You can find logos all around you, but creating a logo that embodies your company’s ideologies while being pretty to look at in a single graphic is no simple task. When we started designing the sqrpxl logo we knew it wouldn’t be easy, but to guide us through the process we wanted the logo to adhere to the following five basic principles:

1 The sqrpxl logo had to be simple.

The term ‘Minimalism’ emerged a half-century ago and was marked by monochrome colours and led by names like Robert Morris, Carl Andre and Donald Judd. It’s all about stripping away complexity and leaving designs as simple as possible. These days more and more companies are rebranding with cleaner and sleeker logos. This logo on HP’s new line of laptops illustrates the point very well:

With sqrpxl it was clear that we wanted a logo that could symbolise the company’s name while remaining as simple as possible. All of our early logo options comprised of squared letters and the use of squares to signify the pixels that make up digital screens. Here are some of our early logo options:

As you can see the final logotype remained similar to the logo with the red pixel above. For the final version we simply squared off the letters of “sqr” and implemented the pixels on “pxl” to have the two parts of the logo represent the words it consists of!

2 The sqrpxl logo had to be memorable.

In a sea of other companies it is often very hard to create a logo that is memorable and I think in many cases there is no sure-fire way to do just that. There are however steps you can take to increase your chances of the logo sticking, and keeping your logo simple, like mentioned above, is a great way to achieve that.

In terms of colour, we kept it simple with only a few shades of a primary blue colour and then a neutral colour – black or white – depending on the background the logo would be used on.

3 The sqrpxl logo had to be timeless.

This one is interesting. Pixels are the basic unit of programmable color on a computer display or in a computer image and it has been so for quite some time. They are basically the building blocks of almost anything that is displayed digitally. That is exactly what we wanted the logo to represent.

It might seem silly at first, but we were drawn to the colour blue because it simply felt like the most ‘futuristic’ colour we could think of.

Even though we looked to the past for the inspiration behind our name and logo, we also looked into the future for inspiration and that’s where the colour comes in! It might seem silly at first, but we were drawn to the colour blue because it simply felt like the most ‘futuristic’ colour we could think of. Since we all agreed on the colour I started wondering if it could just be a coincidence that we felt that way about it, but as it turns out it might not be as crazy as it sounds. If you have the time, I recommend reading this excellent post by 99% Invisible about the colour blue and its connotations to the future in Sci-Fi. (By the way, if you don’t know about it, 99% Invisible is an excellent podcast about all things architecture and design, I listen to it religiously.)

4 The sqrpxl logo had to be versatile.

By building the logo out of basic squares and limiting our colour palette, we have kept our options open for how those elements can come together to symbolise the company in the future.

For instance, a square consisting of 4 smaller squares that use the 3 shades of blue we use in the logo can become synonymous with the company if used effectively.

5 The sqrpxl logo had to be appropriate.

Bearing all of the aforementioned points in mind, as a company planning to work primarily with digital media I think our logo and its ties to all things digital should be perceived as appropriate.

At the end of the day, there are many different approaches you can take when designing a logo. Be creative, but remember to keep it simple!