You’re stumped. You need to design a logo, but the creative half of your brain has just decided to take its summer vacation. No ideas. Zip. Zero. Nada. It’s happened to the best (and worst) of us. So what do you do? Try these 5 shortcuts to see if one of them might help inspiration strike.
1. Do something with the type. Don’t add anything TO the type, just let the type make the logo. This logo for a magazine by one of the all-time great American designers Herb Lubalin is a great example.
2. Add something to the type. A decorative element, a flourish, maybe even a swoosh. (But then throw that idea out right away, as it’s been done a bazillion times.) You might recognize this famous logo with its flourish.
3. Create a mark with a letter and some geometry. Put the first letter in a circle. Or both letters in a square. Don’t stop there, but at least you’ve got something on paper now. (And speaking of paper, you should NOT be doing any of this on the computer. Sketch first, to avoid being enslaved by what you know how to make Illustrator do for you.)
4. Illustrate the name of the company, even if it has nothing to do with what they sell. This is from the “duh” department, but occasionally it works exceedingly well. Like here:
5. Illustrate what the company sells. Again, this is one of those things you’ll want to keep moving beyond, but it might provide a tiny bit of inspiration. And every once in a while, it works, as in the original UPS logo at the top of this post, or in this logo:
The bottom line, however, is this: don’t stop here. This is a crutch, remember, just to get you started. The really creative ideas will come after you get over “designer’s block.”
4 comments
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September 9, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Sam Holt
Thanks for the help. In a design class now at North Greenville University — great timing!
September 14, 2009 at 12:48 am
company logo design
Wow,….these logos are really inspiring.
I already gave this link to my Graphic designer so he can get inspired too Amazing post as always.
March 5, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Xiaong Pang
I’ve never heard of any of these companies. They’ll never make it.
August 28, 2012 at 5:05 am
Custom Logo Desinger
Very beautiful logo design collection you have shared here, I think Apple logo is the best forevery 😀