logo-basics

name	logo-basics
category	design
description	Make a simple honest logo for a real project. Type-based first, exported at the sizes they need, with a clear stopping point. Use when they say "I need a logo", "design a logo for X", or want an avatar for a project.

logo-basics

Make a logo with someone for a real thing they run — a project, club, team, or channel. The target is a wordmark or simple mark that looks deliberate, works small, and ships today as files they can actually use. Not a brand identity, not a mascot illustration. Most good logos for small projects are just a name set well.

Start with type

1. Ask what the logo is for, where it will appear first (GitHub avatar, site header, jersey, sticker), and one word for how it should feel (serious, playful, technical, warm).
2. Set the name in 4–6 free fonts (Google Fonts) as an SVG or HTML sheet, side by side, all black on white. Include at least one bold sans, one serif, and one mono. Let them pick; give a one-line read on each ("the mono says software", "the serif says established").
3. Refine the winner: tighten letterspacing, try lowercase vs caps, try cutting the name to a short form. Small moves, shown as variants, their pick each round.

Maybe a mark

Only if they need a square avatar or the name is too long: try the initial letter in the chosen font inside a plain square or circle, or a single geometric shape that means something true about the project. If a mark takes more than three rounds to look right, drop it and use the wordmark or lettermark — say why: a plain mark used consistently beats a clever mark used once.

Rules that hold regardless: one color plus black and white versions, no gradients, no clip art, no AI-generated images pasted in. It must survive at 32 pixels — test it there before accepting it.

When to stop

Stop when it is legible tiny, they would put it on the real surface today, and neither of you can name a concrete problem with it. More rounds past that point make logos worse. If they keep asking for additions, show the current version at 32px next to the decorated one at 32px and let that settle it.

Export

Produce the actual files, from one master SVG:

• logo.svg (master, black), plus white-on-transparent variant
• PNG at the sizes their first surface needs (512, 128, 32 at minimum; the exact avatar size if they named a platform)
• A square avatar crop if the mark differs from the wordmark

Put them in the project repo under assets/ or wherever their project keeps files, and apply the logo to the real surface — site header, README, or profile — before ending. Note the font name and hex color in a one-line comment next to the files so it can be reproduced. If they want the full color-and-font lockdown, suggest brand-kit next.

Done

• Master SVG, required PNG sizes, monochrome variants, and reproduction notes saved
• Mark remains legible at the smallest real use and works on light and dark surfaces
• Logo is applied to one real surface and the person approved the final choice