Subscribe by RSSPersonal Logo Design Sketches
Published on November 7th, 2007
Most people seem to believe logos are quick and easy to design. I often hear, “I don’t want to pay that much for my logo, I just need something simple that looks good small.” If you ask me, I think the best logos out there are simple and look good small. However it’s highly likely, these very same logos did not take only an hour to design.
To me, designing a logo is another form of brainstorming. I like to sketch everything — good ideas, bad ideas, even ideas that are out in left field. As soon as I get them down on paper, it makes room for more ideas.
Here are some of the sketches I did during my personal logo design process five years ago.
Early on I wanted to incorporate my name with a road. My favorite quote at the time was, “I take the road less traveled” by Robert Frost.
I started to experiment with font styles and other graphical images. Plus I began to notice the negative space between the “K” and “A”.
The puzzle pieces were meant to represent my love of puzzles and problem solving, but I couldn’t think of a really good way to make it work with my name. It didn’t quite make sense to me.
#45 was a happy accident. I was playing with the letter “b” by turning it into a circular arrow. When I looked at it longer I realized I saw a “k” in it too. So, I started experimenting with the idea more.
Eventually the mark made its way inside a circle. I am very happy with my end result. My logo not only encompasses my initials, but it also represents my thought process. It’s like what Saul Bass said, “Design is thinking made visual.” The circle and arrow symbolize how I consider my decisions and, if necessary, reevaluate a problem to create a new solution.
What are your thoughts? Do you feel my final logo is a good choice? Should I have considered any of the other directions more?
I love seeing sketches in the design process. Great job, Karly!
That Saul Bass quote is one of my faves too.
Something odd’s happening with your favicon. It seems very pixelated.
Posted on November 13th, 2007 at 11:19 am
David,
Thank you for your feedback. I very much enjoyed looking through your sketches as well.
Hmmm, I’ll have to figure out what is going wrong with my favicon.
Posted on November 13th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Very cool process, and end result! I didn’t initially register the b and k in the curly-road arrow; it’s like a gift hidden in plain view.
I also like the font in #42, wonder if it would work with my name?
Posted on November 17th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Scott,
Thank you for the compliments.
Hmmm, I’m not quite sure about the font on #42. It’s definitely not the most readable font and I’m not sure how it would deal with S, C, and O.
Posted on November 19th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Hi Karly,
Looked at your sketches and thought about the brainstorming process you had there to make a logo, I have looked at David’s blog on sketches of his 554 degree logos.
My conclusion is its a long path to make a logo may be short for the experienced. But it’s all about visualizing and thinking and making a rough sketch on paper, not special training goes there.
So I need your guidance I am PHP Developer and have the confidence to make logo’s I understand the process the Brainstorming and then Sketching my Question is what training do I need to start making logos.
As I mentioned my skills above if you like to trade by teaching me how to make logos and I can do websites for you in PHP/MySQL - Ajax or making XHTML layout from a screenshot then I am here.
Posted on December 6th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Adeel,
The brainstorming process is only one portion of designing a logo. I see it as step two. Beyond that, special training does come in. You need a strong understanding of typography–knowing why one serif works better over another in a given situation and how to properly work with kerning and leading, etc. Knowing how color affects people’s perception. Not to mention, the technical base of how to create clean vector art. The ability to draw. Understanding the impact of concepts. The list goes on.
Posted on December 7th, 2007 at 9:38 am
I love it, i love it, i love it! No seriously, i love it! It’s perfect.
Manuel, Æstheticrew’s last blog post..DIY: Expressive Words
Posted on April 1st, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Manuel,
Wow, thanks! That was quite the glowing review.
Posted on April 2nd, 2008 at 9:22 am
I love seeing logo sketches and processes! Thanks for sharing. I’m doing the same right now, but I’ve hit a wall. I think I might need to get onto the computer and see how the vectors of a couple of them look.
kristarella’s last blog post..Vienna & NetNewsWire
Posted on April 9th, 2008 at 2:21 am
[…] won the majority of your votes in the miscellaneous blog logo category. Karly posted some of her logo design sketches, which I always enjoy seeing. I liked quite a few of the logos in this category, particularly […]
Posted on April 14th, 2008 at 4:40 am
Fantastic work Kelly.
Very inspiring.
Posted on April 21st, 2008 at 6:56 am
Kristarella,
Good luck with your own logo. I find myself to be my toughest client, I don’t know if you are the same, but when there is all that pressure to design to me own expectations, I tend to hit walls all the time.
Karthick,
Thanks. I’m glad you found it inspiring.
Posted on April 21st, 2008 at 8:46 am
Thanks for the insight. I was searching for personal logo design as I’m trying to create one for myself. This is a very important achievement for any freelancer, as it forms the basis for brand identity. I plan on using mine on business cards, letterhead, invoices, and of course, my new website when I get it up and running. I haven’t even began designing a new site until I settle on a logo!
Ryan Battles’s last blog post..Reflections on Professional Networking
Posted on May 21st, 2008 at 7:59 am
Love it!
Posted on June 6th, 2008 at 8:17 am
I want a logo of my name
Posted on September 24th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Thank you for this, it was very inspiring. I’m still having tons of trouble designing something that I’m happy with. It’s so depressing.
Posted on October 28th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Very interesting site ! Good work ! Congratulations :),
Posted on November 27th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I love the great insight!,
Posted on November 27th, 2008 at 11:29 am
I’m new in the internet business field. I’m skilled in the graphics side, but I need info to learn about this business. I was going through your post and got a few pointers.
Posted on March 25th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Inspiring stuff, keep up the good work work Kelly.
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Posted on November 28th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Great looking logo! but is it too similar to the burton snowboard logo? Not trying to slander your logo, but something to consider.
Posted on April 5th, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Marien,
Thank you for stopping by. I had never noticed the Burton Snowboard logo before you commented. I had to look it up. I can definitely see a similar concept, but in the case of my logo, the arrow makes the k for my first name. I wonder what the arrow signifies in the Burton logo. Jumping your snowboard? Maybe I’d have a better idea if I knew anything about snowboarding.
Posted on April 5th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Oh I don’t know what it means, maybe progression in the sport or something of that nature since it is a relatively new Nifty little logo, though. But your logo does have some different key elements so it doesn’t resemble theirs too much (i.e. less line weight, more emphasis on a “k”.) Nice design process, i’m designing one for myself currently, trying out a similar process.
Posted on April 5th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
I’ve viewed this post along with David Airey’s post countless times and this is the first time I’m noticing your initials in the arrow. I can really appreciate the thought process behind you logo as I start my logos off the same way. If you can offer some pointers for me it’d be much appreciated because I’m in such an unbelievable bind with this name of mine! I’m wary about using my initials(TB) because people might immediately think “tuberculosis”. Any tips?
Posted on April 6th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
You might want to read about the sankofa bird. It is part of West African symbology and captures some of the same notions as the arrow in your logo.
Posted on July 21st, 2010 at 11:24 am
Suga,
That’s super interesting. Thank you. I just googled the sankofa bird and it looks like it is definitely something I should research. Thank you for the tip.
Karly
Posted on July 21st, 2010 at 11:46 am