Iconic: A Life of Logos
Written by Aaron Johnson
I Love Logo Design
I haven't talked much about logo design lately (logo ≠ brand) because I’ve been slowly repositioning myself from "designer" to an advisory role. Strategy is the work I love because it's the work that actually makes design work. Great design sells great strategy. But you can't save a bad strategy with great design.
But man, I still love a good logo.
A Banner You're Proud to Wave High
There's an art and a science to crafting the symbols we know and love. A symbol, a gesture, a banner you're proud to wave high. It's fascinating how something so simple can mean so much even though it didn't do anything but simply exist.
"A logo is not a sentence, it's the period at the end." (Sagi Haviv, Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv)
A Life of Logos
In this collection of 145 logos you'll find work made for friends and family from sea to shining sea. It’s a celebration of form and function, stripped down to their purest form of black and white so you can appreciate the simplicity of logos that last. Most of the work is from my early freelancing years. I barely made anything, but the stories are rich.
One logo I shared as a surprise birthday gift for a friend in a Sheetz parking lot. Another logo was paid for entirely in the world's most delicious homemade sugar cookies. One logo was for a friend at church who helped us buy and remodel our first home. There are even a few logos I made for my buddy who went on to become the first rapper in the U.S. Army. And then there are a handful of projects where lightning just struck and I made something.
Logos don't create meaning, they capture it. They help us see, remember, and feel. (Aaron Johnson)
20,000 Hours of Logo Design
I'm reluctant to call myself an "expert" in anything, but I've probably spent 2x Gladwell's 10,000 hours of "deliberate practice" over the years to master logo design. Last time I counted, I'd done somewhere north of 400 logos from bootstrapped startups to billion-dollar brands (Not to mention all the sketches and unused concepts). When you do something almost every day for 13 years, you learn a thing or two.
"...ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness." (Malcom Gladwell, Author)
How to Get Your Logo Right
In a world where you can ask AI to "make me a logo for my new company," throw something together yourself in Canva, or ask your nephew to do it for free, maybe I can use what I've learned over 20,000+ hours designing logos to help founders like you get yours right.
Stop explaining. Your logo doesn’t have to tell people what you do. The sole purpose of a logo is to identify, not explain.
Keep it simple. To identify well, your logo should be as simple as possible. It may even feel uncomfortably simple at first.
Love geometry. Use repeated shapes, clean lines, and symmetry for a timeless logo. It’s what works and what lasts.
Clear beats clever. Sometimes it works to add it, but don’t force imagery. Above all else, your logo should be legible.
Choose your focus. Pick a single distinctive element. Everything extra you add will make your logo half as impactful.
Make sure it works in black. Color can be powerful when used properly. But your logo needs to work with or without it.
Obsess over details. Every part of your logo matters from fonts and colors down to the spacing between letters.
Test it, everywhere. Don’t ignore versatility. Your logo has to work on every size, surface, and material imaginable.
Reverse image search. Make sure you’re not using a logo that’s been done before. Check sites like TinEye and Google.
Give it time. It may not be love at first sight, and that’s ok. At first, it’s just pixels on a screen. Meaning comes later.
Build a Brand You're Proud to Lead
If you're a founder who's been putting off getting your logo right and are ready to build a brand you're proud to lead, let's talk.