Arts

The Logo Geek Podcast

Want to know what it takes to design logos and brand identities? In the Logo Geek podcast, award winning logo design expert Ian Paget finds out by interviewing successful graphic designers and entrepreneurs around the world so you can learn from their experiences. Topics include logo design tips, getting clients, how much to charge, coming up with ideas, choosing fonts, portfolio mistakes, branding, online marketing and so much more!

Latest Episodes:

Starting a Design Side Hustle - An interview with Scotty Russell Dec 15, 2019

Show notes

If you want to start your own design business the recommended approach for most is to start it as a side hustle whilst your 9-5 job brings in the money. But how do you make time around a full time job? and how do you reach your goals?

In this weeks episode Ian speaks to Scotty Russell, the founder of Perspective Collective, a business he built and run on the side of a full time job. We discover how he built his own personal brand, how he makes time with a family, goal setting and more.

Through Perspective Collective Scotty helps creatives find their gift, establish a side hustle and win the battle against their inner critic with a podcast, community and coaching.

Show notes and episode transcription can be found here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/scotty-russell/

Books & Resources Mentioned

Perspective Collective Website | Podcast
Side Hustler’s War Chest
Side Hustler’s Coaching Program
Doyald Youngs books:
- Logotypes & Letterforms – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- Fonts & Logos – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- Dangerous Curves – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
The One Thing – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
Creative South
Wunderlist – A handy to-do list app

Thank you to the sponsor, FreshBooks

I’m incredibly thankful to FreshBooks for sponsoring season 6 of the Logo Geek Podcast! FreshBooks is an online accounting tool that makes it really easy to create and send invoices, track time and manage your money. You can try it out for yourself with a free 30 day trial.

Enneagram Personality Types in Branding - An interview with Shay Bocks Dec 09, 2019

Show notes

When working on identity design it’s important to know who you’re targeting so that you can create a solution that attracts the desired audience. But exactly how to approach this can often be subjective, but what if there was a more strategic way?

Enneagram Personalities is one fascinating approach. 9 personality types which are represented by the points of a geometric figure known as an enneagram, that can be used to explain how each type interacts with the world. To learn more Ian interviews brand stylist Shay Bocks, an expert on the topic.

In this episode we also discuss the benefits of productising your business, and the approach Shay took to sell her WordPress theme business.

Show notes and interview transcription can be found here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/enneagram-personality-types/

Books & Resources Mentioned

What is the Enneagram?
Shay Bocks Website | Instagram | Facebook | Dribbble
The Complete Enneagram by Beatrice Chestnut – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
The 9 Types of Leaders by Beatrice Chestnut – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
The Path Between Us by Suzanne Stabile – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
The E-Myth Revisited – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK

Thank you to the sponsor, FreshBooks

Creating a Brand New Name - An interview with Jeremy Miller Nov 30, 2019

Show notes

As a logo designer you’ve probably been approached by companies who have names that are far from perfect… they’re too long, hard to say, or just don’t properly represent the brand. You’ll likely want to help them improve, but where do you start? What does an expert brand naming service look like?

In this episode Ian interviews Jeremy Miller to find out. Jeremy is the author of the new book Brand New Name, and the founder of Sticky Branding who help business’ grow a remarkable brands.

Full show notes and episode transcription can be found here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/creating-a-brand-name/

Books & Resources Mentioned

Sticky Branding – Website | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Group | Facebook
Brand New Name – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
Sticky Branding – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
4 Disciplines of Execution – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
Lords of Strategy – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
Playing to Win – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
Any book written by David Aaker – Buy on Amazon US | Amazon UK
iWantMyName – To check domain availability.
KnowEm – To check brand name availability on over 575 popular social media networks.

Thank you to the sponsor, FreshBooks

How to Design & Sell Fonts - An interview with Adam Ladd Nov 25, 2019

Show notes

Typography is a fundamental part of logo design, but what does it take to design a font from scratch? What software do you use? How do you sell and licence the font once complete, where can you seek advice when you get stuck? In this weeks episode Ian Paget interviews type designer Adam Ladd to answer these questions and more.

Adam Ladd is a type designer and graphic designer based in Cincinnati, Ohio with experience in fonts, branding, and art direction. He worked as art director and designer for HOW and PRINT magazines before building his own full-time, independent font foundry.

Show notes and full transcription can be found here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/design-a-font/

Resources & Books Mentioned

Adam Ladd Type Design Portfolio
Adam Ladd on Twitter, Linkedin, Dribbble and YouTube
Font Software: Glyphs App, Fontlab, Robofont
Font Forums: TypeDrawers Forum, Glyphs App Forum, Fontlab Forum
Book: Type Tricks by Sofie Beier – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
Book: Designing Type by Karen Cheng – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US

Thank you to the sponsor, FreshBooks

Design Successful Logos with Research - An interview with Jenn & Ken Visocky O'Grady Nov 18, 2019

Show notes

If you want to design logos and identities that succeed in the real world you must truly understand the business, competition and target audience. To understand that you need to make research part of your design process. The information you gather will ensure you have a thorough understanding of the problem you need to solve, so design decisions can be made with intent. Not only will your designs perform well but you’ll also get faster approvals and a greater level of trust from your clients too.

To discuss the value of research and the methods used Ian Paget interviews Jenn and Ken Viscoky O’Grady, the authors of the book A Designers Research Manual. Jenn is a Professor at Cleveland State University, and Ken is Professor and Graduate Coordinator at Kent State University.

The Logo Geek podcast is sponsored by FreshBooks, the small business accounting software that allows you to spend less time on accounting and more time designing logos! Sign up for a free 30 day trial here.

Books & Resources Mentioned

A Designers Research Manual – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
Jenn & Kens website www.visockyogrady.com
The list of books Ken recommends to his grad students:
- The Strategic Designer by David Holston – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- 101 Design Methods: A Structured Approach for Driving Innovation in Your Organisation by Vijay Kumar – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behaviour by Indi Young – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- Card Sorting: Designing Usable Categories by Donna Spencer – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- Universal Methods of Design:100 Ways to Research Complex Problems, Develop Innovative Ideas, and Design Effective Solutions by Bruce Hanington, Bella Martin – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
- Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design by William Lidwell (Author), Kritina Holden (Author), Jill Butler (Author) – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US

Full show notes and episode transcription can be found here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/design-research/

Skills they don’t teach in design school - An interview with Michael Janda Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

As a designer you’ll put your heart and soul into your portfolio… and if your portfolio is the best in the world, you’ll get clients, right? Sadly your design work alone won’t lead to success. To be a successful graphic designer you’ll also need to develop interpersonal skills to get your dream job, or to attract and work with clients of your own.

In this episode, Michael Janda, the author of Burn Your Portfolio shares the skills you need to develop beyond design. We also discuss how to calculate the cost of a logo, and his approach for using Instagram to position himself as a thought leader.

Michael Janda is an executive level creative leader with more than 20 years of experience in both in-house creative departments and agencies, working with some of the greatest brands in the world, including Disney, Google, HBO, Google, Fox and many more.

Books & Resources Mentioned

Michael Janda Website
Michael Janda on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Price Creative Work With Confidence – Futur Interview
Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff They Don’t Teach You in Design School, But Should – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
Psychology of Graphic Design Pricing – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US
How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – Buy on Amazon UK | Amazon US

Creating a Logo Archive - An interview with Richard Baird Oct 20, 2019

Show notes

LogoArchive is an online gallery and series of collectable monthly ‘zines’ focused on researching and restoring mid-century logo design, featuring work by design studios such as mucho, Pentagram and Anagrama. This is one of the self-initiated projects founded and run by Richard Baird, a British freelance designer and writer.

In this episode we discover how Richard started his career, why he focuses 50% of his time writing, and have an in-depth discussion about Logo Archive.

Books & Resources Mentioned

Richard Baird Website
Logo Archive Website | Instagram | Online Store
BP&O – Brand identity and packaging design opinion
Logo Modernism on Amazon UK | Amazon US
Fedrigoni Papers
Logo Package Express

View the full show notes & transcription here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/richard-baird-logo-archive/

Process: A Visual Journey - An interview with Oct 05, 2019

Show notes

When working on logo design a large bulk of the process is working through a visual journey. This is part of the process that’s rarely shared, and is often surrounded in mystery, but a new book published by Counter Print has worked to address this by highlighting the rarely shown sketching and process behind the making of marks and logotypes… Process: Visual Journeys in Graphic Design, created by Jonas Banker and Ida Wessel, the founders of the award winning Swedish design agency, BankerWessel.

In this interview we discuss the new book, but also learn how Jonas and Ida founded their agency as a couple, as well as their process for working with clients on a logo design project.

Books & Resources Mentioned

BankerWessel Website
BankerWessel on Instagram
Lance Wyman: The Visual Diaries
Designing thinking is bullshit
Process: Visual Journeys in Graphic Design

To view the full show notes, and interview transcription head here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/process-banker-wessel/

Discussing Mental Health - An interview with Abi Lemon Sep 22, 2019

Show notes

Mental health is a serious topic and all too common in the design industry, but due to fear most of us keep our problems private, and some never seek help.

To encourage people to open up, to talk about their problems and get the help they need, in this episode Ian interviews Abi Lemon to have an honest and open discussion about the challenges they’ve both faced with mental health, how they acknowledged they had a problem, how they sought out help, and how they’ve come through the other side with a positive outlook on life.

We also discuss toolkit ideas to focus on positivity, thoughts on imposter syndrome, how to work on personal development and a few book recommendations too.

Abi Lemon is the founder of Brand Pharmacy, focusing on adventurous outdoor brands.

Books & Resources Mentioned

Brand Pharmacy
Brand Pharmacy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin
The 5 Minute Journal Book – Buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US
The 5 Minute Journal App
Radical Candor by Kim Scott – Buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US
Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky – Buy on Amazon UK and Amazon US

Full show notes and interview transcription can be found here: https://logogeek.uk/podcast/mental-health/

Creating a Logo Package - An interview with Michael Bruny-Groth Sep 15, 2019

Show notes

Once your clients agreed the logo you’ve designed what files should you be sending? As a professional logo designer you need to provide the logo in a number of formats for web and print, as well as colour variations and configurations to ensure the logo you’ve designed is versatile.

In this episode Ian interviews Michael Bruny-Groth to learn how to create a comprehensive logo package, and the file types and formats that you should be including. We also learn about the story behind Logo Package Express, an illustrator plugin designed to speed up the process of preparing a logo package.

Resources & Books Mentioned