As a designer, it seems like people only see you as this “can-you-make-me-a-logo” guy. In reality, it’s often the opposite amongst designers. I personally hate designing logos, because even though they frequently look simple, coming up one is far from a straightforward task.

And with a new website comes a new brand identity, which at the forefront means a new logo ! I was really excited to start researching new ways of showing off my personality through my branding, especially since I wasn’t a huge fan of my old Monogram.

Here, I’ll walk you through the design process of my new logo. I’ll start by explaining the challenges I faced, the inspiration I got which led to the end result, as well as the many iterations it went through. I’ll finish by showcasing the final logo, along with its — seemingly endless — use cases.

Let’s get started ‼️

The Challenges & Inspirations

What I Started With — The Challenges

When I made my original website back in 2021, I had to quickly create a logo. So I came up with a literal interpretation of my initials, with lines merging together to symbolise unity.

On the surface, it doesn’t look that bad, and I was really proud of the animation, which became the first thing you saw when visiting my portfolio. However, having strokes on a logo is never a good idea. It scales quite poorly, is very hard to see when tiny, and just has a lot of empty space that isn’t ideal for printing and accessibility in general. Furthermore, there was no story behind it, and no room left for interpretation. It was “take what you’re being given”, and that’s it.

What I Strived For — The Inspirations

I not only wanted something more modern that would fit in the current design landscape today, but also a logo that would adapt easily to merchandise, posters, interfaces, and more. Two simple shapes that would meld together to form the distinctive hallmark of my identity. With that in mind, the research phase could begin. For me, it always starts with other works I’ve seen in the past. This time around, it was the Canadian motion design studio Tendril. I loved that their logo was composed of three primary shapes (a rectangle, a half-circle and a circle) that came together to create their initial (the T). I was also impressed by the ease with which their logo can be adapted to 3D work and animated.

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The Research Phase

Playing Around with Primitives — The First Research Board

On the first research board, I played with very simple shapes, trying to get a result that I’d like. As you can see, I knew from the start that whatever result I was going to end up with, I wanted shapes to interlock, in a way. At the end, I started to be pleased with the “C shape” and the “dot” I was going for. Though, it didn’t feel quite right yet, so I kept digging and went back to the drawing board.

Drilling Into a Specific Idea — The Final Research Board

After setting the project aside for a moment in order to take a step back and come back with a fresher vision, I realised that what I was missing more was unity and cohesion between the C and the Dot. I wanted the C to sort of “wrap around” its sibling shape.

And after many, many iterations and a back and forth between Illustrator and Figma, I finally ended up with something I was proud of.

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New Monogram, New Me !

The Monogram’s Subtext — The Story

As you probably could’ve guessed it, this logo is indeed a monogram symbolizing my initials, with the C being… well… the first letter of Chedeville, and the dot being the iota from John's J.

It’s also designed to be read from the left to the right, a design principle that I decided to follow for all of my brand’s assets.

The Logo’s (Seemingly Endless) Use Cases — The Versatility

What I love about this new emblem is how versatile it is, and how it can adapt to almost every scenario. Firstly, it’s recognisable, which even though seems obvious, remains paramount. It’s also stunning on printed documents, posters, business cards, as an app icon, and even on clothing ! Where can’t this logo fit is the real question at hand here.

The Wide Range of Colour Variations

And even though I have not established any signature shade yet, I really dig the fact that it can be used in any colour, while retaining its legibility and brand recognition.

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I Did It ! — Conclusion

If I had to describe this new logo in a few key-words, it would be: recognisable, singular, and versatile.

This new brand identity that I’m creating goes far beyond a single logo, but it’s always the stepping stone of a good design system. If you want to learn more about my recent visual revamp, keep an eye out for the new website post, which should be coming out soon !