HOW TO COME UP WITH A LOGO IDEA
Let’s be honest here: creative ideas don’t come often. They pop up unexpectedly—during a chat, a walk in the park, or while watching a movie. Believe it or not, I once had an idea strike me as I stepped out of the shower and spotted a rolled-up bath mat by the door. (No, the logo wasn’t remotely related to the bath mat. And no, I can’t share what that logo looked like—it’s crazy, and my client would probably not appreciate it.)
The key is to capture those ideas—snap a photo or jot them down as soon as they appear.
However, if you wait around for inspiration to strike randomly, your productivity will plummet—like, seriously plummet.
My advice is: “Don’t wait for inspiration to work; work to find inspiration.”
Not all ideas are great at first. That’s fine! Ideas will keep evolving as you design. Just remember a few key points:
- Don’t settle on the first idea as your final option. Chances are, dozens of people have already designed something similar, leading to unintentional duplication.
- There’s no “best idea”—only better ones. Keep revising and tweaking until you feel proud of the result.
- Don’t overthink it. Questions will arise naturally as you work. Do more, and the answers will come.
- Break free from rules and templates. Creativity thrives when you challenge limits and step outside conventional frameworks.
Ensure the logo conveys the brand’s message and core values. Most importantly, make sure the client loves it and that you’re proud of it. Period.
THE LOGO DESIGN PROCESS IS ABOUT CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT
A professional logo design process includes several steps: researching the brand’s core values and message, shaping the logo’s structure, and choosing colors and typography. Each element plays a critical role in creating a logo that’s both creative and effective.
In this article, I’ll focus on how I craft the logo’s shape, aiming to inspire you and help you stay persistent in your design journey.
If you’re interested in a full guide to the logo design process, let me know in the comments!
Let’s dive in.
For example, after thoroughly researching a brand, I got the idea of combining birds with the numbers 6 and 9. My initial sketch looked like this:
Pretty terrible, right? I then worked on simplifying it, refining the lines, and eliminating unnecessary details.
Better, but still awful. It felt cramped, claustrophobic, and difficult to recognize when scaled down. I wondered: What if I removed one of the birds and kept just one?
Not much of a difference, but I noticed a spark of potential in the single bird. At this point, I felt the initial idea needed to be broken apart. I decided to remove the circle, keep one bird, flip it, highlight its wing, and add a tail.
Simpler, but still unsatisfying. What if I placed the logo in a black circle?
Still bad. At this point, I started questioning my life choices and almost gave up. Actually, I did give up—for a day.
The next day, I couldn’t shake off the frustration, so I reopened the file. This time, I converted everything to black. To my surprise, I found clarity. Suddenly, I saw a small bird, a bright eye, a negative space 6 and 9, and a hand gesture signaling “OK.”
Amazing! I could finally visualize what the logo should look like.
The lines still felt rough and unbalanced, so I tried using circles based on the golden ratio to refine the logo’s proportions.
Incredible. I believe I just created a masterpiece. I’m truly proud of this one. At this point, I knew the logo was finished. Let’s take a step back and review the entire journey—from the initial idea to the final design.
CREATIVITY IS ABOUT PERSISTENCE AND REFINEMENT
Through this process, I hope you see that creativity involves constant awareness, breaking boundaries, rethinking, and refreshing ideas. More importantly, it requires perseverance and the determination to improve your designs.
You might not see progress today, but trust me—you’ll get better over time.
Note: This logo wasn’t designed for a client. If you like it or are interested in owning unique and striking animal logos or bird logo designs for your business, don’t hesitate to email me.
I hope this article offered useful insights and inspired you to fuel your creativity on your own logo design journey!
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