Design a Logo in Modern Style

Learn how to create a simple, solid, and modern brand mark in this popular logo design class with designer George Bokhua! Each lesson makes it easy and fun to get inspired, learn techniques, and gain skills for designing your next logo.

Knowing how to design a great logo is a core skill in a graphic designer's toolkit. When you think of a business or brand, the first thing that comes to mind is nearly always the logo. It is the visual representation of that product, place, thing, or business. Its impact is huge.

And as for style? The power of simplicity should never be underestimated, as oftentimes simple shapes and colors communicate a stronger message than an over-done image. It creates an immediate impression in a viewer's mind.

Designer George Bokhua works primarily with monochromatic, simple shapes in logo and identity design. This Skillshare class explores that style, so that you can learn how to maximize communication with minimal information.

Throughout the lessons, he creates multiple logos. You'll learn about:

• Applying a strong, simple, and minimal design aesthetic to logo design
• Creating simple marks from complex characters, from inspiration and reference to sketching
• Applying minimalism to typographic logos, from concept and sketch to refining in Adobe Illustrator
• Creating a negative space mark

Understanding simplification and perception in design are essential to becoming more fluent as a logo designer. This class will give you all the tools you need to spot effective logo design and, most importantly, communicate effectively with your own logos.

Please note that this class is primarily a theoretical approach to logo design. It will challenge your design approach and push your skill in different types of logos. Basic familiarity with Adobe Illustrator is strongly recommended.

Sample Images from Video Lessons

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Class Outline

• Introduction and useful reference literature. George Bokhua will share some books that have helped inspire his work designing logos. These books explore symbols, product design, and 2D art principles.
• Moodboard preparation. You’ll learn how to design a logo that depicts an animal, starting with a moodboard. George will show you how to pick reference images that depict typical silhouettes of the animal you’re looking to showcase in your logo.
• Image selection. Now that you have a complete moodboard, you’ll learn how to pick a final reference image to work from. George will explain his selection process and show you why certain images aren’t ideal when it comes to logo design.
• Pre-sketching and sketching. With your reference image printed out, you’ll use tracing paper to make your sketch. You’ll discover how to make fluid outlines that simplify complex forms and include geometric shapes in what will become the final sketch of your visual design.
• Minimizing anchor points. After putting your final sketch into Adobe Illustrator, you’ll learn how to create anchor points in the program. George will teach you best practices to make sure your anchor points translate your original image as closely as possible.
• Refining and fine-tuning. You’ll watch closely as George tweaks his logo to achieve smooth curves and get rid of extra lines.
• Adding color and post-project advice. You’ll learn how to use a color to amp up your logo design. George will sum up the three most important takeaways from his lesson on how to make a watermark.
• Gridding. If you thought George already spent a lot of time refining his logo’s curves, think again. In this section, you’ll see how intricate the gridding process can be when you’re trying to make curves that are optimally pleasing to the naked eye.
• Sketching for letter marks. You’ll learn how the sketching process for letters differs from the process George uses to pin down an image, and you’ll get a second look at why it’s so important to create multiple sketches in this phase of your logo project.
• Execution and refining the letter “K.” Letter marks should reflect the product they’re branding. You’ll learn how to turn simple lines into object representations in Illustrator and how to create the illusion of shading in a 2D object.
• Project intro. George will introduce your final project for his class—creating a mark based on negative space.
• Negative space boxer sketching. You’ll watch as George turns the outline of a boxer into a figurative, minimalistic drawing fit for a brand logo.
• Execution of a negative space boxer. Again, you’ll practice minimizing anchor points in Illustrator while exaggerating certain parts of your original sketch to better communicate the idea of a boxer. You’ll get ideas for further embellishments to make your logo stand out and gain a sense of playfulness.
• Words of wisdom. Overall, this lesson will add to a digital design arsenal that will help with larger projects, like learning how to design a website.

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Looking for more inspiration? Head here to discover more classes on logo design.