Although creating logos is such a fun part of branding and is often what people are most excited to see when I tell them I'm a designer, a logo by itself often feels lacking to me. I love seeing a logo "in action" so much more. I think how a logo interacts with different elements in its intended use reveals so much more of the brand identity and gives it life.
For this reason, when creating a logo, I start by keeping the end result in mind: What size or format will the logo typically be used? In what applications? How should it interact with and relate to other elements? Should the logo be most important/prominent in terms of hierarchy?
Keeping the entire brand's identity in mind influences so many of the decisions when building a logo. Everything from proportion, color scheme, background, supplemental elements, etc. should be considered as a deciding factor.
Similar to my approach to logo design, when building a cohesive icon library, I think it's important to take a step back before diving in.
Do the icons need to tell the whole story or will there be supplemental text? How detailed should they be? What is the intended size or application?
In the collection of icons on the left, I wanted to use the background hexagon shape to create consistency, but I also wanted the design to deviate from the hexagon. By creating a square grid, I knew exactly how far the illustrations could extend beyond the hexagon while still maintaining consistency across the family.
I wish I could say I scribbled outside of the lines as a kid, but, if I were to ask my parents, I imagine they would say I was a stickler for the opposite.
Regardless where the inspiration came from, I've developed a sketchy, somewhat haphazard illustration style over the years and I love the effect. Although not intentional, I have started to incorporate a similar "scribbling" into my watercolor paintings as well - see some examples of those on my About Me page.
Shape has always been a driving factor in my design work and I see these loose illustrations as both a direct representation of shape and also an opportunity to break away from expectation.