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LOGO
IDEAS
A guide to coming up
with logo design ideas.

By Ian Paget
Coming up with the perfect idea for a logo can be a
challenging process.

Whilst there’s no set in stone formula, to help you with

idea generation I have put together a few thoughts and
approaches that work well for me.

But before we jump into that it’s important you have a

clear understanding of what makes a great logo...

What makes a great logo

When it comes to logo design I personally believe there are
no rules. As Paul Rand once said, “a logos primary goal is
to identify… to say who the company is, and that’s its only
function”.

Although rules don’t exist, there are a number of proven

guidelines that can be learned from the great graphic
designers of the past. This is because we can see which
designs are still working today after 50-60 years of use.

Looking at the designs that have stood the test of time,

we can see principles that apply to all of them. They are...

• Simple

• Memorable

• Appropriate

• Versatile

• Timeless

Lets take a closer look at what each of these mean...

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Simple
Logos that have stood the test of time are those that
are simple – just look the logos for Nike, Apple, IBM and
McDonalds for proof of this.

We’ve also seen that designs that were complex at the

start of the business have been simplified over time to
increase recognition. Starbucks is a great example.

Paul Rand, one of the greatest identity designers of all

time made the following comment in his book Design
Form and Chaos, which also backs this up.

“A design that is complex, fussy, or obscure harbours a self-

destructive mechanism. No amount of l iteral illustration will
do what most people imagine it will do. This will only make
identification more difficult and the “message” more obscure.”

Memorable
A logo is likely to be used on everything a business does,
therefore, you want people to recognised and remember it.

Memorability is achieved through simplicity, as people

remember simple shapes faster.

Colour also plays a vital role in the recognition of an

identity too. This is proven in an experiment by Brazilian
graphic designer Paula Rupolo, who swapped the colour
schemes of competing brands.

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“Colours are the first thing you notice in a logo, what gets
fastest to our brains,” she says. “Then you read a logo’s
shape, icons, or typography.”

To be memorable, the logo and supporting brand identity

also needs to differentiate from it’s competitors, so make
sure to do your research. It’s a valuable exercise to keep
a visual record of the competitor’s logos and identities to
reference your designs against at a later date.

Appropriate
A logo should be appropriate for the business and its
intended audience.

For example, if you aim to target children you might use a

bouncy and bold typeface, whilst this same style wouldn’t
be appropriate for a corporate law firm.

Versatile
A logo will be used on anything from a button to a
building. That means that the logo you design will need to
work just as effectively at 10 millimetres as it does at 10
meters.

The logo will also need to work in a range of scenarios,

including different background colours. This means the
logo will need to work just as effectively in single colour
(both black and white) as it does in full colour.

The logo will also ideally allow for different layouts and
configurations to ensure the logo will look its best, no
matter where it’s used.

Because of this, when working on ideas consider how the

design might work at different sizes. If the design becomes
illegible at smaller sizes, see what you can do to simplify
and refine the design further.

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Timeless
An effective logo should stand the test of time.

Avoid using trends. They might look great today, but they
date quickly. David Airey, author of Logo Design Love
makes a good point in his comment below:

“Leave trends to the fashion industry – Trends come and go,

and when you’re talking about changing a pair of jeans, or
buying a new dress, that’s fine, but where your brand identity
is concerned, longevity is key. Don’t follow the pack. Stand
out.”

So now we know what makes a great logo, lets take a look

at how we can use that knowledge to start developing
logo ideas…

Have a clear direction

It’s hard to come up with ideas without a clear roadmap
of where you’re heading, so before coming up with any
ideas it’s essential you’ve created a design brief to clearly
understand the business, competition and audience.

Discover the right aesthetic...

When I first started out designing logos I focussed on
coming up with clever ideas - the more clever they were the
better… I thought I was being smart, but actually I realise
now that it wasn’t the best approach.

I’ve learned that as part of the design process you need

to ‘discover’ the solution that’s most relevant for that
business... Something that has the right ‘feel’, and the right
aesthetic for such a business.

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A useful thought exercise
I was lucky enough a few years back to spend time with
Myles Newlyn, the designer behind logos for companies
including Sky, EE and Unilever to name just a few.

He taught me a thought exercise that he carries out

before working on any logos, and I found it immensely
valuable, so wanted to share this with you too...

Imagine a leaflet coming through your door from the

business you’re creating the logo for. How does it look? How
does it feel? What’s the weight of paper and finish? Paint a
picture in your mind of what you would expect.

What you picture will be drawn from your personal

experiences. Where you travel, what films and tv you
watch, what you read and where you eat will all contribute
to a mental toolbox of aesthetics and visual associations
that you can draw from, so be sure to experience the
wonders of life!

From time to time I find it helpful to start building a mood

board to give myself a little more clarity, and to also have
something to reference when working on my logo ideas.

Creating a mood boards

To create a mood board, pull together images that have
the right ‘feel’ for the company, then paste them all into a
large PSD (or PowerPoint or keynote document, whatever
is easiest for you).

Pull together fonts, designs, images. Any kind of imagery

that has the appropriate aesthetic.

Look in books, magazines, Google, Pinterest, Behance,

Dribbble etc…

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Don’t worry about ideas at this point. Focus only on what
has the appropriate look and feel, and what “feels” right.

Sketching Ideas
By now you should have some clarity on the direction you
want to take the design. But now we need to discover the
perfect solution!

Some designers will jump directly onto a computer.

But I want to encourage you to work through the idea
generation process on paper.

Aaron Draplin explains why perfectly in this quote:

“Always start on paper. There’s something l iberating about

the freedom, wobbl iness and humanity of a pencil sketch.
There’s a speed to it. An unpredictabil ity. Accidents happen.
You can get to the magic that much faster on paper, than
on some cold screen. Be it a stick in the dirt, charcoal on a
cave wall or a pencil in you memo book, you are tapping into
the time-tested method of communication, formulating and
invention.”

Staring at a blank piece of paper can be daunting, so I

carry out a few exercises to help me along the way…

Word Mapping
Word mapping is an amazing technique to help you think
of ideas outside the box.

Start by writing down a word related to the business in the

middle of a piece of paper. Then draw lines extending from
this, adding as many associated words as you can think of.
(Use a thesaurus if needed).

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As an example, if you was designing a logo for a property
letting company, you may start with the word “Estate
Agent” then add associated words such as rent, house,
moving, property, flat etc. From the word ‘moving’ you
would add words such as delivery van, boxes, packing, and
tape.

Do the same exercise with as many related words as you

need. These can be related to the company name, the
type of products or services they offer, their tagline etc...
anything you feel that will help you come up with ideas.

After a few hours (or days if the budget allows for it) you
will have at least one whole page of words. It’s now that
you can get a highlighter pen to pull out specific words
that you feel could form the foundations of a great idea.

As an example of how this exercise helped me, when

working on the logo for British Overland, a company who
provide adventure holidays, I started out with the word
‘British’... and that eventually lead me to the word ‘Lion’.

This single word allowed me to picture a lion running with

pride through the British Overland, which formed the
foundations for the final logo design.

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Picture Mapping
Another exercise that I like to do is similar to the word
exercise above, but I draw pictures instead. I draw icons,
shapes and symbols.

As an example, when I worked on the design for Astro

Blue, an estate agent, I drew a Rocket and Planets to
reference the word Astro, and a house to reference estate
agents. I realised when seeing it on paper that I could
combine the shape of a rocket with the shape of a house
to create a really effective solution for the business.

Can you tell a story?

Within the brief you might find that you can leverage
something to tell a story in a visual way.

As an example, I recently worked on a logo for a business

called Soul Somatic who offer a type of therapy called
Somatic Experiencing (SE) which is designed to help heal
trauma and other stress related disorders.

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SE therapy works by asking the individual to pay attention
to their body and to name the sensation. For example, the
tightness that they feel in their body when they speak of a
stressful event. As the individual speaks of the event, they
follow the story, the emotions, thoughts, images that come
to the mind, but keep coming back to the sensations as
they change and move in the body.

The aim of the therapy is to find the point when the client
can overcome the traumatic shock, and they are asked
to follow their body’s fight or flight impulses to complete
what the central nervous system couldn’t at the time of
the event to release the traumatic energy, and return to
harmony.

The doctor who developed the therapy mentions that

ancient cultures have healing systems that draws on the
body’s natural healing energy in the way SE does. For this
reason the logo took direct inspiration from indigenous
communities from the Amazon rainforest.

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Through observation of tribal ceramics, body paint, head
dresses and tribal art I discovered that swirl like symbols
representing energy are used throughout, as well as bold,
bright colours. This became a key reference for the final
logo design.

Aside from simply creating a tribal type symbol I wanted

to ensure the logo would have a direct association to SE in
some way.

To achieve this I explored ideas around experiencing

trauma, then experiencing it again a second time to find a
cure. This was done by using 2 swirls. The first representing
the original trauma, then the same shape is repeated to
show that the event is being experienced a second time.
Lines then shine out from the second swirl like rays of the
sun to symbolise the release of pain, and a cure found.

Sketch Everything
When sketching, remember that nobody is going to see it.
It’s simply an approach to get ideas out of your head, so
sketch everything... even the rubbish ideas.

You’ll often be surprised that once you see something on

paper that seemed boring or silly in your mind, you may
realise that it actually has potential, so let those ideas
develop on paper. Don’t sit thinking about them… just
draw, and keep drawing…

You may end up sketching hundreds of ideas, but keep

going until you have a handful of ideas that have real
potential for further development. Don’t just stop once
you have one solution, keep experimenting and exploring.
Spend several days on this if you need to.

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You don’t need to draw perfectly or be an artist. All that’s
being put on paper at this stage is the underlying ideas.

Below is a slightly staged photo, but see the big sheet of

paper? I do several pages that look something like this for
each project.

Combating Creative Block

Unless you’re insanely gifted, coming up with an original,
simple logo that correctly represents the business, and
differentiates from the competition too is really, really
hard.

Because it’s hard it will mean that you’ll frequently feel

that you’re making no progress or that you’ve hit creative
block, spending all day sketching to only reach the end of
the day without a single good idea.

But don’t worry... the muddy mess of exploring and testing

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ideas is all part of the process. You might have hundreds
of terrible scribbles, but… all you need is one incredible
idea. Keep going until you find it.

If you ever feel completely drained of ideas it’s ok to take a

break.

Go for a walk. Get some rest. Play a game. Do the

washing up. Sleep on it if needed. You’ll return with a fresh
perspective. You may even find that during the time away
from the pressure of working, you’ll dream up unexpected
ideas... so keep a sketchbook in your back pocket just in
case!

Ideas can come from weird places, so don’t give up! Trust
the process.

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About The Author
Ian Paget is a graphic designer with over 15 years
experience working across designs for web and print.

In 2012 he started Logo

Geek as a fun side project.
This sparked the beginning
of a passion that has now
become his main source of
income. Through Logo Geek
Ian designs brand identities
for clients, hosts a popular
podcast, and runs a thriving
community for those who love
logo design.

Connect with Ian here and be sure to listen to the podcast:

Listen on... Listen on...
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