Man, when I first started this little passion project – let’s call it LSG for now – I didn’t think much about a logo. Seriously. Like, who cares, right? I figured the stuff I was sharing would speak for itself. Just slapped some random text together in Word and called it a day. Good enough.
Big mistake.
Fast forward a few months, and it hit me. Someone asked, “Hey, where’s that cool article you mentioned? Was that… yours?” And I realized they couldn’t tell because there was nothing recognizable tying it all together. Nothing looked like me, nothing said LSG. It was just… words floating around online.
I was kinda embarrassed, honestly. Felt like showing up to a party in your pajamas while everyone else is dressed sharp.
So, I decided I needed to fix this. Needed a real logo. Here’s how it went down:
Stage 1: The “Genius” Idea Phase
- Googled like crazy: Typed in “logo ideas”, “cool logos”, “easy logo maker free”… you know the drill. Found a million designs, got completely overwhelmed.
- Doodled nonsense: Grabbed a notepad and tried sketching. My drawing skills? Let’s just say stick figures are a challenge. Most looked like weird blobs or accidentally offensive symbols. Bad.
- Tried online tools: Signed up for those free logo generators. Put in “LSG”. Got a bunch of generic icons – lightbulbs shaking hands with gears or something. Snooze fest. Totally didn’t feel like me or the project.
I felt stuck. And honestly, a little annoyed. Wasn’t this supposed to be simple?
Stage 2: The “Oh Crap, I Need Actual Principles” Phase
So, I stopped messing around and tried to think smarter.
- Wrote down words: What is LSG anyway? I jotted down stuff like “learning,” “trying things,” “practical,” “honest,” “maybe kinda messy but figuring it out.” That felt closer.
- Looked at stuff I liked: Checked out websites, blogs, even product packaging I thought looked cool. Noticed simple shapes, clear fonts, limited colors kept popping up. Took notes.
- Simplified the name: Did “LSG” even work? Played with writing it out different ways. “*?” Meh. Stuck with LSG. Short, punchy. Okay.
Stage 3: The Messy Making Stuff Phase
Armed with a little more direction, I went back at it. Less random now.
- Played with shapes: Circles? Too soft. Squares? Too rigid. Tried overlapping shapes – looked like a Venn diagram gone wrong. Settled on a slightly rounded square for now. Sorta stable, kinda approachable.
- Battled fonts: Oh god, fonts. Tried dozens. Fancy script? Nope, screams “pretentious”. Plain Helvetica? Too cold. Found a clean, slightly rounded sans-serif. Simple, readable, friendly but not cartoony. Bingo.
- Color meltdown: Red felt too aggressive. Blue felt too corporate. Tried mixing three colors… instant circus. Decided on one main color – a warm greenish-blue (teal?). Feels calm, growth-y, reliable? Added just a touch of a brighter accent color for a teeny pop.
Combined the rounded square background, the clean font LSG, and the teal. It started to look like something. Not perfect, but something.
Stage 4: The “Holy Crap, This Actually Does Stuff” Phase
Slapped this rough version onto a blog post header and my basic social media profiles.
The difference? It was wild.
- People started recognizing: “Oh hey, saw this LSG thing pop up, thought of you!” Boom. That thing I wanted? Happening.
- Stuff felt connected: The articles, notes, quick tips – all had this little mark now. Suddenly, it looked like a real thing someone actually cared about, not random internet noise.
- Felt legit… to ME: Honestly? Seeing that logo made ME take the project more seriously too. Like, “Okay, this is happening, let’s do it properly.”
So yeah. I dragged my feet, fought bad sketches, argued with fonts, and melted down over teal. But getting that simple LSG mark out there? Totally worth the headache. It’s not just a picture; it’s like saying, “Hey, this is me. This is LSG. We’re here figuring stuff out.” And people actually get it now. Way better than WordArt.
