Characteristics of great logos

1. Simplicity: Keep the logo design simple, making it easy to recognize and remember, regardless of its size or placement.

2. Attractiveness: Design a visually appealing logo that resonates with your target audience and evokes the desired emotions.

3. Distinctiveness: Ensure your logo stands out among competitors and other brands.

4. Timelessness: Avoid trendy designs and aim for a logo that remains relevant over the long term.

5. Relevance: Align your logo with your brand’s identity, values, and offerings.

6. Memorability: Craft a logo that leaves a lasting impression on consumers.

7. Professionalism: Invest in professional design to create a logo that represents your brand effectively.

8. Scalability: Ensure that your logo looks sharp and retains its clarity across various media and touchpoints.

Types of Logos

• 3D Logo: A hamburger 3D logo, very cute shape, miniature small scale painting style, minimalism, lite object style, up view, matte, white background, soft round form
• abstract logo marks (eg. Pepsi, Nike, Adidas)
• badges (traditional and classic)
• boho: boho style logo design, sun and wave
• brand marks (graphic symbols, eg. Apple)
• combination Mark logos (eg. Lacoste, Burger King)
• dynamic mark logo (color, text, shape or icon in variations, eg. FedEx, Google)
• emblems (with text, traditional, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson): Emblem of chess team, royal, coat of arms, golden color, knight
• futuristic logo: Logo of a music company, headphone, splashing, futuristic, cyberpunk
• geometric logo: Geometrical logo of a pyramid, dreamy pastel color palette, gradient color
• gradient logo: Gradient color logo, a gradient in 2 circles
• iconic logo
• interactive logo
• Japanese style logo: Japanese style logo of a sushi restaurant, a sashimi bowl with blue waves --ar 1:1--niji 5 --s 180
• letter forms (one-letter logos, eg. Netflix, McDonald's, Facebook)
• letter marks or Monograms  (initials, eg. IMB, CNN, HP)
• line art logo: Line art logo of a owl, golden, minimal, solid black background
• mascot logos (colorful character, KFC, Geico): Mascot for a video game company, fox, japanese style Halloween illustration, witch and pumpkin, black and orange --ar 1:1--niji 5 --style cute --s 180
• minimalist logo (Minimal logo of a cafe, a coffee bean, gradient brown color): Minimal logo of a cafe, a coffee bean, gradient brown color
• Neon logo: Outline logo of a bar, a glass of cocktail, flat design, neon light, dark background
• pictorial marks
• symbolic logo
• translucent and glossy logo: Globe logo, green and blue, glossy base, 3d rendering, white background, isometric, translucent, technology sense, studio light, C4D, blender, clea
• vintag/retro logo: Vintage logo emblem, car, retro color
• word mark logo (strong typography, eg.  Coca-Cola)

Logo Styles

• abstract and conceptual
• abstract and surreal
• artistic and handcrafted
• boho
• bold and geometric
• bold and graffiti
• bold and masculine
• classic and heraldic
• classic and timeless
• De Stijl logo
• digital and pixel art
• dynamic and energetic
• dynamic and fluid
• elegant and Art Deco
• elegant and filigree
• elegant and luxuries
• elegant and scripted
• feminine and graceful
• futuristic and sci-fi
• geometric and hexagonal
• geometric and symmetrical: 
• gradient logos: 
• grunge and distressed
• high-tech and digital
• industrial and machine-like
• industrial and robust
• line art logo: 
• luxury and royal
• minimalist and geometric
• minimalist and iconic
• minimalist adn pictoral
• minimalist and symbolic
• minimalistic and typographic
• minimalist and clean
• modern and neon-lit
• modern and origami-inspired
• modern and sleek
• Monochromatic and Moody
• Monochrome and Bold
• Nature-inspired and Leafy
• Organic and Flowing: Organic logo, shape of a leaf
• Organic and Nature-Inspired
• outline logos strip
• Playful and Cartoonish
• Playful and Iconic
• Playful and Kaleidoscopic
• Playful and Mascot-driven
• Playful and Whimsical
• pop art logo
• print logog style
• psychedelic art logo
• Retro and Groovy
• Retro and Neon
• Retro and Pixelated
• Retro and Silkscreen
• Retro-Futuristic
• Sci-Fi and Futuristic
• Sleek and Metallic
• Typographic/lettermark: Typographical logo, floral, letter” A”, serif typeface
• Urban and Graffiti-inspired
• Vector Logo: Flat vector logo of a curved wave, blue, trending on Dribble
• Vintage and Badge-like
• Vintage and Retro
• Vintage and Letterpress
• Vintage and Label-like
• Vintage and Steampunk
• Whimsical and Cartoonish
• Whimsical and Storybook
• Whitespace and Minimalist

Tools

• GradyRide.com
• https://logo.com/ 
• Canva
• vectorizer.ai

Design Process

1. Research: Before any sketching or digital work begins, research your industry, competitors, and your target audience. Understand the market and your brand’s unique selling points. Get inspired.

2. Conceptualization: Brainstorm ideas, keeping the key elements in mind. Sketch out rough concepts to explore different design directions.

3. Sketching and Designing: Create digital mockups of your logo using vector graphics software. Experiment with fonts, colors, and shapes.

4. Feedback and Revisions: Seek input from colleagues or professional designers and make necessary revisions based on the feedback.

5. Finalization: Once you have a polished design, ensure it works in various applications and contexts. Test it in both digital and print formats.

6. Ownership: Make sure you have the rights to use your logo. Consider trademarking it to protect your brand identity.

Sketching

ChatGPT prompt:

You are a highly-regarded logo design consultant, I’m seeking your expertise in the following tasks:

- Crafting the Design Brief: Guide me step-by-step in creating a comprehensive design brief that captures the essence of my project.

- Concept Generation: After finalizing the design brief, I’d like you to develop 4 unique and creative logo concepts that align with the project’s objectives and values.

Please ensure that each logo concept is distinctive and original, reflecting the insights gathered from the design brief. Let’s go step by step.

 

Sample Prompts

Basic Prompt to start off:

Logo Design of [ Industry or Product ], [ Descriptive keywords and items ], [ Include 1–3 styles ], [ Color Palette ]

 

Complexe Sample Prompt:

Create a minimalistic and abstract logo for a company named ‘Marabou’, which focuses on crowdfunding for climate innovation projects. The logo should be simple yet distinctive, enabling easy recognition even when scaled down to a small size. The central element should be an abstract representation of a Marabou stork, focusing on its unique beak as the defining feature. Integrate this with elements that symbolize crowdfunding, innovation, or climate action, such as subtle imagery of leaves, the Earth, interconnected nodes, or hands reaching upwards, which could represent growth, support, and collective effort. The design should be monochromatic, avoiding any gradients, and set against a clean, white background to maintain clarity and simplicity. The overall aesthetic should convey a sense of modernity, sustainability, and forward-thinking, resonating with the company’s mission of fostering climate innovations through community support.

Tips

• Where to find inspiration?
  • look around
  • online tools like free logo maker websites: https://logo.com/ or 
  • stock websites: https://stock.adobe.com/ 
  • study competitors
  • create a moodboard: compile images, colors, fonts, and other design elements
• Check out designers (eg. midlibrary.io)
• Choose the right font and color for your logo
• Use ChatGPT
• Vectorize it.

Famous Logo Designers

• Paul Rand( IBM, ABC, UPS)
• Peter Saville (Calvin Klein, Christian Dior, Jil Sander)
• Micheal Bierut ( Slack, Mastercard)
• Carolyn Davidson (Nike)
• Robb Janoff ( Apple)
• Kashiwa Sato (Uniqlo, Nissin, Seven Eleven, Kirin beer)

• Leo Natsume ( UI Designer )

• Jean Baptiste ( French Painter and Artist )