Ian Paget | Logo Geek

When designing an identity, always consider what it could be compared to, and the unintended associations it might create. How nobody involved in this design spotted the obvious issue is baffling.

2026 is definately feeling like the future we was all waiting for. Wild!

“Getty Images intends to file for bankruptcy and go private as part of a restructuring agreement” theverge.com/business/100989…

Ticking down the final days of the SEED Framework Kickstarter campaign. 71% funded. Need to reach 100 before next week! logogeek.uk/seed

71% funded. 8 days left to keep pushing! I'm feeling exhausted, but ploughing on. I can't stress how thankful I am to everyone who's supported the SEED Framework project so far. Theres lots I'm working on behind the scenes as I juggle this around client projects, school runs and time with my little one. Before launching the Kickstarter, only the book was "finished" (okay, I'm still tinkering). Since then, Ive been working on the workbook and workshop materials. The image attached shows my current plan for the workshop sessions, which Im super excited about! Originally, I thought a full day workshop would be ideal. But as I've worked through the framework, Ive realised it would be more effective to split it into two sessions. The first session will focus on exploring ideas and planning. This gives you time to process everything, work through the exercises and put the thinking into practice before we meet again a week or so later. The second session focuses on turning those ideas into something tangible, working through Expression (how your business communicates) and Destiny (the direction you're working towards). Afterwards, I'll create a personalised SEED Document that brings everything together into a practical reference you can use to guide your decisions. With the format now much clearer, I've updated the workshop reward on Kickstarter to reflect how the sessions will work. As this is the first time I'm running these workshops, I've priced the reward at £349, with just 5 places available. If you pledge this option, feel free to get in touch so we can get a date in the diary rather than waiting until the campaign ends. Not sure what SEED is all about? The SEED Framework™ helps you think through an idea before you invest time and money into building it, giving you stronger foundations to grow. But it's not just for new businesses. Established businesses can use it too, to review what they're doing, clarify their direction and make sure everything is working together before taking their next steps. There's just 8 days left to support the Kickstarter. Thank you again to everyone who's helped get it this far! logogeek.uk/seed

Small book. Big potential. SEED is launching through Kickstarter, and there are just 12 days left to get your copy! Whether you’re a founder with an idea, or a designer working with clients who wants to help them work through the thinking before designing or building, SEED is here to help you lay solid foundations before you grow. Join the SEED movement. logogeek.uk/seed

New podcast dropped! This time, with James Barnard on Going Viral, Creating Content and Designing Logos. This week, I chats with James Barnard, a designer who’s built an impressive career around logo design and content creation, but it didn’t happen overnight. We talk about James going from working in publishing and freelancing to figuring out that logo design was the part of graphic design he enjoyed most, finding clients, learning on the job, specialising, and how he eventually built a career around the work he actually wanted to do. We then get into content creation, including how one viral TikTok video about getting his logos published led to 3 million views and 70 new business leads. James shares what happened afterwards, what he’s learned about creating content that helps his business, dealing with the pressure of being visible online, and why finding a way to create content that you actually enjoy is so important. Show notes and transcription here: logogeek.uk/podcast/james-ba…

Thoughts… “Presenting multiple logo options is like throwing mud at a wall and hoping something sticks.”

If you’re into movies and tv, here’s a logo you’ll soon start to see everywhere… “Paramount and Warner Bros. Reveal New Name Ahead of $110 Billion Merger” complex.com/pop-culture/a/ma…

Are you a logo designer wanting to dive deeper into strategy? For more than 10 years now I’ve worked with clients on logo design using what I describe as a goal based design process. This is focused on understanding 3 core areas. Who you are, who you compete with and who you target. And this has worked well for me. Although this process is reliant on the company you’re working with having done their prep work properly. I’ve wanted to help deeper with this, so I’ve spent many years reading countless books, taking courses, and interviewing people though the logo geek podcast. And while this has helped me to understand where and how I can better support these clients, I’ve had a few issues: First up… I’ve not yet developed a proper process to follow, but even bigger… I’ve not always felt it my place to start telling people how to run their business, because to do strategy properly, you need to pull up the weeds and rebuild everything from the ground up… it’s very aggressive if you’re gonna do it properly. But also… I’m a designer. I don’t wanna be another designer pretending to be a brand strategist when I don’t see myself that way. So I’ve almost been stuck in this rut where I just work to understand their current plan, while knowing they need deeper help. But… I have a solution, and I’m making this available to other designers. I reframed my approach to being, the thinking clients need to do before hiring a designer, and that developed into what I’m calling the SEED framework. It’s 4 simple stages that come together to form the foundations that a business can grow from. I’ve put all this thinking into a book, and supporting workbook, which I’ll be using with clients. And launching it through Kickstarter. So if you’re a designer, for a low cost, you can access the framework I’ve developed after 10+ years of research. And help solve the same problem I’ve had. As part of the campaign I’m also doing workshops, which is there for business owners, but if you’re a designer and you back one of these, we’ll use the time to walk through the framework, and I’ll help you to develop your proprietary framework to work with clients. To check this out, and support the project, head to logogeek.uk/seed

Fascinating logo story! Adding some extra context that I’ve come across. “The graphic design of the eagle was attributed to Vignelli for many years, until he revealed that he actually refused to draw it: “I wanted the eagle to be real. It has to have every feather. If you do an eagle, do it with the dignity of an eagle. Don’t stylise the eagle and make a cartoon out of it” (M. Vignelli). However, American Airlines pilots threatened to go on strike because they wanted the eagle since it always symbolised the company, so the office of Henry Dreyfuss drew it. The preference for a plain logotype without the eagle reveals Vignelli’s design attitude at best. In fact, Vignelli was above all a great typographer. He was able to make a typeface expressing all its strength and character. He always focused on the very function that the graphics had to perform — so preferring plain typography, where nothing more was needed — because aware that simplicity is always stronger than complexity. And by focusing on clarity and simplicity and then choosing a plain typeface instead of a stylised symbol, this design also represents an expression of that timelessness, so long praised by Vignelli.  “Fifty years ago (early ’60s), there were very few logos in general. Somebody started to do logos and people started thinking that logos were important. Now there is a plethora and so many don’t make sense. You see the pages of the sponsors of a concert of an exhibition and, at the bottom, there are 50 different logos. It’s ridiculous. A word is so much better” (M. Vignelli).

Do you have an ownable framework? A few weeks back, I met up in Birmingham with a few members of More Creative Academy. It was so good to catch up with old friends and meet some new people too. One of those new people was Omeir Saleh, who has his own studio Amplyne. We ended up chatting for some time about frameworks. If you look at people who have built an audience around their expertise, many have developed their own distinctive way of solving a problem that they repeatedly refer back to. Think of James Clear and Atomic Habits, or Mel Robbins and The Let Them Theory. The underlying ideas aren't new. Habits aren't new. Being less affected by other people's opinions isn't new. But turning those ideas into a clear, memorable system or tool is. That's what I think people should be thinking about. Most of us spend years developing ways of working, solving problems and making decisions. Sometimes there's a framework hiding inside all of that experience. When you turn what you already know into your own framework or system, it gives people something distinctive to remember you for. It can help you stand out, give your ideas structure, and give people something to talk about and share. That's actually how I ended up developing The SEED Framework™. After working with clients for half my life, I kept seeing the same problems come up before a logo or identity project even started. So I took the thinking and approaches I'd learned and adapted over the years and turned them into a framework: SPARK, EDGE, EXPRESSION and DESTINY. I've now developed that into a book, workbook and workshop. Omeir has THE AMPLYNE FRAMEWORK™, built around Assess, Align and Amplify. I've got SEED. Both draw on existing knowledge and ideas, but package them into something distinctive and useful. So have a think about your own work. What problems do you understand really well? What approaches have you developed over the years? Could there be a framework hiding inside them? If you want to see what I've done with SEED, I've just launched the book and workbook through Kickstarter: logogeek.uk/seed

I’m a big Adobe Illustrator fan, so moving to anything else to design logos would be a hard sell, but I’m in awe watching this. Wow.

Do you have an idea for a business but not sure where to get started? I’ve developed the SEED Framework to help answer this exact question. It’ll help work out everything you need to know before choosing a name, getting a logo or anything else designed. To grow the tree, you need the right SEED to start with. Launching through Kickstarter logogeek.uk/seed

You’re a designer, and you’ve seen me posting about my new book. You might be wondering if it could help you too? Sure, SEED is written for my potential clients, but if you’re a designer, especially one working in logo design like me, I think there’s a lot in it for you too. Like it or not, you’re going to face this problem often. The client knows they need a logo, but they don’t really know what they’re looking for. So you present a well thought out solution, and get: “I’m not sure I like it.” “I’ll know it when I see it.” “Can you try something else?” And suddenly the project becomes about opinions and personal taste. But when you develop a SEED with your client, you create a decision filter to refer back to. So when you present the logo, the question isn't: “Do you like it?” It’s: “Does this feel right based on your SEED?” That changes the conversation completely. SEED is my proprietary process that I’ll be using with clients ongoing, but I also hope it inspires other designers to develop their own. So if you’re a designer and you back the Kickstarter, I’ll be including something special for you too (TBC). For now, if you book one of the day workshops, I’ll teach you my process, but also help you start developing your own system based on your experience, knowledge and way of working. I hope designers will be inspired by SEED, and use it as a starting point to develop something that’s genuinely their own. Support the book here: logogeek.uk/seed

I'm excited to finally share something I've been working on!   The SEED Framework™ is a simple system for building the foundations of a business, before you touch a logo, a name or a website.   It includes a book, companion workbook and workshops too. I'm launching it all today through Kickstarter so I can self-publish the book the way I actually want it made, and offer a small number of workshops for the first time ever.   There are also a limited number of books and workbooks available at an early bird price, for those who want to get involved and support the project from the start.   If you've got an idea for a business, or you're already building one, I'd love for you to check it out. logogeek.uk/SEED

Monday. It begins. logogeek.uk/seed

I’m launching something new next week! I've developed my own strategy framework, written a book, created a workbook and workshop too. So... I'm sewing the SEEDs for it today... logogeek.uk/SEED