Personal Logo Design

Personal Logo Design Case Study

Designing a logo can be a challenging task. It’s even harder when trying to design your own logo. As a result I spent several weeks of sketching, tweaking and fine tuning a design that would display my unique identity as a graphic designer.  After several weeks I have developed a logo that I am happy with, communicates who I am and my core brand attributes as a designer.

Here’s a look at my process and the designs along the journey to the final design.

Collecting Information

After defining the problem, the next step in developing my personal logo was to collect information that described important attributes about my brand: genuine, timeless and a value for connection.

Taking these key attributes, I created a compilation of inspirational elements to establish the aesthetic feel of the logo.  This started me moving in the right direction for the overall design.

Brainstorming and Sketching

I was interested in creating a monogram using my initials and spent time sketching and drawing any idea that came to mind. I tried different styles and variations, seeing how I could best combine letters and key images from my mood board, in order to create a unique logo that represented me.

Developing Solutions

Next I scanned my sketches into the computer to see which ideas stood out. At this point I went back to the key attributes and mood board to start to narrow down the top three designs. Using Adobe Illustrator, I mocked up the top three designs to get an idea how they would look digitally.  I showed them to a few designers and non-designers to get feedback to give me more information in developing the best design. I thought the last design stood out the most and I started to develop variations.

After sharing them with a few people I discovered the design was not communicating the attributes I intended.  It was time to go back to the drawing board.

Reviewing my notes and past sketches I drew up three more concepts.

The third design had some nice movement and a minimalist style that I was interested in.  As much as I liked the style, the design was projecting ideas that were not consistent with my brand. I showed the concept to a few people and they were seeing what I was seeing. It was back to the sketch pad.

Looking over the mood-board and doing more research, I came up with a final concept that I was happy with and started to create variations.

I liked the idea of a simple logo that quickly communicated my qualities as a designer. I started to fine-tune this concept until I was happy with it.

The letter C starts out with a strong and sold line that transitions into a brush stroke. This sold line gives a sense of structure and organization, two qualities that I think are important in the design process. The brush strokes give an impression that the design was created by a paint brush. The brush is a timeless tool and conveys creativity and fluidity which are both needed in all good design.

To communicate being genuine in my designs and all that I do, I decided to scan in my own signature for the letter M.

Exploring colors, I decided on a variation of Cyan for its association with: refreshing, wisdom, sophistication, patience and friendship. My hope is that everyone I work with has the opportunity to experience these while working with me.

Now that the mark was taking shape I focused on the typography. After trying almost every font I had available I decided to go with the elegant sans-serif typeface Raleway that was modern and worked well with the mark.

After taking a step back to review the design and getting more feedback from a few people, I was ready to finalize it. I refined the mark and typography using guides and alignment tools and finally arrived at a finished design that I was happy with.  I also created a reversed version of my personal logo. My logo is now complete!

Challenges

The main challenge of this project was not going over time in the development stage.  Due to the design being so personal and not having a client/budget to restrict my hours, I could have gone without sleep for many days. It was a great exercise to go through to refine the discipline of time management and gathering ideas to produce a quality finished product in a timely manner.

Was it Successful?

Yes, I believe this design was successful.  I developed a personal logo that represents my unique identity and key attributes as a graphic designer through color, movement, typography and placement.

Lessons Learned

This design project has taught me the importance of planning out the design process in order to cultivate creativity and maximize the development of ideas. I was reminded to let go of ideas that are not producing the best results and to advance towards new ideas that will.  I also learned the value of receiving feedback from graphic designers and non-graphic designers, to help me see all aspects of my design.