Personal logo design sketches
Here are some of the pencil sketches I created during my personal logo design process. I think that overall, this constitutes around half the total sketches made (others were on scraps of paper that have been either lost or thrown away).
The Paper Bull recently made some great points about the necessity of the sketchpad. In addition, it’s vital to keep an open mind and not limit yourself during the sketch process. Even if your ideas seem too far-fetched or ridiculous it’s best to make a visual note of all thoughts crossing your mind.
There should be no negativity during the sketch process. It’s similar to brainstorming. Positivity breeds more ideas and ultimately a more effective result.
I even went so far as to try out a humorous organic dairy approach, finding dairy from my first initial and second name (d.airey).
The idea for footprints came from my background of travelling that has given me a broader perspective on graphic design. At one point I attempted to create a footstep monogram, but in the end I didn’t think it was working.
As a designer, creating something for myself is a process that never truly ends. I believe that all designers are continuously learning. Because of this, I often look at past work and see ways to improve it. The joys of self-promotion!
Working for clients isn’t necessarily easier however. Here are some logo design sketches that don’t work, and all of the sketches in this post were rejected by the client.
After the sketching process I then chose a number of ideas to reproduce on computer. I’ll show some examples in a following post. Of course you can already see for yourselves the final logo (monogram) in my site header.
Did I pass over a better idea from the sketch pad?
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Wow – some pretty diverse variations.
I’ve always liked the monogram you’ve chosen in the header. And I stumbled onto someone else’s site who had something eerily similar. Make that Airey-ly similar. Almost a direct copy in fact. I’ll see if I can find it again.
So it must’ve been the right choice.
WOW, there’s a lot there - I’m very impressed!
When I’ve done logos in the past I’ve sketched four or five concepts… I think I need to do about 20 or 30 times more!
I’m creating a personal logo actually, a typographic logo of my name. I’ll post a few sketches on my site when I have some I’m happy with.
BTW - I think paperbull is referring to the Dosh Dosh site? Also this article shows a few similar-ish concepts.
Thanks for your compliment. Was Aaron right about the Dosh Dosh site logo?
Aaron,
That’d be great if you do post some of your sketches. I’d be interested to see. :)
Thanks for the link to the article. I’d come across a few of those before, and one sentence rings quite true:
DoshDosh BINGO!
Startled me the first time I saw it - even with the variance in blue it looked too close.
But; and I’m assuming visual arts are the same as music; having a completely original thought is impossible. Our thinking and creativity is heavily skewed by what we’ve seen / heard.
Can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to tweak a lyric or music because it sounded too close to “X”.
Nice to see all these sketches springing up on everyone’s blogs! I guess I’ll have to dig out some of mine too now…
Sorry for ear-wigging, but I just dug for DoshDosh - already suspecting what I was going to find - and lemme tell you: there’s a difference between not being taking inspiration and blatent plagurism… And that falls into the latter of the two!
Inspiring stuff. That’s so cool that you put it all online. Your current logo is good.
I also like 101,102 and 104. Don’t know if I would vote for a change. Decisions are hard for me so I leave that up to you.
Best.
Hi,
I second Paul; great to that people begin to post their sketches and lead-up work.
Just out of curiosity, how big are these on paper?
- Asgeir
[...] out, this guy is a designer, and his latest post is a study in the design process. He shows all of the sketches (118 of them!) he made just to come up with his personal logo. [...]
WOW! David, you have a serious amount of creativity. Seriously, kudos to you. Some of those are plucking possibilities out of places most of us would never think possible.
I really appreciate your abilities, and if I was looking for a logo, I know who I’d be contacting!
#76 with the cow is the best haha :P Naw that’s good that you exhausted your design concepts for your logo. Like you said, “there should be no negativity during the sketch process” and I think a lot of designers will agree with that. I also have a hard time designing for myself. I’ve already redesigned my stationary three times and the printed version of my portfolio about five times. It’s like you’re always trying to one-up yourself, which is good because it shows that you’re open to improvement and always striving to get better.
[...] did a handful of pencil sketches (David Airey would be proud of me) and then set out to work. I had been given some general guidelines of what they were looking for, [...]
I love seeing how you arrive at some of your ideas! Your current logo is so perfect - don’t change it.
“The Paper Bull recently made some great points about the necessity of the sketchpad. In addition, it’s vital to keep an open mind and not limit yourself during the sketch process. Even if your ideas seem too far-fetched or ridiculous it’s best to make a visual note of all thoughts crossing your mind.”
I agree. I sketch out everything that pops into my mind. Even the dumbest ideas that make absolutely no sense. Sometimes those dumb ideas lead to great ideas.
[...] out, this guy is a designer, and his latest post is a study in the design process. He shows all of the sketches (118 of them!) he made just to come up with his personal logo. [...]
Very impressive. I saw you have toyed with many concepts from pure typography, shoe print, dairy, air to double-A, wow. It seems that the current logo is an offspring from #17-19, yes?
Just out of curosity, how long does it take you to get from the first idea to the final logo design?
I recalled my art director took almost 6 weeks to conceptualize and work on my mirror image logo.
Its always great to see how other designers think. I can’t believe how many options you cam up with. I find designing for yourself is the worst thing and it takes longer for me to think of ideas. I agree with PG you should have gone with (76) the cow ;)
I’ll put this instance of logo similarity with Dosh Dosh down to the point you set out – that having a completely original thought is impossible.
Paul,
I’m happy to give Maki at Dosh Dosh the benefit of the doubt. I’m not sure how long he’s shown that logo for because I’ve only started reading his blog in the past couple of months, but it could’ve been developed before mine.
I appreciate your thoughts though.
Sully,
I didn’t mind number 101 too much, as I was looking for a text logo above all else, but I’m happier with the final result than those you like. Cheers for your feedback.
Asgeir,
If you’re viewing the sketches using a resolution of 1280 x 1024 (or similar) then the thumbnails are roughly the same size as they are on paper.
Armen, Char,
Thanks very much!
PG,
I’m the same, always trying to improve on the work I’ve done. It’s probably why my portfolio is never truly up-to-date, because I keep seeing better ways of showcasing things.
Very true, Frank. Very true.
Vivienne,
I think those numbers you mentioned are the ones most like my current logo. Some of the sketches I’ve lost are most likely closer to the finished article than any of the ideas I’ve shown.
How long was the logo design process from start to finish?
Months!
I was using a different identity before this redesign, so there was no hurry to arrive at something I wasn’t totally happy with.
Tara,
You know, I think I’ll change to number 76. There’s a great contrast from the blacks and whites of the mark.
Hi,
Wow.. very creative. I guess this must have taken a lot of your time.
You have inspired me also to look into a probable logo for my blog.
Sham
What your brainstorming session inspires me to do is to really open the brain to new ideas, no matter where they lead and no matter how many half-baked ones come up…there are so many “keepers” above, that you have given brainstorming a very good name.
Love seeing the process! You are so good at what you do. I think your current logo is fantastic!
Wow, that’s a lot of sketches! Most, if not all, I think could’ve been used. Of course now you can take those ideas and use them for other logo projects. It’s good to keep your old sketches and designs around for inspiration.
Like others have commented “Wow”, you are incredibly talented.
That was really fun seeing your design evolve from step one! More posts like this!! haha
I really like #49
David,
Just to clarify some stuff. The logo/header that I have now was developed by a designer I hired a while back. I’m not sure how he came up with the design but he assured me that it was 100% original and a unique design on his part.
I actually didn’t come across your blog until a month or so ago and even then, I didn’t notice the logo similarities until very recently until a friend of mine pointed it out.
Paul Enderson,
I can personally assure you that there’s no ‘blatant plagiarism’ on my part. I am not so silly to think that I can actually get away from ripping off David’s blog, especially when both our blogs have large audiences. The blogosphere is too small to do stuff like that.
I think number 49 was a subliminal response to the Dark Side of the Moon CD cover. Although I can’t remember now.
Maki,
No need to clarify, but thanks for stopping by all the same.
There are many very interesting ideas here.
I must admit that your current logo seems some miles away from these, allthough 76 really rocks..
Maki,
I apologise if my comment sounded offensive - it wasn’t meant that way!
I arrived at my conclusion based purely on visual representation - and being a designer the similarities seemed obvious to me.
Please accept my apologies if what I wrote sounded judgemental.
I like 78, but the one you chose is pretty clean. It’s always interesting to see the process of other designers. If I did the above, I’d need to scan lots of napkins and scraps of newspaper.
Would like to see more of this kind of post in future:)
There’s an increasing movement towards number 76, so I’m thinking of a redesign. ;)
Johno,
If I still had the napkins, bus tickets and scraps etc. there’d be a few ideas closer to the final outcome. I’ll see what I can do for more similar posts.
David,
I think you have it nailed.
It’s also a great demonstration to show people what really goes into design behind the scenes. Very well done; great post to boot.
#50 is very much like the Dark Side of the Moon cover prism.
WoW, very impressive. I’ve never quite reached the 100 ideas mark for my logos.
I do like your final choice the best.
Paul,
No worries about the whole thing. Thanks for your reply!
WOW David, You are a really creative person.
[...] of time. I have been encouraged to do this by the recent spate of posts where other designers (David Airey for example) have posted some of their recent drawings. It has also really got me in the right [...]
[...] brainstorming ideas for a personal logo and sketching some rough thumbnails. I must confess, I can’t compete with Mr Airey in terms of sheer numbers, but I got a good couple of pages of sketches [...]
17-cool
18-better communicates than 17 (as somtimes the “A” in 17 could be misconstrued as an “N”.
49-is just a SWEET symbol!!
102-cause it’s your full name, thus communicating who you are. which is (i think) what you want :-)
Design thought process is a wonderful thing to watch take form. It’s half past cool!
#79 is a great idea of combining your name to form d.airy! To bad you cant to anything with Paul Harris (P.arris) is the onlything I can think of, but doesn’t work leaving the H off! Keep up the good work!
-Paul
I’ve been pretty swamped lately, so apologies for not replying to you individually.
I really appreciate your visits and feedback!
I really like #94! The one you went with is the best, though.
Holy Cow! That’s quite a nice lineup of different logos you’ve got there. I came here because I am looking for a new design for my blog, which I started a couple weeks ago. I also am trying to dredge up a new logo. Now, I am not the artist you are, but I can do some things with pictures, and I have some good ideas for a logo.
I was wondering if you might like to read exactly what I’m looking for and let me know if you have any good ideas. One thing in particular: the branding of my site depends on a great emphasis on the letter U (the domain name starts with this, and the rest is easy to remember). As you will see, it’s still in its infant stages. I’m great with colors, but I definitely need a little outside input. What do you think?
By the way, I got the DoFollow hooked up. I totally agree: the promise of the Web lies in its ability to help us connect—not just to become informed. Like you, I am a big fan of things like DoFollow and LinkedIn. I’ll definitely be back here.
I notice on your site that you’re looking for image resources.
I have a few excellent royalty-free sites listed here. You might find them to be of help?
[...] flow. You can make them more conservative later if you need to. For an example, see designer David Airey’s display of brainstorming a new logo. 6) Mash Up. If none of your ideas so far has you feeling jazzed, consider smashing one with [...]
Hi!
David, Would like few ideas from your end “how design numerics and words” e.g Five Fifty Five and 555 what about mix & matching them as u have shown in samples above.
Waiting to see such innovative experiments at your end.
Regards
Biswojyoti
Do you want me to create a logo for you? I’m available for hire if that’s the case.
Thanks.
What strikes me with all these articles about sketching and design is the fact that some people actually think sketching is unnecessary, or old-fashioned!
Sketching should be mandatory - doodling has been proven to trigger the brain into linking concepts and ‘brainstorming’. Actually I’m sitting at my desk sketching logo designs right now - it will be a couple of days until they see the Mac, at least!
I THINK 89 IS THE COOLEST ONE…LOL
I have been up, down, in and out pretty much all of your posts on this site. I am just about to start my own little craft business online and your information about blogging, business, logos and design has been invaluable. I read this post about your logo and the cow/dairy sketches were how I later remembered your name and site. Even though you didn’t end up using them they are very effective.
Thanks for the compliment! That’s interesting how you remembered me by the cow / dairy sketches. I’ve been thinking of testing how memorable my current logo is, just last night actually, so you might’ve prompted me to do it sooner rather than later.
All the best.
I love your logos, lot of good ideas here !
I was struck by how similar it was to the “digital angel” logo (L3, scroll down a bit), which I really like too:
http://www.artgraphics.ru/best/2006/best2006.html
Anyway I think you were right to select a simple logo and not one of the more busy versions.
Unfortunately I’ve been made aware of the Digital Angel comparison before, but I appreciate you letting me know again.
Simplicity is definitely the way forward.
I really enjoy your final design. I like the shapes of the letters, but I get a little concerned when logos are hard to read. I wonder if the general public is willing to work that hard or if it is something that you have to be a designer to appreciate?
Do you always reverse out your logo?
The general public want it to be simple, and easy to read. Legibility is key. Do you think my logo suffers?
My business card isn’t reversed, as I like promotional material to be clean, and white.
I hesitate to say your logo suffers. It has a very appealing look and feel but I realize I already know what it says, so the shapes work for me. However, I printed your logo, showed it to one of my coworkers and asked her to read it for me. She said, “Hmmm, I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.” She looked at it for another minute and said, “I got nothing. It’s nice to look at, but I don’t know what it says.”
If your logo always appears near your name, I think you won’t have a problem. For example, your business card has your name in your web address.
I wonder if loosening the kerning a little could help people decipher the letter forms and give your name a little more air. I’m not sure if that would actually help the legibility though.
I hope this helps more than frustrates you.
You’re right that my logo always appears near my name, and when I’m handing a business card to someone, they know my name before receiving it, so perhaps that’s why you’re the first to mention the legibility issue.
This reminds of the ‘eight’ logo I featured a while back. That name might not be apparent at first glance either.
Hey David, I just saw this logo http://www.doshdosh.com which uses the same typeface as yours.
I love #72. It’s amazingly creative..!
I had a bit of an awkward stance in #72.