Designmodo’s New Logo
In coordination with redesigning the website, we decided to embark on a complete rebranding of our identity, which represent our genuine intent to help the designer and developer community by providing quality articles and digital goods. The talented designer Paul von Excite was the typography designer on this project.
Here’s a look at how it came together.
Exploration Concept Sketches
We decided to test the waters by first exploring the possibility of a hand-lettered written variant, which later was discarded in favor of a more simplistic direction which better fit the Designmodo vision.
Concept Development
Our old word-mark had the “e” as it’s unique element, and a letter as a distinctive character was a thing we wanted to keep in the new logo design. Paul figured out that the “g” was the next to the obvious “d” choice the best option to make it stand out. With simplicity in mind, he gathered inspiration and sketched a lot of “g” options (a few examples are below).
The leftmost “g” variant was most in line with what Paul had in mind but to make sure it would be read properly as a “g” and get a sense of how it would look with other elements of the logo, he sketched out all other characters as well, which gave him the opportunity to review it properly.
Satisfied with the look, it was time to apply more thickness to the characters.
Our team was happy with how it turned out but after reviewing the proposal with Paul, we agreed the overall appearance was too thick and needed to be refined into a thinner weight.
Once the weight was refined and approved, we could focus on other improvements. The main concern was that the type felt a bit too tough/sharp. A softer appearance would resemble a friendly overall look. Also the “s” didn’t feel in line with the other characters, the “d” ascenders were too sharp, the “n” & “m” shoulder counters were too tight/condensed and the “g” felt off.
Revised & Alternate Versions
With revisions, the appearance was softer and friendlier. We decided to use the sharp version for alternative smaller use since the softer appearance looks good on medium to large sizes, on small sizes it is somewhat blurred which reduces readability.
Icon/Symbol Version
Next to the logotype an icon for smaller uses was also needed. We tried a couple of options such as the “d” standing alone, “dm” disconnected but we ended up using the “dm” overlaying each-other.
Alternate Icon
While exploring possible solutions to the main icon/symbol version, Paul came up with a fun iteration, combining the circle and the descender of the “g” with a tilted stem from the “i,” creating a wink smile. We loved it and ended up using it as an alternate version to the main icon.
The Final Result
We are very pleased with the result of our collaboration and were impressed by the level of the skill and attention to detail from Paul. Below is a picture of the final logotype in use.
Share your thoughts about the redesign in the comment section and thank you for being with us.
Truly yours,
