Updating the Logan Simpson Logo

I’d been waiting for the opportunity to redesign our logo for a long time—I mean really long. I had toyed with and casually sketched redesign ideas for years. So when rebranding was green-lighted, I was thoroughly warmed up and ready to go. And I wasn’t alone. Well before we kicked off the process, there was a definite firmwide buzz about the need to update and reshape our image and messaging to convey a more modern, all-encompassing, national aesthetic. Most everyone agreed that 2015—which marks our 25th anniversary—was the year to regroup, bolster our vision, and repolish and reintroduce our brand.

The logo development process began with charrettes to kick-start ideas for redesigning our logo. I drafted almost everything I could think of to catalyze opinions and help focus the review group’s direction. I wanted us to eventually reach that one great idea—much like firing arrow after arrow into a large target area, trying to hit the bull’s-eye. It was a lot of fun, actually, just raw design with little to restrain me. My only guidelines at that point in the process were maintaining the color palette and shortening our name to “Logan Simpson.” Other than that, I could move freely in the design space, testing out new logo compositions, from ones that played on the familiar triple-icon form to ones that were more radical reinventions, like a single icon. Regardless, I was mindful that each of my designs had to graphically honor our origins while speaking to our future.
read more