Building a logo for yourself can be an intimidating task when you start to get into graphic design. It’s always easier for clients/others because they tell YOU want THEY want. Knowing what you want to communicate and put across to represent yourself and your brand is so much harder. I’m going to show you in a few easy steps how to create a fun logo to represent yourself. Our focus will be less about technique and more about turning your personality into a visual identity.
Why create a logo for yourself
A logo is the main element of a brand’s visual identity. It’s supposed to create a good first impression of your company and help with identification. For a personal logo, I believe that it doesn’t have to be as serious as a corporate mark. Just an emblem that communicates who you are, your values and what you do! A visual that helps people to get to know and remember you. You could use a personal logo on your portfolio, social media, personal projects, a resume or as a signature.
Who are you? And how to represent yourself visually?
The first thing you need to do is identify 3-4 core traits about yourself. Who are you as a person? When you have these core traits, you have to think about how you can represent those visually. Try to think of something that embodies those traits: an animal, an object, etc. Think about your hobbies or interests; could they inspire your logo? Is there something visual about yourself that could elevate your logo and make it even more related to you? Personally, I identified my core traits as: loyal, curious, stubborn, and social. I then researched and tried to find an animal that could represent those characteristics; the donkey came up. I also always wear hats or beanies, and I decided to incorporate this personal element of mine into my logo.
Sketching, first draft and feedback!
Once you have a solid idea of the direction you’re going towards, it’s time to get your pencil out! Sketching allows you to explore all sorts of ideas, even the ridiculous ones. It also pushes the designer to think further than just their first idea. Sketching saves you a lot of time during the later stages of the design. Once you made a few sketches, choose an idea and start to design digitally. Try to keep everything in black and white at first. When you’re done, get feedback. Ask people what they think of your design! Does it communicate the right message? Would they change anything about it? Then adjust! Here are a few sketches I made and my first version. One of the things I was told during feedback was to try to emphasize the “goofy” side of my donkey.
Create your final logo
After receiving feedback and reworking on sketching, you will be able to create a new version of your logo. Once you have created that new version, don’t hesitate to ask for more feedback (you can never get too much feedback). When you’re happy with the result, you’re going to end up with a finalized Icon. Henceforth, I would recommend looking at a few fonts that could fit your branding direction and your brand-new icon. You can work on the layout and try to make things symmetrical. Play around with sizing and try to keep consistent spacing. There you go! That’s how you create a fun logo to represent yourself! Here is what I ended up with…
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