🎯 Design
Logo Design Brief: Mark, Usage Rules, and Don'ts for Designers
Write a logo-only design brief: job of the mark, concepts to explore, usage, and don'ts. Not a full brand identity system.
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Prompt
Act as a design director writing a brief for a logo (the mark), not a full brand identity, UI kit, or campaign. The designer should know what to draw, where it must work, and what to refuse. Inputs: - Company / product: [Name] - What they actually do: [Job] - Audience: [Audience] - Competitors' marks I can describe: [Competitors] - Personality (3 adjectives max): [Personality] - Mandatory: [Mandatory] - Forbidden: [Forbidden] - Where it must work: [Applications] - Color constraints: [Color] - Deliverables expected: [Deliverables] - What already exists: [Existing] Generate: 1. Job of the mark: 5 lines. What it must do at 16px and on a stitch. What it must not do (tell the whole product story). 2. Positioning vs Competitors: how this mark should not be confused with the described marks. No invented competitor logos. 3. Concept territories (4): each with a metaphor, what to explore, what would make it generic. One territory marked "do not bother." 4. Usage matrix: Applications as rows: min size, one-color, reverse, with wordmark vs icon-only. Note failure cases (busy photo, embroidered cap). 5. Color: from Color constraints only. If none, recommend 1 primary + 1 neutral and say it is a recommendation, not a palette system. This brief is not a brand book. 6. Don'ts: 10. Include Forbidden plus cliches (swoosh, abstract letters that look like a chat bubble unless Job is chat, AI sparkle, gradient orb). 7. Designer checklist: 12 yes/no items for the first review (favicon test, photocopy, 1-color, 3 strangers naming the category). 8. Out of scope: explicitly not typography system, not illustration library, not UI components. Point to a later brand book if needed. Constraints: - Do not write a full identity (type scale, photography, voice). Logo only. - Do not invent trademarks or "this looks like Nike." - Honor Mandatory and Forbidden. - No "make it pop." No fake awards. - If Existing is a logo they must evolve, say what to keep (geometry, name spelling) vs dump.
Instructions
Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Examples
Example Input
Company / product: BatchNotes What they actually do: a changelog tool for ops leads at 20-200 person companies; Friday publish, not a social network Audience: ops leads, chiefs of staff, a few founders Competitors' marks I can describe: a blue speech-bubble SaaS, a gradient orb with a sparkle, a heavy geometric B that looks like a cube Personality: dry, reliable, a little analog (notebook, not neon) Mandatory: must read as BatchNotes or a B+notebook at small size; must work in black on white and white on navy; wordmark spelling BatchNotes one word, capital B and N Forbidden: chat bubbles, AI sparkles, rocket, "fast swoosh," looking like a social app Where it must work: favicon 16px, app icon, nav bar, Notion embed, embroidered cap for 8 people, invoice PDF, dark mode Color constraints: navy #1B2A4A and paper #F6F1E8 already used in product; black allowed; no rainbow Deliverables expected: icon, wordmark, lockup, 1-color, reverse, favicon, simple don'ts sheet What already exists: a placeholder word in Inter, no mark
Example Output
1. Job of the mark Signal "changelog / notes for ops," not "chat" or "AI." Survive 16px as a B or a notebook spine. Survive a cap as 1-color stitch. Do not narrate Friday 10am. Do not compete with the UI chrome. 2. Positioning Not a speech bubble (that competitor already owns chat). Not a sparkle orb (AI toy). Not a cube-B (generic geometry). Lean analog: notebook, stamp, log, not feed. 3. Concept territories A. Notebook + log: ruled edge or spine as the B. Risk: stationery cliche. Explore. B. Rubber stamp / "SHIPPED": date-stamp energy without a clock you cannot read at 16px. Explore. C. Simple BN monogram with a paper notch. Explore. D. Do not bother: rocket, swoosh, chat, gradient orb, abstract "data nodes." 4. Usage matrix Favicon 16px: icon only, 1-color navy or white. Fail if it needs the word. Nav: lockup, navy on paper or reverse. App icon: icon, not the full word. Notion embed: lockup, 1-color. Cap: icon, 1-color, min 12mm. Invoice PDF: lockup black on white. Dark mode: paper or white on navy. No rainbow. 5. Color Primary navy #1B2A4A, paper #F6F1E8, black. Recommendation only, not a full palette. No extra accent required for the mark. 6. Don'ts Chat bubble. AI sparkle. Rocket. Swoosh. Cube-B clone. Rainbow. Drop shadow as identity. Script font. Misspelling Batch Notes as two words. Photoreal notebook photo as the logo. 7. Checklist Reads at 16px. Photocopies. 1-color stitch. Reverse on navy. Does not look like a chat app to 3 strangers. Spelling BatchNotes. Distinct from the three described competitors. Works next to Inter as a guest, not a new type system. Favicon distinct from a browser tab mess. No sparkle. Cap mock. Invoice mock. 8. Out of scope No type scale, photo style, illustration pack, or UI components. This is the mark. Brand book later.