Just Creative Design

Tutorial: How To Create An Iconic Logo Design

Logo design is arguably one of the hardest parts of graphic design though with a little insider knowledge, you may find it’s not so difficult after all. By understanding what makes a “good” logo and the principles behind effective logo design you will be on the right track in no time. In this tutorial you will be guided through the logo design process, from initial brief right through to delivery while being given vital logo design tips along the way.

For the sake of this tutorial we will be creating a fictional logo - for now I’ve gone with a logo that reflects the first and last letters of my name - J & C. Through the use of negative space and a few nifty Illustrator tricks we will combine these characters (J & C) to create an iconic logo design. At the end of the tutorial, you may find that your own initials can be used too.

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How to choose a logo designer

With such a plethora of choice it may be hard to find the right designer for your specific needs. Below is a short guide to help you make the right choice when choosing a logo designer. These points could also be useful when hiring a web designer, graphic designer, or any designer for that matter.

I don’t want this post to come across as self promotional, however, I’ve linked to my own examples to show you how I personally communicate to potential clients the value of my design work. For other designers, I hope this in turn, gives you an idea of how you too can communicate the value of your work.

In no particular order:

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When is a logo too simple?

Simplicity in logo design is what makes a logo memorable and easier to recognise, but is there such thing as a too simple logo?

There has been a discussion over on Logo Of The Day about this logo in question, many love it, many hate it. What is your opinion?

Background Info

Below is the information that Anne Wehr of iCVBook submitted to Logo Of The Day. Tom Skipp is the designer of the logo.

“iCVBook is a new generation of professional network, including an innovation called iCV : a revolutionary professional identity for people and companies. It gathers together your online and professional, social and personal identities to give everyone the best image possible. The logo is for representing the brand.

We needed two different types of logo: the brand one and an icon that will be used by users for their iCVs. So this concept allows to decline the logo.

One represents a kind of sheet of paper, a Curriculum Vitae, a file to fill in. Simple and qualitative. With the possibility to play with the color of the corner (using the colorful pantone of the website) for gif animation or declination.”

So, when is a logo too simple?

A-List Blogging Bootcamps Identity Design

I’ve recently had the pleasure of designing the A-List Blogging Bootcamps logo for Mary Jaksch of Write To Done and Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and in this article I will guide you through my design process of creating the logo as seen above.

This article was originally written for those enrolled in the A-List Blogging Bootcamp and has been edited for display on Just Creative Design.

A Brief Introduction

A-List Blogging Bootcamp is a website that offers series of short, live, online training courses for bloggers. For more information, please check out the A-List Blogging Bootcamps website.

Getting The Job

Mary first approached me after getting a referral from James Chatrand about my design services. After Mary had checked out my logo design portfolio and told me what she needed, I directed her to my logo design questionnaire which allowed me to accurately quote for the job at hand.

Research

After the paper work was out of the way, it was time to start researching for Mary and Leo’s logo design. This included looking up their competitors, researching their industry and searching for other logos of similar context.

Brainstorming & Conceptualising

After the majority of the research had been completed, it was time to get creative. Based on the design brief and research conducted, this is where I let my ideas run wild. I brainstormed and sketched down my ideas and then experimented with them on the computer. I also had breaks between these sessions so I could reflect on the designs and have a fresh perspective - this is a crucial part of the logo design process.

When conceptualising, some designers get too concerned with the graphic style and image of a piece (ie. try to depict exactly what the business does) while others such as myself try to convey a deeper meaning or some sort of visual puzzle into the logo. A good example of this would be the well known FedEx logo, designed by Lindor Leader… did you know about the hidden arrow found between the E and X?

For the A-List Blogging Bootcamp logo I also wanted to create a visual puzzle. Before reading on, try having a look at the completed A-List Blogging logo below… what do you see?

Do you see a star? A man? The letter A? A man above a podium? A light shining onto a man? A globe? These things mentioned are all open to a matter of interpretation though I am sure you will see at least a few.

All of these symbols have meaning that relate back to the A-List Blogging Bootcamp’s purpose. The star symbolises being a star (think A-List celebrity), a man symbolises a blogger, the letter A is a reference to the blog title, the light shining down onto the man shows that the blogger is the limelight, etc. You can look into as much as you like - it’s all up to your interpretation.

Logo Variations

When creating a logo design, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that one usually never sees… below you can see some of my many experimentations and logo variations. Please keep in mind that these are just my experimentations and were not shown to Mary or anyone except myself.

At this stage I work without colour to ensure I focus on the shape and concept of the logo, not the subjective & distractive nature of colour.

Colour

After a lot more experimentation and liaison with Mary, the logo was narrowed down to six variations. From here, I experimented with colour choices and narrowed it down to a burnt orange, grey and white colour scheme which Mary loved. The colour scheme reflects the site’s purpose quite well making it fresh, vibrant and authoritative.

Above you can see the logos in black and then the burnt orange variations below.

I presented what I thought was the strongest logo (the middle bottom logo) to Mary & Leo and this was their reply:

We both love it!

Typeface

After the logo was completed it was time to work on the typeface. After a lot of experimentation, I opted for the skillfully crafted FF Meta Bold Caps. This typeface was chosen to complement the rounded logo and to show that the blog was authoritative, not via the use of capital letters but via the use of Small Caps (a way to prevent capitalised words from appearing too large).

The emphasis of the text was placed on the words “A-List Blogging” with a complement colour of grey for the word “bootcamps”. This was done to split the rather long name up into easier-to-read sections which in turn, make the logo easier to implement on the A-List Blogging Bootcamp’s website. (The web designer slightly adjusted the logo on the website so it appears different to what you see here.)

Final Logo Design

Below you can see the final A-List Blogging Bootcamps logo. For those interested you may also like to read the article “What makes a good logo?” or “Why logo design does not cost $5.00“.

Testimonial

Here is what Mary had to say about her time working with me:

“I struck lucky with Jacob Cass: his logo design process is intelligent and intuitive. The finished product is a splendid logo with many layers of meanings - all condensed into one image. If you are looking for a logo design, entrust yourself to Jacob. The end result will be not only a striking and beautiful logo, but one that carries all the subliminal messages you want to convey. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Comments are welcome, as always.

Logo Lounge Volume 5 Book Review

Logo Lounge has long been one of my favourite logo design inspiration galleries so whenever they release a new book, I know I won’t be disappointed. Logo Lounge Volume 5 was no exception.

Below you can read the description of this great logo design book:

The fifth volume in the best-selling LogoLounge series provides 2,000 totally new logos from designers worldwide. This book, like the previous titles in the series, is compiled in association with LogoLounge.com, a website that was launched by Bill Gardner in 2002. The site is dedicated to logos. Top designers and design firms are handpicked and invited to be “foundation members.” Foundation and website members each supply multiple logos to the site. Each LogoLounge book presents new logos that have been added to the site, providing designers with an invaluable source for design inspiration and a resource for design solutions.

Last year I was lucky enough to be picked as one of their “foundation members” and after submitting several of my logos, two were chosen to be featured in Logo Lounge Volume 5. You can see the photos below.

What I like about this book is that it not only features logo designs sorted by category, but it also features whole logo design case studies from high profile design agencies such as Chermayeff & Geismar and Cato Purnell. In particular, I quite enjoyed reading through the Qantas and Woolworths rebrandings.

Anyway, I highly recommend you to check out this book and while your at it, you may like to read about my other logo design book recommendations.

Front cover of Lounge Lounge Volume 5 with jacket.

Double page spread of the ‘Initials’ section. p165-66

My Peter Ryan Logo, p166

The ‘Symbols’ section, p79

My Squareroom Logo, p79

Do you have a favourite logo design book?

What makes a good logo?

What makes a good logo? A good logo is distinctive, appropriate, practical, graphic, simple in form and conveys an intended message.

There are five principles that you should follow to ensure that this is so… Read more »

Logo Design Book Recommendations (+Video)

I’ve recommended some of the best graphic design books before here on Just Creative Design however I have not recommended logo design books before.

In the video below, I give an insight into 4 highly recommended logo design books along with a flip through of what you will find in each book. Read more »