally been a
focus more on the room and space, making sure it feels
declining stage in life?
more like a “home” than a facility. They can do this by
allowing the guests to paint their door and even put out
I would limit your questions to the ones that you feel
house plants to make it feel like a front porch. So a few
could help you in stage 2, the ideation phase. Which
questions that are generated for them after this initial
answers do you think will allow you to come up with
reach might be:
visual and creative sketches and allow you to generate
creative ideas?
 Make sure
TIP clients are
properly
participating
in this research
phase.
Without their participation
we will not be able to create
a logo that would best
represent their company
DNA.
This can be hard when your prices are low.
Expectations that you as a designer can
magically generate something that works for
them are very much present when you do not
charge an appropriate amount of your time.
It takes several hours of research to properly
gather the data we need and this is before we get
to the actual designs and concepts.
 Client education is key.
Make sure you sell them on
the importance of a client
questionnaire.
The paragraph below is an example for you.
Use it when sending the questionnaire or pin
it to the top of your pdf document.

The secret to a solid logo design is crafting a logo that

best represents not just your company but also your
company’s mission statement, goals, dreams, unique
ideas and desires in a way that touches your audience
Feel free to steal

and compels them to enter into your company’s story.

The following questions will assist us in knowing more

about your company and your expectations for the
design process. You can choose not to answer questions
if they are not applicable. But the more detail we have
to work with the better chances your logo mark will
match your target audience and represent your unique
company DNA. We look forward to crafting a logo that
can represent your business for years to come.
Experiencing the
product or service
A client can easily
tell you what the
customer experience
might be like, but to
go through it yourself
is very insightful and
can help you in your
creative process.

Some clients, like the retirement facility, would

be challenging to experience the full journey.
You could always visit, but sometimes you may
not live near the client and it makes it impossible.

Some clients, especially those with digital

products, apps and websites, make the
experience significantly more accessible. If
it is a new app, ask to be able to log in and
experience the entire process. If it is a physical
product, then ask for a chance to use it, hold it,
see a video of it being used.

You might have seen this in action on movies

and shows where the ad agency is having a
meeting and everyone is holding the client’s
product, asking questions about it, feeling it and
experiencing it.
 Understanding the
target audience
Customer Persona Profile #1

Who is this logo for?

Amber
The Professional Foodie
I would hate to create a 90s
Rock-n-Roll style grunge logo
Goals
for an all-womens university A professional who wants to reduce

that specializes in MBA’s. time cooking and preparing food.

Desires high quality fresh food.

It might not be a match, but then again, if Has a desire for sushi and visits a
you are creating a Rock-n-Roll punk style
Overview sushi place at least once a week.

logo for a small, digital women-only online

class, that could actually work -- if it is the Age: 36
right target demographic. Status: Single Values
Occupation: Professional: Banking Work and life balance
Income: Household $60,000+
What if that online all-women digital class Health and nutrition
Location: United States
wants to have a more softer vibe? What if
Education: Bachelors or greater Food a s an experience and not
they are all under 20 years old? Over 50?
just for sustenance.
All these facts can shape how we craft the
logo visual experience. The psychology of
logo design is very real. Some logos evoke Favorite Restaurants
trust and professionalism, while others make This can change based on your project type. A website design project for a cafe may
include favorite types of snacks or beverages.
us feel rebellious and wild.

So, it is not really about finding out simple

gender, age and geographic location but Problem-Solving Opportunities
importantly the type of personality we want
She wishes she did not have to spend so She would love to have great quality fresh
the brand to attract. In user experience much time preparing and cooking meals as sushi delivered but is wary of trusting a local
design it is common to create user personas she already only has few hours in the evenings place to deliver it. There is the idea that
to hang with friends and have some downtime. delivery sushi is not going to taste as fresh as
to help companies visualize their target visiting the restaurant.
audience and move beyond just basic She loves sushi and visits two fantastic places
in town she thinks has the best sushi. She
demographic data. feels like she is missing the quality component
in the sushi she eats.
think beyond
the data
family values
introvert? hobbies
extrovert?

personality life goals

quirks

friends
interests

early adopter?
early adopter
challenges?
or nostalgic?

We could find photos, make sketches of And it can rarely be done with just one persona.
some of these personalities that portray Sometimes multiple personas are required to truly capture
what they might wear, who they hang out a company’s target.
with, what they do every day and also
explore some of their passions and dreams. Take Netflix for example. There are so many people who
could or want to enjoy their service. They may have 7-8
different target demographics all with different behaviors
and personalities. This helps to shape their marketing
Looking at these personas
efforts and to help them figure out where to spend their
can help us in future stages ad dollars. If their average customer makes $56,000
of the process to put a face USD per year, they may show ads on popular YouTube
channels that also share the same demographic data for
to a name as we visualize
the user.
what can seem like just facts
and figures.
ideatio
2
Step 2 // THE IDEATION PHASE

Ideation is the
process of generating
and forming ideas.
Ideation is the noun
form of the verb
ideate, meaning to
form ideas or to think.
Brainstorming is one ideation technique that you have most
likely heard of before. The goal of brainstorming is not to
come up with “the” idea, but to generate a wide range of
possibilities and viable outcomes. You are not necessarily
interested in judging and eliminating ideas, but solely to get
them down to review later.

Let’s say I want to generate an idea for a coffee shop called

The Community Bean. Based on my stage 1 research data, I
know they roast all of their coffee beans in-house. They also
want to foster a sense of community and giving back through
charity support and hosting local community groups. There
are several ways to start the ideation process. I can choose to
explore and develop just one of these options or all of them
depending on what is working best for generating multiple
ideas. Remember, the key to the ideation process is generating
options, not a final concept. That will be later in stage 3 and 4.
Word Mapping
{ A word-based approach to
brainstorming concepts and ideas

Not everyone can just start to sketch out great ideas right away. That is
OK. That is why there are other brainstorming methods like word mapping.

You can take some of the data you gathered in the research stage to
jot down important words associated with the company. These might be
commonly used words by the client in their feedback or it could be terms
you find when researching the company’s target demographic or their
industry. In the case of our coffee house client there are two key words we
can start with and build upon, community and coffee.

How to turn words into concepts?

I got tons of great words that all relate to the company name, brand ethos
and client brief but now how do I translate words into shapes, symbols or
ideas for our logo and brand design?

Sometimes connecting several words together helps you form a concept.

For instance, if I came up with the words “community”and “compassion”
it might start to shape how I present the brand. It could have a more
approachable soft look, or incorporate symbols of hope, hearts or helping
hands. I can also explore how coffee and community can come together as
a united symbol when I move on to sketching.
Down the
You cannot get to the final concept without
working through several steps first. Like jumping
across stones on a pond, you cannot skip ahead to the final

rabbit hole stepping stone, you must slowly work your way through
many stones before that final idea becomes clear.

we go... Think of word maps as pathways to concept ideas. For

instance, we write “life coaching” here as a main word
found frequently in the client brief for this life coaching
company. What do we think of when we think of life
coaching? Words begin to appear, and from that additional
The brainstorming process is a words can branch off from those ideas, and so forth.
series of jumps you make from one 
idea or thought to another.
TIP

This is not an exact science when it comes to word mapping. I have

seen it done many different ways. I do like to start off with main word bubbles
that are best associated or commonly used when describing the company and
have those be my first main words. From those words I can dig deeper and
come up with additional words associated with those first few main words. You
can continue to branch off as much as you would like or even come back and
write another main word bubble as you think of it.

Style Boards
Brands Boards &
Mood Boards They have different names
but they all have the same
After you have gathered sufficient background information and data, purpose.
you need to establish an overall style direction for your logo.
They are an arrangement of
Without a direction agreed upon before the design process, it can graphics, photos, colors, phrases,
feel overwhelming. You can use a wide variety of methods to find an quotes, textures and other
agreeable design style between you and the client, thereby reducing company’s logos that serve to
work for both parties when you move into developing our concepts. inspire the style and direction of
logo design.
You can put together a quick one page design inspiration board
to present to the client to help discover which style they feel most
connected to. It’s not always required but I find it very helpful. Clients
do not always know what they want until they see it and this is a great
way to help them figure it out.

LOGO
How many should I put together?

I recommend two or three in different styles to be most

helpful. Offering more than that could confuse the client
and bring up more questions. Offering just one will not
give the client a chance to choose between different
styles.

Based on your research you should already be able to

?
Do I have to do this with my client?

Outside of the client questionnaire, none

of these activities are required to create
pick two or three different design styles that you think the
a successful logo design. In some cases,
client might resonate with.
these are used regularly in the much
broader overall branding process of a
Since you are using other sources, if the client does not
company.
connect with any style you send, this can prompt them to
bring up some suggestions to you. This gives you a chance
These can be a tool in fostering clear
to quickly present a different style. You should not spend
communication with client desires and
too much time putting these together as it is still firmly in
your vision for style.
the brainstorming process and nothing final has been set.
There is a bit more about this on the next page.
Think of style boards
as an extension of
your brand consumers
persona.
We took the time to find out who our desired target audience is, so let’s find
ways to visualize that further in our style board. Let’s find someone that can be
our hero or heroine that can represent them. From there you build out images
that show what they could like to wear, their likes and dislikes, etc. You might
find certain textures, patterns or backgrounds that connect with your hero.

You can derive some color inspiration from some of these photos as
well. You can find a typeface that continues to match well with some
of the photos you’ve selected.

Let’s look at two stylescapes I put together quickly for a casual fashion brand.
They represent two totally different styles. One seems more simple, clean and
sophisticated and the other is more casual, bright and fun.

If the client was struggling trying to find a style direction, presenting these two
style options may allow them to give you valuable insight moving forward.

They may want to have a blend of both, they may want to see another style
represented or they may fall in love with one. That gives you a huge head start in
coming up with your logo, typography system and brand colors.
Finding
inspiration
from
others
Feeling stuck? Don’t worry, we all
get stuck from time to time when we are
starting at a blank page. One thing to
remind yourself to do is to look at others
work. NOT to copy or emulate, but to
spark other ideas from seeing their ideas.
Places to find a
A lot of great idea are amalgams of your
Logo brainstorming
own, others, clients and life experiences.
Inspiration
Make sure to also look at what your
 ehance.com
B
client’s competitor is doing. What type
Logopond.com
of logo do they have? How are they
Dribbble.com
connecting to a similar audience than
logomoose.com
theirs?
logooftheday.com

Great Instagram
Why should I follow them? Profiles to Follow:

Hand drawn logos @made.by.james

Logo application on brand projects @worldbranddesign
Logo application on package design @inspirational.branding
Logo Inspiration @logoprofessionals
Logo design business advice @thejeremymura
Vector art inspiration @vectordaily_
Typography inspiration @typetopia
Showcases talented brand projects @adobedesign
Logo design basics @logo_lesson
Real world project showcase @allanpeters
Logo case studies @prio.hans
Logo design examples and articles @dribbble
Talented logo designer, sketching @george_bokhua
Advanced typography @_hardal
Logo design challenges @daf_designs
Logo presentation inspiration @garagephicstudio
Lessons in combining letterforms @baier.media
How to price your work and sell yourself @ thechrisdo
Great ideas can
sometimes be found
by accident and also
can be found with
time. Do not rush
this creative process,
some ideas come
quicker than others.
concep
3
Step 3 // T H E C O N C E P T
DEVELOPMENT STAGE

From a thought,
to a reality.
The concept development phase could be the biggest
struggle for most designers. I think mostly because we
look at a blank page and ask, “how does this abstract
idea and research get visually represented?” “How can
the words I jotted down, the moodboards I created,
the client input and industry research combine into this
perfect unifying graphic or typography?”

Hopefully, this chapter will give you some weapons

to help you defeat creator’s block. You want your
logo to truly be a unique representation of an entity,
so coming up with a unique visual will require some
experimentation on your part.

Student Sketches by
James Leddington
Sketching
Sketching
The cornerstone of every logo design
development, sketching is a powerful way to
explore your concepts. Sketching allows you to save so
much time before you hit your design software.

There is no such thing as a wasted drawing or idea when it

comes to sketching. Anything goes and you have unlimited
space to do it.

We have now moved through two stages of the process

and each of those two stages will prove helpful here. Take
all of the research, data and basic concept ideas and start
to sketch some of those out.

In stage 4 of the logo design process we will be able to

take some of these more loose sketches and really get
down to the very fine details. Stage 3 is about getting the
idea in basic form. Do not worry about shadows, effects
and small nuances of the sketch. The main idea is still the
focus.
Start with very rough loose sketches, similar to what you
might do on a napkin. These scribbles are trying to find the
right graphic or symbol for your logo. A lot of times I will
start with this loose concept sketch and I will duplicate it to
the right and refine it just a little further. Maybe I like the
first idea, but it is too clunky or the idea is not as obvious
at first glance.

Digital Sketching Apps

Procreate / Adobe Fresco / ArtFlow

TIP
Pen and Paper
Pens, markers, pencils, paint

Use digital sketching apps to make exporting images

into Adobe Illustrator much easier. No need to erase the
background, just export your sketches as a .png with a
transparent background.

You can also bring in sketches you do with traditional pen/

pencil/markers and paper and take a top down photo of your
sketches in bright lighting and bring it into Adobe Photoshop to
brighten up the image further.

You can also sketch direclty into Adobe illustrator by using a

Wacom tablet or sketching using the brush tool in your tool bar.
Sketching can be the most
powerful way to explore
logo design ideas.
Great accidents can happen during the sketching stage.
I have had many interesting concepts develop when
working on another one. 

A few questions to ask yourself to help jump start your

sketching process:

Did the client mention a mascot, a symbol,

or an icon? Did they mention anything
about custom typography?

Should I explore a monogram or play

around with the main letters of the
company name?

Are there commonly associated symbols,

shapes or patterns with the company name
and/or industry?

Can I combine two shapes into one? Can I

do something creative with the company
name?

Are there shapes and spaces that are

created when I look at the company name?
For instance negative space found between
letters?

Look at your word map words. Can I take a

combination of those words and sketch out
an idea from there?

Can I explore different typography styles?

Serifs, sans-serifs, script? Also, how does the
typography fit with any type of shape, icon
or symbol used?
 Combining Ideas
Part of the ideation process is seeing if there are ideas you can merge together to
create a single graphic or logomark. This may not always be needed in every case.
In the top graphic it is combining a controller and the idea of the galaxy to create a
merged icon for a company Gaming Galaxy.

2 20

The time saving power of sketching.

The rough sketch on the left only took around 2 minutes to ideate and to sketch. The vector graphic on
the right, created in Adobe Illustrator, took over 20 minutes to put together. It would be a shame if this
concept was not one that moved forward in the process. Time can be saved by avoiding the temptation
of perfection in the ideation process.
Subtlety of
emotions for a
Mascot logo.
Let’s continue the gaming theme for this
logo for a gaming company. They want
a controller that takes a persona but they
are unsure of what type of personality
or emotion to give it. There is subtlety in
small changes in the drawings and how
it is perceived by the viewer. Upward
slants indicate confidence and sometimes
anger or upward looking eyes can indicate
wonder or innocence.

Also, which shape of a controller to

explore? Square for a more retro look or a
more rounded shape? All of these decisions
can shape the emotion of your final mark
and figuring out these changes earlier on
can help future steps become easier and
more focused.

Determine your logo

category.
INVESTMENT S

Do we need a mascot?
Maybe a typography only logo?
Do we want to have it in a circular seal?
Can we use an abbreviation?
Should the logomark and logotype be totally
COMPANY NAME COMPANY NAME
separate elements or together?

All these are valuable questions we are tasked to explore.

Choosing a small handful of possible logo categories
will allow us to spend more time on our selected choices,
instead of drowning in possibilities. It can be very easy to
feel overwhelmed and ideation allows us to research best
possible layouts and outcomes for our logo before getting
down to details.
 LOGO IDEATION
FUNNEL

IDEAS
Many ideas,
few will make it.

CONCEPTS
Taking good ideas and
putting it on paper.

REFINEMENT
Polishing up and adding details
to our best concepts.

VARIATIONS
Taking the best refined concepts and
experimenting with different layouts &
presentations.

PRESENTATIONS
Only a small handful make it this far.
This is what we present as a final selection
to the client. Fully refined and ready to
be used.

As designers we may not always have this final choice,

but we have helped to influence this choice by our
FINAL CHOSEN decisions at the start of the funnel.

LOGO The final choice will need lots of different file formats
and the client will need guidance to how, when and
where to properly use the logo. (logo usage guides)

How to narrow it down.

We do not always fall in love with every idea we We continue to select a few to create variations of that
have and neither does our client. That is why I wanted visual. Variations are slight differences to the same sketch.
to illustrate this funnel as a graduated way to slowly narrow
down choices to arrive at the final few logo designs. Of those favored variations we continue to refine and
add polish and detail to those variations. That means any
As we write down our many ideas for the logo we may start layered effects, typography selections or zooming in and
to see a few rise to the top. That may happen because they fixing jagged edges and smoothing out curves.
can easily be visualized or sketched out. As we sketch some
of our most promising ideas, some will continue to be the Toward the end we select anywhere from 2-4 refined logo
creme of the crop. Some ideas will fall flat as they are not concepts to present to the client. These presentations are
easily visualized or the concept is hard to understand at first super professional may even be applied to mockups to
glance. It could be that it was too complicated or was too show how it looks in real world applications.
ambitious to be a practical logo design.
refinement

Step 4 // T H E C O N C E P T
REFINEMENT STAGE

4
Can your concept fly?
You have generated some fantastic ideas and even turned
them into some quick visuals & sketches, but can that idea
withstand the tests that lay before it? These are a few questions
we will hopefully answer by the end of this stage:

1. Can my concept easily be understood at first glance?

2. Is my concept not too busy and is it void of any unecessary
elements?
3. Can my logo look good small or large?
4. Can my logo be vectorized from sketch form?
5.Can my logo exist in many different formats and layouts and
still retain its theme and style?
6. Does my logo have a chosen color theme and palette?

And finally:

7.) Am I ready to present my concepts to the client?

How do I know which
concepts make the cut?
I would focus on selecting 3-5 strong ideas or concepts. Here are
some good questions to ask to help narrow it down.

Is it too complicated? Can the viewer

Is the logo adaptable to many different scenarios?
understand the concept in the first 3 seconds?
Digital, small, large banners, as separated elements?
Simple can be better. Can it be simplified even more?
Does it look good from a distance?

Does it depend on flashy effects to look good?

Can I start to see this as a part of a much larger
Gradients, drop shadows and lens flares, oh my!
brand design? Can I see patterns emerge from the logo?
Are patterns, shapes, photos, brand language emerging and
Is the company name clearly visible and one
sparking further exploration and excitement?
of the main focal points of the logo? Remember,
company names are an important part of any logo. The
Will the client like this concept based on any feedback
extra stuff should support the company name and not
they provided?
compete against it. It is not until the brand has become
well known among its target audience that it stand
Will it connect to the company’s target demographic?
alone as a symbol (example: Apple, Nike).
Is it too youthful, too strong, too one way or another?

TIP
No need to worry about color...yet! It’s not a requirement but working in B&W
can help you focus more on the concept/idea of the logo/brand design and
less on color. This helps you make a logo mark that is flexible and adaptable
to all situations and is not dependent on color.
Vectorizing concepts
Every logo must exist in a vector format. Vector formats are created in vector programs
like Adobe Illustrator and Affinity designer. They allow sketches to turn into equations that
give a logo the ability to be scaled almost endlessly and remain crisp and high resolution.
Vector formats also allow a logo to easily be applied to metal signs, apparel, books and
different materials with ease.

Authentically Prepared

When vectorizing a logo we have to make a lot of design

decisions. First of all, we need to establish if we are going
to kept a hand sketch style to our logo, or keep it smooth
and clean. The example on the left has two distinct styles,
both being vector. One maintains the rough sketched
lines (top) and the other (bottom) has been traced in
vector to be super clean and smooth. Both can work,
depending on the company brand style.
 TRACED FROM USING NEGATIVE OUTLINED DETAILS REMOVED GONE TOO FAR
PHOTO SPACE Uses only one shade of gray Leaving only the There is a limit to
Uses 3 different shades Uses 2 different shades. most recognizable elements simplification. It is
no longer easily recognizable

A A A

THE RIGHT BALANCE

This one uses whitespace and
simplification while retaining
the most recognizable elements.

If you can make it more simple, then do.

I think the biggest mistake designers make is being
overly ambitious with visualizing an idea.

Complexity can add some character to a logo but we also want to

make sure our concepts are as simple as possible to be effective.

Are there any unnecessary elements or details in your concept? Is

there a way to combine graphics to have one single focal point?

In the cassette tape vector graphic on the top of this page, I traced
a photo and focused on the more prominent features of the tape,
like the two reels, the label and the holes where the tape is held in
by the tape player.

The first iteration feels more like an reproduction of the photo

instead of the visualization of an idea. We can slowly start to remove elements and only keep the ones that
help to define it as a cassette tape. I discovered that when I removed the reels in the inside rectangle in the last
iteration, I realized it no longer looked like cassette tape. I made sure to include that into the final graphic and
found that removing things like the label up top and some of the holes toward the bottom did not take away from
portraying this as a cassette tape.
Using reference photos to discover
defining characteristics of objects.

One of the best examples of this is taking a photo

of an animal and doing a study of the main
features that help to distinguish that animal over
others.

In the case of this squirrel, the bushy rounded tail extends

beyond the height of the head and the pointy ears. In this
case I did a single continuous line that overlapped to create
a really basic outline. This allowed the graphic to take on a
unique form and prevented it from being a simple photo trace
by adding a bit of character. I highly suggest finding various
animal photos and doing this very exercise.

Take this avocado photo for example. There are many

features in this photo we can choose to emphasize.

I am doing a reference photo study and trying different versions

with different highlights and shadows and definitions of the
avocado. Some allow the outside darker skin to show through,
making it really stand out as an avocado. Some put harsher
highlights on the inside seed and some one does not even have the
seed at all. This allows me to see how important it is to show a little
bit of that darker outside skin, to show it without it and to show the
highlights in the seed. Otherwise it could be mistaken for an egg
or other another object. Adding too many details like texture could
hinder this graphic from being easily reproduced in print, signage
and embroidery.
the airplane
& pin test

100 x 100 pixels

One way to find out if you have the right balance

of simplicity and detail in your logo is to do this
simple test.

Can your graphic fit on the side of an airplane and still

be legible? Can it exist on the tail of an airplane and fully
communicate what the visual represents? In contrast, can
your graphic fit on a teeny tiny pin that goes on someone’s
t-shirt or bag? If so, is it just as legible, distinct and simple as
1,000 x 1,000 pixels
the logo on the airplane?

This is a version of what they call a “visibility test”. A

visibility test is simple for most designers as we can zoom
in to get an idea of what our graphic looks like when large
Many social media profile pictures can
and then zoom out so we can see how our graphic might
display as small as 100x100 pixels. Does
look much smaller. your logo pass the visibility test at this size?
How does it look on a billboard or
something much larger?
When do
you scrap
an idea
and start
over?
Knowing when to quit can save your concept finalized, without being truly happy with its
presentation, then it might be time to hit the drawing board
you so much time. again. It happens, not always, but it happens even to the best
designers.
Experience can help you get a feeling on whether or not a
concept will end up being able to “fly” with the client or be a
The great news is you still have fantastic data and research
well suited logo.
already developed. Perhaps there are earlier concepts and
sketches you can start to take further along in the process.
A few pages ago, we went through a series of questions
that can help us determine which concepts make the cut.
Logically, these questions help, but sometimes designers fall

GUT
into the trap of falling in love with a concept that may not
work out in the end.

It could be overly ambitious, too detailed or just not the right

CHECK
fit for the company. Always do a gut check and figure out if
your infatuation for a graphic is getting in the way of coming
up with the “right fit” for the company logo.

CHECK
The earlier you do this gut check and decide to start over,
the more time you will save. If you just cannot seem to get
Creating
Variations
Variations are small tweaks of
one concept.

At this point in the process a few concepts

will start to take shape. Now is the time to
take a small handful of concepts that are
rising to the top and create a few variations
to find the right layout, shape, typography
usage and establish the fine details.

In this sushi restaurant logo

example we start of with the
basic concept of chopsticks
intersecting to create areas
where we can use descriptive
icons to further explain our
company.

The the overall concept stays the same

but we explore additional layout options
including integrating the text in a circular
fashion creating a seal or badge type logo.

During a visibility test it was discovered that

the smaller icons where harder to make out,
so replacing those icons with a chopstick
and a sushi knife where pursued.

In the end, you might notice your concept

“evolved” into something a bit different
than how it started. This is a more dramatic
variation exploration.

For a second concept using just typography

to display the logo we discover different
stroke thickness, brushes and character
sizes to find a concept variation that we are
happy with.
Typography Selection

Typography choices can express different moods, tones and induce emotions
similar to those with color selection.

This logo design, for a gym and spa, choosing the right typeface choice to pair with the logomark
will take some time. We work through our font choices until we find one that would best match the
temperament of our logo.

For a high end spa we want to elicit calmness and confidence. I stuck with a simple sans-serif and tried
to see how using all capital letters with and without spacing would look comparative to typography
presentations using all lowercase. In the end, I created a variation that did include all capital letters
but spaced apart to give it more the sense of breathing room and space. I also reduce the size of the
word “calm” so the wordmark did not overpower the logomark or symbol.

As I continued to create variations with typography, I manually rounded all of the corners of the
typography to soften it further. In the end, 40 different typography variations where created in hopes
that I would find the right font fit for this logomark.
 Pick 2 or 3 final concepts
Student work on The Coffee Guild student project is shown below.

Now that we have polished layouts for a few of our favored concepts, it is now time to
select a color palette. Up until now we have mostly been working in black and white and
for good reason. Color can sometimes get in the way of creating a solid concept as we
never want a logo to depend on just color for the concept to be digestible. Selecting a
color palette is delicate, time consuming work. What we want to do is select a maximum of
3, preferably 2, concepts to move forward to this last stage.

Student Work - Riduan Ishak Student Work - Melanie Watson Student Work - Kyle Bennett

Student Work - Kayla Guilfoy Student Work - Andrew Watkins Student Work - David Upshall

Student Work - Iðunn Ásgeirsdóttir Student Work - Luis Aviles Student Work - Wyze Media House
Want to know more
about color and
typography theory?
There is a lot that goes into color selection including color psychology and
color harmonies. Typography has a rich history and knowing this and having
a solid understanding of typography theory can give you the edge when
crafting your logos. My first book, The Practical Guide to Design Theory,
provides a basic overview of all essential design theory applications and
makes for a great companion guide alongside this book!