Logo design process for graphic designer

Here I will show some information behind the logo I created for Luuk Hartsema.

Luuk Hartsema is a Dutch graphic designer who approached me to create a personal identity for him. It is quite common that designers find it difficult to design for themselves so Luuk decided to hire me to create a logo.

The brief

The client wanted a logo which represented service, artistic ability, presentation and communication.

The process

To create an identity that was truly unique I studied contemporary art and modern architecture. Researching this allowed for high level of creativity and also a great deal of inspiration.

moodboard

After researching art and architecture for inspiration I began sketching out ideas. Researching these topics allowed for a lot of creative experimentation to be drawn. One thing that really helped me was looking at the unorthodox shape and form some types of art and architecture has.

After sketching a number of ideas I decided to take a few concepts into Illustrator to draw up.

Here a few of those concepts that were not developed.

I was presenting two concepts to the client with regards to the name. I wanted to show the logo with the clients surname by itself, highlighting the ‘art’ in his surname, along with his full name. The two logos at the bottom left were worked on more to create the final concept.

After further sketching and development with those two logos I arrived at the final concept. Whilst developing the idea I set a personal task for the logo. I wanted to create an icon which represented the influence of contemporary art however still remained a strong identity to represent the client. I wanted to create an icon that when different people looked at it they were reminded of different things, just like some art, as it is subjective.

I personally feel I have achieved my goal, and the clients expectations for the logo, and have heard many different odd things that people say they are reminded of when looking at the logo, with each one I take it as a compliment!

When arriving at the final concept I started looking into typography. Something bold and strong which represented the icon seemed appropriate.

Final logo:

Thank you for reading, any comments are appreciated

Testimonial

“It was a pleasure working with Euan Mackenzie in 2009. I asked Euan to come with some experimental new ideas for an update of my personal logo that I designed in 2005. As a graphic designer myself, it’s difficult to let someone else do your graphic design but you can only see the world through your own eyes so I found it important to let someone else tell me how the world experiences me.”

P.S

The client, Luuk Hartsema, has begun work on a personal project about the Dutch islands: Waddenzee. Luuk decided he would use the logo for this project as he feels it represents water. Logo for the ‘Waddenzee’ project can be seen here: http://cmcdn.net/4410209/566×352.jpeg. The lower half represents sand and the upper half represents the sky.