Speaker A
If you look at this shape here, it's just a bunch of stars. It's just three of them attached together. But look at what you don't see. Look at the inverted space, the negative space. What do you see there?
Will Paterson walks through his logo design process for Open Magic, an AI content company, covering mind mapping, playful-yet-serious shapes, star icons, custom typography, and 3D button concepts.
Key Takeaways
- Starting with sketches and mind maps before going digital leads to stronger visual ideas.
- Rounded shapes communicate friendliness, while sharp corners communicate seriousness; balancing both suits modern tech brands.
- Presenting multiple concept directions helps clients understand the range of possible identities.
- Logos for product-based brands should be tested as interface elements such as buttons, not only as flat marks.
What the video covers
- The designer starts by analyzing negative space in a star-based shape, setting up the idea of hidden meaning in logo design.
- Mind maps and mood boards are used to establish the visual vibe before moving to the computer, since visual ideas are hard to generate without naming them first.
- The brand brief calls for a balance of playful and serious, referencing tools like Canva, Adobe, and Framer as tonal benchmarks.
- Stars are the central motif, chosen because they signal magic and have become synonymous with AI 'generate' buttons.
- Rounding corners and chunkier shapes make the design feel friendlier and more cartoonish, while sharper corners read as more serious.
- Typography is treated as a core expression of the brand, and the designer explores custom lettering rather than off-the-shelf fonts, including noticing kerning mistakes.
- Several icon and wordmark variations are tested, such as a bubbly option that reads like a food brand and is rejected as too detailed.
- Presenting two directions (one playful, one more serious) gives clients a clearer sense of the design range.
- A 3D button treatment with a drop shadow tests whether the logo works in product interfaces, not just 2D print.
- The process emphasizes sketching and iteration on paper before digital refinement, and the designer notes that the logo must function in both 2D and 3D contexts.
Chapters
- 00:00Negative space and the star concept
- 00:47Mind mapping the brand vibe
- 01:51Brief analysis and magic-themed wording
- 02:56Rounded shapes: playful meets serious
- 03:58Icon exploration and the blockchain detour
- 04:45Custom wordmark and kerning
- 05:38Testing bubbly and alternative directions
- 06:333D button treatment and final balance
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
concepts for Open Magic. And this is always what I do at the start of every project. I like to just get ideas out.
Speaker A
I've been working on a few concepts for Open Magic. And this is always what I do at the start of every project. I like to just get ideas out.
Speaker A
I'm going to walk you through each of my concepts and show you the decisions that I've made. So, based on the mood board, which is over here, we've got a video.
Speaker A
And sometimes I start on the computer, even though we tell people not to. But in this case, I really wanted to start here, which is basically down this end.
Speaker A
similar to here. This mind map was just the first one of just the general vibe that I'm going for, but this one goes into a bit more detail. So visually, I find it difficult to come up with ideas
Speaker A
I'm going to walk you through each of my concepts and show you the decisions that I've made. So, based on the mood board, which is over here, we've got a video.
Speaker A
obviously with magic, we have words like wand, stars, flash, and light. Uh we have other forms of magic like aura, energy, power. We wanted to be modern.
Speaker A
If you haven't watched that, watch the video in the description to show you how a mood board for this real client project was made. The first thing I wanted to do was use a mind map, which is something similar to here. This mind map was just the first one of just the general vibe that I'm going for, but this one goes into a bit more detail.
Speaker A
where I talk about how it needs to be not too serious, not dystopian, but also playful and friendly. We want it to feel kind of like between Canva, Adobe, and Framan where everything feels a bit more playful. So the first thing I do is
Speaker A
So visually, I find it difficult to come up with ideas that are visual without naming them first. So with Open Magic, they're an AI content creation company. So they help people create content in the CGI space using AI. So I wanted to get this idea that it's like magic when you use it.
Speaker A
but also understandable as a star. So I used the radial feature. See this thing here in Illustrator? You can create the shapes and you can go crazy with them and change them all like this. It's a very handy feature and that was an all
Speaker A
So obviously with magic, we have words like wand, stars, flash, and light. Uh, we have other forms of magic like aura, energy, power. We wanted to be modern.
Speaker A
I'm not creating within a vacuum. So just getting something out on paper is more important for me that I can base my ideas off. And in this case it was kind of like these blocks. We had a few star
Speaker A
And we also struck these two words together here. And it's called serious and playful. And that's a big one because out of all my notes that I write, and this is just literally what I write in calls, there's times in here where I talk about how it needs to be not too serious, not dystopian, but also playful and friendly.
Speaker A
friendly. It was serious but also playful. And the way to do that is by rounding shapes in design. That is a huge thing. Over here, if I just bring this out and create this so it's not so round. Let's make it a little bit round.
Speaker A
We want it to feel kind of like between Canva, Adobe, and Framer, where everything feels a bit more playful. So the first thing I do is write down these words. And the wording is "seriously playful" or "playfully serious" is what we're going for.
Speaker A
look a bit more cartoonish. And that was something that I really liked because it signals not only is there magic happening. So, we got that. Also signals that it's approachable, it's friendly, almost childlike in a way, and that's
Speaker A
I like stars. Stars were the big first idea I had. And the trouble or the challenge was to create an icon that is distinct but also understandable as a star. So I used the radial feature. See this thing here in Illustrator? You can create the shapes and you can go crazy with them and change them all like this. It's a very handy feature and that was an alright starting point.
Speaker A
is in most AI companies or anyone that uses AI to generate stuff, there's always like a button to press. And the star has become synonymous with that.
Speaker A
I also had this logo down here which was kind of like it looked more like a blockchain logo. I used it in a video but I thought let's just have an icon in there that means I'm not creating within a vacuum. So just getting something out on paper is more important for me that I can base my ideas off.
Speaker A
that you know something magical is about to happen when they click it. And if we can get that into the icon then why not?
Speaker A
And in this case it was kind of like these blocks. We had a few star things up here until we got to this point here.
Speaker A
I'd put this kind of like it's terrible right now but this kind of drop shadow on the icon itself so it looks like a button. I wanted this to feel like when you you could click it and it would be
Speaker A
Now, something that I wanted really badly was to make this not look like it was only for professionals. I wanted it to look like anyone could go to this company and it would be user friendly. It was serious but also playful. And the way to do that is by rounding shapes in design. That is a huge thing.
Speaker A
need to find some type to match it. And normally that's really tedious cuz we normally write magic like so. Then find like some characters here and we put them like this, you know, all the way down. And you'd soon realize that
Speaker A
Over here, if I just bring this out and create this so it's not so round. Let's make it a little bit round. It looks a lot more serious when it isn't as rounded in the corners. And the same goes for the actual star itself. If we round the star's corners and make it a bit chunkier, it actually just makes it look a bit more cartoonish.
Speaker A
consumable brand. It's a bit too detailed. It It doesn't have the confidence that I'm looking for.
Speaker A
And that was something that I really liked because it signals not only is there magic happening, so we got that. Also signals that it's approachable, it's friendly, almost childlike in a way, and that's where I wanted to go with this.
Speaker A
it funky. And it's one that I've been working on because I don't know about anyone else, when I get a client project, the way that I express the brand is a lot of the time within the typography itself. So, I
Speaker A
So, this was the basis of my first ideations for this. And it's really simple. Right now, we eventually went over here where I was like, "Okay, here's some icons we could use." The cool thing about these is in most AI companies or anyone that uses AI to generate stuff, there's always a button to press. And the star has become synonymous with that.
Speaker A
this will probably seem to a lot of designers like a waste of time. And I wouldn't blame them because who's going to create an entire font for a brand?
Speaker A
So, I thought, why don't we play around with this? We don't have to lock it in, but let's play around with this idea a little bit. Because I do want the sense of wonder. I do want this sense that you know something magical is about to happen when they click it. And if we can get that into the icon then why not?
Speaker A
that, put it back into Illustrator. I put the icon on it as well. Very badly kerned. How did I miss that? There we go. Problem with this is it probably looks a bit too playful. And this is where the balance comes in. How do we
Speaker A
So we've got this and I thought let's add some more friendliness to it. So we make it 3D. Now one thing that I needed to keep in mind during it was that it could work in 3D. Hence why I thought I'd put this kind of, it's terrible right now, but this kind of drop shadow on the icon itself so it looks like a button.
Speaker A
and serious. Playful and serious next to each other. I also played with the idea of calling it just magic at the moment.
Speaker A
I wanted this to feel like when you could click it and it would be kind of squishy in a way. Strange thought pattern there, but there you go.
Speaker A
doesn't matter if you're big or small, get yourself a website. Recently, we've been working on our brand new one, and we've moved to a platform called Framer, who is sponsoring this video. Framer allows you as a graphic designer to not
Speaker A
The next step was the typography. I liked this idea, this concept, this direction, whatever you want to call it. So I thought, let's, we need to find some type to match it. And normally that's really tedious because we normally write magic like so. Then find some characters here and we put them like this, all the way down. And you'd soon realize that certain icons work better with certain type styles.
Speaker A
have some amazing tutorials on their website. And also, if you just want to take a template, you can go and find a community template that you can get for free or there are paid versions of the template and you can edit it from there,
Speaker A
So, for instance, this really bubbly one called Bergie. If I bring this in, this works quite well, but it makes it look, I don't know, kind of like a milkshake, you know, food consumable brand. It's a bit too detailed. It doesn't have the confidence that I'm looking for.
Speaker A
Perfect for graphic designers like me and you who aren't web developing wizards. I've been learning how to use Frame over the past few weeks and I'm really excited to share a video soon about our new website once it's built.
Speaker A
Whereas, this one kind of works a bit better. But also, it looks too traditional, like traditional magic, and we need to stay away from that. So, instead of that, I decided, let's create our own typeface for this. And I called it Funky.
Speaker A
coding or anything, please click the link down below in the description. It helps me out and it keeps these videos going live to you. Thank you very much for sponsoring the video. Open Magic here. I liked it. It looked quite big,
Speaker A
And it's one that I've been working on because, I don't know about anyone else, when I get a client project, the way that I express the brand is a lot of the time within the typography itself. So, I actually created the majority of this font based on that feeling, which is playfully serious, where you can read it, it's legible, but it's got a bit of funk to it in a good way.
Speaker A
idea or a direction that is one playful, but also one that is slightly more serious. And that's a really cool thing to do for clients because they not only see one way of designing a logo, they see another way and a different feeling
Speaker A
So, we've got these cool letterforms going on. And this will probably seem to a lot of designers like a waste of time. And I wouldn't blame them because who's going to create an entire font for a brand?
Speaker A
go. I thought to myself, right, okay, let's let's play with this idea of a frame. And this is one of my early concepts of creating kind of like a frame arch like this. And within that frame would be people's work like this
Speaker A
But for me, it really distills the shapes that I want to use within the brand identity itself or within a certain concept. And hey, I can use this later on if I want to. I can make it into a real font if I like.
Speaker A
we make it more unique? Let's put a star in it or some sort of like strange shape. So I put this sort of strange shape up here as you can see and it kind of works. We've got a concept there, but
Speaker A
So I use that, put it back into Illustrator. I put the icon on it as well. Very badly kerned. How did I miss that? There we go.
Speaker A
these ones here. And notice I'm just doing them in black and white. Boom. And boom. This one here was cool cuz it's got the the idea that something's happening, but it also it I think to me it just feels a bit too spaceesque. Um,
Speaker A
Problem with this is it probably looks a bit too playful. And this is where the balance comes in. How do we create that balance? So I kind of went over here and thought, okay, let's choose some basic types that we know will work well. So we've got New House Grotesque, classic font next to this. So we've instantly got playfully and serious. Playful and serious next to each other.
Speaker A
them to create other shapes or to allude to different shapes. This idea of bringing an M in to the stars came from understanding what an M looks like. We have these what I call polygons in between. And obviously a star has
Speaker A
I also played with the idea of calling it just "magic" at the moment.
Speaker A
still got the friendliness aspect to it. It could be a winning design. So that is another concept that I wanted to go into when ideulating. Another point of this project is not only that it has to work in 2D space, it actually has to work in
Speaker A
And that is another kettle of fish. The name might change. So stick around, subscribe if you want to watch more of this process as we go.
Speaker A
that's something that I love to work on. And again, it's I think the typography is a lot more important than the icons sometimes, especially today with brands because everyone's reading the name of these companies. Now, I went ahead and
Speaker A
One thing that every graphic designer or even creative professional needs is a website. It doesn't matter if you're big or small, get yourself a website. Recently, we've been working on our brand new one, and we've moved to a platform called Framer, who is sponsoring this video. Framer allows you as a graphic designer to not know any code, but to design websites like this.
Speaker A
around with the word magic a lot with this. And I ended up going to somewhere like this. These were with the pen at a strange angle. And I really love the way that we could create an M and this kind
Speaker A
It's mind-blowing what you can do inside of Framer. More so than that, you can fully customize it to be whatever you want. You don't have to learn that much. And to be honest, they have some amazing tutorials on their website. And also, if you just want to take a template, you can go and find a community template that you can get for free or t
Speaker A
make it even better. And that's what I did. I just got my iPad out. I took a picture on my phone and I went ahead and created this which is just a bit more of a refined version of the design itself
Speaker A
and I think it looked really nice especially with the star up here and from this point of creating all these different crazy you know sketches and everything else. I brought it into glyphs. So I do all my logo type stuff
Speaker A
in glyphs and you can see here that I'm basically halfway through it. But I've had this idea. What if we used the magic logo or this kind of logo as the logo type and then just use this M which is
Speaker A
really visually very interesting. What if we use this inside of a container to create that crazy look? So, let's just bring this guy in here. Increase the size of this and just do a really basic kind of icon look. Scale this all the
Speaker A
way down so we can see what it looks like. That to me kind of looks like a name. It also kind of looks like a squiggle as well. looks very creative.
Speaker A
It looks very free flowing. And for something that is supposed to be modern and magic, I think it could work really nicely. Especially if we just steal one of these guys and maybe mess around with them a little bit. If we can get like a
Speaker A
star, maybe shear it off a bit to the right. That looks a bit strange for now, but we'll see where it goes. But if we did something like this, we've got a pretty cool icon that works. And that's
Speaker A
where I'm at with the icon concepts. So throughout all of this, it all stemmed each and every one of these designs, I call them directional concepts because they're so different, but each and every one of these stemmed from one idea of a
Speaker A
star and how it could move and the tool that I use. So that's the behind the scenes of a real client project, how we ideulate for not just a logo, but what it means for the brand. What we try and
Speaker A
do is create meaningful shapes, meaningful connections for the brand that are completely different and we can show them different ways that we solve that problem. The next part is getting this all rounded up and put into kind of
Speaker A
a presentation, fleshing each one out a little bit more to give them a taste of what the brand looks like. Present that to them tomorrow and we'll get the feedback whether we have hit the nail on the head with some parts and also work
Speaker A
out what they really don't like, which is ultimately the most important part. So, subscribe if you haven't already, and I'll catch you in the next
Topics:logo designbrand identityIllustratoricon designtypographyAI brandingdesign process3D buttonmood boardFramer
