In this article I will talk about how I came to the name for my freelancing business ‘Just Creative Design’ and also the logo design process that I used to design the award winning logo that you see above.
sponsored message
This logo has won 3 major awards:
This logo also appears in these publications:
The process I used was somewhat disjointed and a very long one at that, mainly because I was designing for myself and I had no idea what ‘brand’ I was after, but this is it. Enjoy.
What will be my business name?
Believe it or not but this was one of the hardest parts of the process. Before I had JCD I was freelancing under the name of ‘JackCass Productions’ of which you can see above – this was when I was 15 (I’ve learned a lot since then). This was a clever pun of my name Jacob and Cass. I get called ‘Jack’ and ‘Jake’ quite a bit for my nickname instead of Jacob and when you combine the nickname Jack and my last name Cass… well, you get JackCass or jackass if you will.
sponsored message
I actually got very mixed feedback about this name ‘JackCass Productions’. About 50% of people loved it and 50% of people would say “why would you want to be called that”? There were pros and cons for both however in the end I chose not to continue using JackCass as the name and I think I made the right choice but in saying that I still have the domain jackcass.com just in case.
Ok, so now I had the problem of choosing whether to brand myself as my name ‘Jacob Cass’ or another name. Obviously I went with the latter however I still bought the domain name jacobcass.com. But now what to choose for my business name? I decided I wanted something unique, I wanted the word design in the title but I also wanted it to include my initials in the name if I could – ego, I know.
I had a million ideas, as you do… Jucy, Jaycii, JayZee, JayCee, Jaci, Jaysee, JayCee, JaySee, JaiSee, Juju, Juca, Joco, Jluc, Jaco, JC, JLBC and I won’t bore you with the hundred more that I had.
Sketches
I couldn’t come down to a name I liked so I just played around with my initials to make a logo and you can see the sketches (to the left) of me trying to get J and C to work together. There were six A3 pages so I had to take a photo of it… it is 2mb if you want to look at it full size. Just a word of warning, I am no Picasso.
sponsored message
From these sketches I had the idea of trying to make the initials JCD into a pencil and after a bit of experimenting I got it to work.
Throughout the whole process I was up in air about the name of the business so I played with the names JackCass, Jacob Cass and Just Creative Design.
Illustrator
After getting the initial idea I experimented in Adobe Illustrator (the industry standard vector software) with different typefaces, sizes, proportions, etc. which you can see in the pictures below. I did this to see what typefaces worked and what line widths and combinations worked best together.
More play with the pencil idea…
The Final Two Concepts
I then finally came down to two styles, one which was the led pencil style and the one shown below.
At this time I received feedback from peers and from forums and many people told me that there was so many logos that incorporated the Fibonnaci Swirl. After a little research I found this was true and this meant that my logo would not be unique so I went with the led pencil idea. It was here that I tried to get the best size for the pencil to show off the JCD initials as well as making sure it looked like a pencil.
Font Change
I ended up choosing the third size down from the top however something was not quite sitting with me and I narrowed it down to the typeface. I changed it to the typeface I used in the other example which was the font Delicious and knew that was the brand and look I was going for. It was a great logo that was scalable, memorable and worked in black & white.
More info: What makes a good logo?
Colour
After having an effective logo in black and white, it was time to add colour… I narrowed it down to the blue or the pink that I originally had in mind and then I chose out of these four colour combinations. I felt pink had more energy and was not so corporate and this was the decision I made. Pink, grey and white were my colours and my brand.
Award Winning Final Logo
Above you can see the finished logo and I couldn’t be happier with the feedback I have received from everyone on this logo. At least once a week I get someone complimenting it which gives me a warm giddy feeling inside. Oh, and it incorporates my initials into it 🙂
Adrian Hanft , co-founder of Be A Design Group had this to say about my logo when it won the award.
So often logos fall into cliché. This is usually a danger to avoid, but if you can put a new spin on an overused idea then you actually benefit from people’s awareness of the idea. You can turn a negative reaction into a positive one, and that has impact. The idea of using a pencil and sketching to represent creativity could be cliché, but this logo overcomes it. The JCD are just imperceptible enough to let the viewer feel rewarded for finding them. Same with the pencil. The typography is understated and it matches the humble positioning of “just creative.” They aren’t trying to be too clever, too flashy, or too self-important. They’re just creative.
Well there we have it, the logo design process I used to create the logo in my blog header. I hope you enjoyed it. Comments are always appreciated.
Do you need to brush up on your logo design skills? You may want to know how to design a logo or you may want to know the logo design process of top graphic designers. You can find even more logo design resources here.
Hi Jacob,
Nice information about your hard and long thought journey.
Eager to ask, While selecting one of your ideas to proceed further, Have you took the logo design rules as the criteria Or just gone by the heart??
nice article… i want to learn logo design 🙁
when I visited your site for the first time the things which struck me were the Logo and the pink Color.
Now that you have explained the awesome Logo design process, I want to know about the color.
You have mentioned, “I felt pink had more energy and was not so corporate and this was the decision I made. Pink black and white were my colours and my brand.”
Is it that simple. I want to know. I have real difficulty in choosing the correct theme for my site.
Sid
Hi Chaitanya,
I just went by heart but I always look at it after for revision to see what I can improve. In some instances rules can be broken as well.
Kevin and Jeremy
Glad you liked it. Hope you guys comment more often.
Sid,
Well good to hear that. It is a pretty unusual colour scheme that you don’t see many places. Regarding the colour, I have always liked the colour scheme pink black and white however I found that black wasn’t really the brand I was after.
I wanted something clean to reflect the statement ‘Just Creative’. I found that pink provided energy and showed creativity unlike blue which was a very safe overly used corporate colour.
You should really look up colour methodology and their meanings to guide you a long. I have written also written a post on the best colour tools on the net: https://justcreative.com/2007/12/16/best-colour-tools-and-sites-online/
Thanks!
Nice write up, great thought process.
Thanks for showing your process. Watching how people go about their design process is always very helpful to me since I am very much of a beginner.
It’s also fun to watch how the creative juices flow for different people.
Jeremy Daviss last blog post..A Wiii Fit Story: Chapter 1 – Keyword Analysis and Beginning SEO
Hi Lauren,
Yeah it is great to see how other designers work and this time I actually put my sketches up.
Yeah I updated my portfolio yesterday as I realised I hadn’t done it since I started the blog back in November.
I get a lot of requests but mainly for people wanting cheap designs so not that many. Maybe a few good clients every few weeks. I get more from local clients and word of mouth and a bit from Google.
Ryan,
Yeah well I was trying to design a clean logo all along, the JackCass site was from when I loved grunge design back when I was 15 (it was all the rage back them and I suppose still is now in a less conformist way.)
Nice read, and congratulations on the win. Good to hear the story behind it, especially as it was a design for yourself. They’re always the hardest projects to complete.
Great outcome though, so you must be pleased, especially with the award. & Considering some of the judges that’s got to be a great feeling.
Regards, Liam.
Love to see “behind the scenes” of design! And sketches are always interesting to see, even from the non-Picassos; I’m horrible at it too, usually I’m the only one that can understand them!
You’ve really expanded your portfolio since last I looked! Do you get a lot of freelance requests coming through your blog?
LaurenMarie – Creative Curios last blog post..The World of Movie Props, Letterpress and Design
LOL jackcass thats funny.
You followed the Rand way, a simple/clean logo People remember cleaner logos better.
modemloopers last blog post..How To Deal With A Clients Horrible Design Suggestions
oh I love grunge design and see a few blogs with it still.
modemloopers last blog post..How To Deal With A Clients Horrible Design Suggestions
hehe, it’s interesting how Lauren and I not only sometimes think the same but act the same too. Before reading this post, I clicked to check your portfolio and was surprised to see it grew so big.
Btw, you should chose Comic Sans as your default corporate font 😉 j/k
you know, I love “behind the scenes” posts, and this one was no exception – fascinating read. Thank you.
inspirationbits last blog post..PROs And CONs Of Going Solo
Jacob,
Great write-up. You are brave to show off those earlier ideas. I don’t think I would want to show off the earliest rejects of a project!
From Adrian Hanft, I love this part best: “They aren’t trying to be too clever, too flashy, or too self-important. They’re just creative.” I think that’s why you wisely rejected a lot of those earlier ones. They were trying to hard, too flashy, or too self-important.
The earliest name for my business in the very long ago was “ojo” [“eye” in Spanish]. It looks interesting on a page, has a meaning that works well with what Experience Designers do, and has a lovely sound if you speak Spanish.
That’s where I first realized I was in trouble: not everyone does, and oh-joe is not a nice sound at all. Then the meaning’s lost, too…. Letting it go took a long time, and then I was into a zillion other ideas until I settled on VisionPoints. So I can totally appreciate the process you went through.
The thing I discovered back then is that it is a LOT harder to do naming and identity creation for yourself than it is for anyone else. As hard as you try to step outside yourself, objectivity is impossible on your own projects.
BTW, I always loved the JCD in Just Creative Design. Smooth.
Regards,
Kelly
Kellys last blog post..Tip of the Week: The Simplest Way to Avoid Naming Disasters
Good call leaving “JackCass” behind. I like the finished logo, it seems fitting for the image you are trying to create for yourself. Very unique and memorable.
Thanks for sharing your process.
Josh Walshs last blog post..Google Chart’s Resolution
Liam,
I agree, completing projects for yourself are the worst! I know that many design studios actually outsource their own work. And yes it was a great feeling winning the award 🙂
Vivien,
Glad you liked it. Have you decided if you are going solo yet?
Kelly,
I haven’t really shown much of my sketches before on here however people were asking so I gave this time. Haha yeah Adrian’s conclusion is great, and it is true, it was the image I was after – not that I knew at the time.
Yes I would have said Oh-Joe as well but it has got good meaning behind it. So how did you come down Vision Points?
Hear from you soon.
Josh,
Glad to hear that it is unique and memorable and good to see another new face commentating on JCD, hope to see you comment more often..
Hey Rob, you have a great and original logo as well, I like! Good luck with your site too!
Congrats on the award, Jacob! I’m honored to have been in the running with you. My site has just been up since the beginning of this year, so I’ve got a long road ahead of me. But thanks for sharing your blog … I’ve enjoyed reading so far and will be sure to visit often.
robs last blog post..Shameless Self Promotion
Its interesting to see how people work about and get their projects finalized. And the entire process that you have shown up from scratch is really interesting to go through.
just searched for JUST CREATIVE DESIGN.
i came across this logo some day while reading blogs, don’t even remember what i was reading.
and since then i was thinking about it. it kept revolving in my head all the time.
It leaves a solid impact on mind that you just can’t forget..no matter how hard you try
Its the finest logo i’ve came across
ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR FUTURE
Paintworkz,
Thank you, I do try to make it as resourceful as possible as well as explain my process which is also very interesting for other designers.
HS,
Thank you very much, I am glad you liked it, I did spend a long time on it as you would have read!
I Emailed You About This Logo Before I Read Anything On This Site Saying It Was Great Love It.
This Site Is Ace!! Its In My Favorates Now
Thanks
Really imazing Logo you design
nice work
thanx
Been a fan of this logo for a long time…and I obviously love your logo design process…
Currently I am working on mine and I sure have the idea what trouble one has to take to get that design right, I havent still got one… 🙂
Keep your posts coming…and ya design tops my fav logos list..
Thank you very much! Good luck on your design also 🙂
wonderful site…..loved everything on it
Jacob,
I sure wish that I had your incredible creativity when I was 21! Happy Birthday and enjoy your new logo/image.
Lisa
Each and every steps of your design process has reason. you teach me this. thank you so much. keep it up!!!
I find this write up great! I am in the same predicament now that you were in then. It’s quit a bit of pressure to find the right logo fit for someone who wants to make living on being “out of the box”.
Thanks for sharing the thought process. It’s so encouraging to know i am not the only designer that finds themselves in this “design corner”!
the idea of the logo is great
but u shouldnt have used that brush for the lines
to create a timeless logo u have to
let go of trends such as cool brushes and so on
so if the logo was made of simple lines
and maybe each letter its own color all in all
matching the colors it wouldve been much better
keep it up
tudor
Hello Maqio,
The lines are there to suggest that it was drawn with a pencil and I do not consider this a trend at all… plus if the letters were all in different colours this would take away from the pencil itself. Simplicity is best.
i personally think it would look best if the different segments of the pencil were as long as the words underneath it..ex. J is just as long as the word just, C as long as creative
An interesting insight to your process for designing logos specially this one for your own business.
Just wondered whether it was more difficult creating a logo for your own business as compared to doing one for a client?
P.S.: Stumbled upon your Tweets and now your blogs. Will be following.
Hello Arlyna,
My own logo was probably the hardest logo I have done to date. I think it is the same for most designers, well from what I read anyway.
hi jacob,
how r u……i’ve found ur website “the most interesting and useful website” ever seen……..the information on ur site is very much helpful for all d designers…who r new in this field.
thnx & regards.
Sandeep Rana
Congrats buddy !! youre website iust amazing!!! great concept, great stuff, in quotes “THIS IS PURE DESIGN”
Cheers
Mikcas
first of all congratulations on the awards that you logo has won 🙂 secondly i had seen this logo before like on logo gallery site and always wanted to know how it has been done 🙂 and finally saw it here
great work i must you way of putting your ideas is very simple but effective 🙂 keep the good work coming
cheers
Great Logo!! and loved reading about your design process. Including the sketches really showed the flow. The timing for me is perfect since I am beginning the difficult process of branding my own design business. I have just recently discovered your blog – so informative with no pomposity. Kudos to you!
One of the best logos I have ever seen.
Very creative. Salute.
Simple is perfect!
“imperceptible enough to let the viewer feel rewarded for finding them.”
Absolutely my favorite part of your logo. I loved that I “got it”. Sort of like the FedEx arrow.
I just recently went through my own logo design process (if you’re interested, it’s the blog badge on my blog, which I’ve linked to here). It was a harrowing experience trying to get what I wanted, which was simple and clean, but meaningful. I have an event planning and design business, specializing mostly in weddings, but I didn’t want to go the “girly” route and pigeonhole myself in the future. Next up, when I can afford it, is the website design. Hats off to those of you that do this for a living…just the hundred or so very minor tweaks was driving me nuts. I’m much better with flowers.
Cheers!
Your skills are truly intriguing and unique. As a imature graphic designer myself I tend to look through your webpage for insipiration when I am stuck and it definetly helps. Thanks for being you! 🙂
Just wanted to drop a line to say that you have incredible work! I am a young designer your age and envy the amount of success you’ve seen thus far. I hope that I may someday find my “niche” as a designer and learn from artists like yourself who seem so far ahead of the competition. Thanks for the explanation of your process; it’s nice to know that even brilliant designers struggle with branding themselves, as I am struggling right now.
Best,
Whitney
pink is Awesome.. but i like blue more
it’s very much beutiful when you rememmber yourself when you were just a beginer.. rememmber your work then.. and all what you ve been through.. how wonderful to feel that you walked toward your dream.. step by step.. and you are living it now..
enjoy
I like the way your mind works. It shows in how you create / design a logo. Way to go you! I’m in my ‘morphing’ process of getting there 😉
Hey Jake, just wanted to ask about your sketch lines, how do you achieve this effect? The obvious guess would be to sketch it and then scan it in but i know you like to work in illustrator and create vector based logos so how do you go about transforming your sketch into vector art?
Steve, it depends on the project but typically I can the logo in and use the pen tool to create the logo. For a more detailed grunged design you could use live trace or in the case of this logo, a brush applied to a stroke.
so nice of u jack {for this writeup}
What do you do when you get stuck, like you have a design idea, but then after a while you get stuck and don’t know where to go further
I am impressed with the number of initial concepts created for the design but looks to me like the extra work was worth the effort. The logo works really well. Thank you for sharing your development process for the logo.
What as awesome logo! 🙂
I’m trying to make a logo myself… this was simply invaluable.
And the feedback in the quote is true. You feel rewarded when you spot the JCD! Thats probably the key behind this logo 🙂
Hey Jacob,
Hats off, wonderful logo. Personally, I see beauty in simplicity, and your logo has that simplicity and also that “WOW” factor. I mean, its amazing that you logo represents the very basis of design – the pencil. Looks like it was a pretty long road to get to the final design, but the end result is AMAZING. I’ve been hooked on to your website for days. Love your work dude!
JackCass was really funny, but JustCreativeDesign rules!
m/
Thank you Akshay! All the best!
خب ملØ1000§Ú© دی ال سی ها تنها نیست مپ ترمینال روی ÙÂایل های ای وی دی هم کار میکنه و دقت کنید که عکس هایی که براتون گذاشته شده همون ÙÂایل ها رو با همون ØÂجم داشته باشید.
WOW, cool designs, you did a good job, thanks Jacob.
I cannot help but comment of how simple yet effective your logo is.
I am in the process of creating my own website’ logo and have been stuck in a rut, iv searched high and low for ideas for a logo of ds/dsd. i find myself recreating yours all the time! only because it makes sense.
but i give credit where credit is due…. you sir have created a piece of history
For those who have lost just about all your own hair then virtually no hair replacement centre can help you. You will need to fulfill the rate of the bare minimum hair contained in your own head to become qualified for a hair transplant.
Thanks for nice tutorial!
Hey Jacob
really glad to se your art work.your logo designs drove me the highest.Loved your logo (just design).i’m a student of graphic design.
your work really inspired me.
i wish i could also reach to such a level.
heads off to ur work…
al d best,
komal
😀
😀
😀
😀
Please explain.
😀
😀
😀
😀
😀
😀
😀
Sweet story 🙂
Your “Just Creative Design” logo rocks, I will put it in my “Best Logo Designs” folder 😀
Hi Jacob,
I’m Saurabh from Jaipur, I’ve gone through your site and I’ loving it as it fascinated me to read out each and everything about you and your acclaimed work. I saw all your pictures and you were looking great. I would like to learn many things from you, I hope you will be delighted to make me learn…
Your color scheme being pink, black and white gives a very refreshing look to the site. All these colors if used individually paint a different picture. But here, you have blended them so artfully, that the overall effect is just mesmerizing.
This is a nice and awesome idea to motivate those persons who never tried to design the logos before.
hello sir,
i am not enough qualified to comment on your logo but i really liked the method of your process doing and your inspiration. i am a graphic design student and i had no idea of all these processing method of yours and your honesty for sharing it. i am not either good in English, well what i am trying say is that is its possible if i discuss my assignments with you because i really need that, my sens in typography is worse which makes me feel embarrassed in front of my class and teachers.
i will be pleased and honor. thanks alot
Hello, this is very helpful information about logo designing. I am myself a freelance designer and will pass this link to my other designer friends
i love this design and also your blog 🙂
grt logo………
great logo here, I am also liking the circle you have to return to the top of the page.
good create amazing work… i like your all logos.
I would like to say that your process for a logo is wonderful. Right now I am a student to be Graphic Designer. Your logo is very inspiring to look at! Kudos to you for making an awesome logo. : )
hi sir,
M a logo designer and i work for an online company my boss gave me yr website ND i have learned many things from u and now quality of my logos have also increased..according to my boss and number of purchase 😛
initially i didn’t like to design logo’s i m a student of vfx ND want to work in studio nd m doing my course but due to financial condition had to work as a logo designer but now i feel it as great fun when i think of people using logo’s designed by me….any ways thank u once again for sharing your knowledge with us..
Really a good inspiration site for me. Amazing works and good stuff to know better even more for the learners like me. Thanks a lot for the infotainment here in ur site.
Hi just wanted to say I enjoyed reading this article, it’s always nice to hear about the process, love the connotations of pencil/pen and your initials, very smart, clear and simple. It’s one of those wish i had thought of that moment. Great job.
Nice explanation. And great end result 🙂
Each and every steps of your design process has reason. you teach me this. thank you so much.
Lol i gotta say, the logo in the end was really clever after reading about it. I never even noticed those blocks were spelled out. It’s sooo creative it actually IS creative LOL!
Jacob Sir,
After reading your journey of making logo. I inspired because i also try to make my self identity logo and try many times but i m not satisfied with me but after reading your article i will try to many other design.
Your logo is looking good because its very simple and creative.
Thanks
Thanks for the site management team on the fantastic work I excellence and innovation
Nice explanation. And great end result 🙂
Thanks Jacob… Very nice work… I like your all logos.
Nice explanation. And great and result 🙂 Thank for post!
Great work!