lemuriaOS
creativeb2bb2ccontent

Logo Direction Brief

Produce a strategic logo direction brief that gives designers or AI tools a precise creative spec — from concept to execution constraints — grounded in brand identity and positioning.

Context

Use this after brand identity is defined and before engaging a designer or logo tool. Most logo projects fail not in execution but in briefing — vague direction leads to endless revisions, subjective debates, and logos that look nice but don't connect to strategy. This skill produces the brief that makes logo creation efficient: it defines what the logo must communicate, how it should feel, what it must technically support, and how to objectively evaluate options.

Procedure

  1. Extract logo imperatives from brand identity. Review the brand personality, visual direction, and competitive landscape. Answer: What must the logo communicate in 1 second? What emotion should it trigger? What category should it signal (or deliberately break from)?

  2. Audit the competitive logo landscape. Collect 10-15 competitor and adjacent logos. Map patterns: color trends, symbol styles (abstract geometric, lettermark, icon, mascot, wordmark), typography weight, visual density. Decide: follow pattern (for instant category recognition) or break pattern (for differentiation).

  3. Define the logo concept direction.

    • Logo type recommendation: wordmark, lettermark, symbol + wordmark, abstract mark, emblem, or mascot. Justify the choice.
    • Concept territories: 2-3 distinct creative directions, each with a concept description, mood keywords, and reference inspiration.
    • Symbol/icon direction (if applicable): what the mark should reference or evoke — literal, abstract, or metaphorical.
    • Typography direction: serif, sans-serif, display, custom. Weight, spacing, case (all-caps, sentence, lowercase).

  4. Set the visual parameters.

    • Color: primary logo color(s), single-color version, reverse (white-on-dark) version.
    • Proportion: horizontal, stacked, square (icon-only) versions needed.
    • Complexity level: minimal (works at 16px) vs. detailed (primary use is large format).
    • Style: geometric, organic, hand-drawn, typographic, dimensional, flat.
    • Clear space and minimum size rules.

  5. Define exclusions (what the logo must NOT be).

    • Styles to avoid (e.g., "no gradients", "no clip art", "no generic globe/arrow/swoosh")
    • Competitor similarities to avoid
    • Trends to skip (e.g., "no generic AI brain imagery")
    • Cultural or contextual sensitivities

  6. Build the evaluation scorecard. Create criteria to objectively compare logo options:

    • Strategic fit: does it communicate the brand positioning?
    • Memorability: can someone draw it from memory?
    • Scalability: does it work at 16px and on a billboard?
    • Versatility: does it work in single-color, reversed, on different backgrounds?
    • Distinctiveness: is it clearly different from competitors?
    • Timelessness: will it age well (not tied to a trend)?

  7. Compile the logo direction brief. Package everything into a handoff document for designers.

Output Format

# Logo Direction Brief: [Brand Name]

## Strategic Foundation
- **Brand in one line:** [positioning statement]
- **Logo must communicate:** [1-second message]
- **Emotion to trigger:** [feeling]
- **Category signal:** [follow / break convention — why]

## Competitive Logo Landscape
| Competitor | Logo Type | Colors | Style | Pattern |
|-----------|----------|--------|-------|---------|
| [name] | [type] | [colors] | [style] | [pattern] |

**Our opportunity:** [differentiation angle]

## Logo Type
- **Recommended:** [wordmark / lettermark / symbol + wordmark / abstract / emblem / mascot]
- **Rationale:** [why this type fits the brand]

## Concept Territories

### Territory A: [Name]
- **Concept:** [description]
- **Mood:** [keywords]
- **Symbol direction:** [what the mark evokes]
- **Reference inspiration:** [non-logo visual references]

### Territory B: [Name]
- **Concept:** [description]
- **Mood:** [keywords]
- **Symbol direction:** [what the mark evokes]
- **Reference inspiration:** [non-logo visual references]

### Territory C: [Name]
- **Concept:** [description]
- **Mood:** [keywords]
- **Symbol direction:** [what the mark evokes]
- **Reference inspiration:** [non-logo visual references]

## Typography Direction
- **Style:** [serif / sans-serif / display / custom]
- **Weight:** [light / regular / medium / bold]
- **Case:** [uppercase / lowercase / sentence]
- **Spacing:** [tight / normal / wide]
- **Character:** [geometric / humanist / grotesque / slab]

## Visual Parameters
| Parameter | Specification |
|-----------|--------------|
| Primary colors | [colors + hex] |
| Single-color version | Required / Not required |
| Reverse version | Required (white on dark) |
| Horizontal lockup | Required |
| Stacked lockup | Required / Optional |
| Square icon (app/favicon) | Required |
| Minimum size | [Npx / Nmm] |
| Clear space | [rule] |
| Complexity | [minimal / moderate / detailed] |
| Style | [geometric / organic / typographic / etc.] |

## Exclusions (What It Must NOT Be)
- ❌ [specific exclusion with reason]
- ❌ [specific exclusion with reason]
- ❌ [specific exclusion with reason]
- ❌ [specific exclusion with reason]

## Evaluation Scorecard
| Criterion | Weight | Description |
|-----------|--------|-------------|
| Strategic fit | 25% | Communicates positioning |
| Memorability | 20% | Drawable from memory |
| Scalability | 15% | Works 16px to billboard |
| Versatility | 15% | Single-color, reversed, backgrounds |
| Distinctiveness | 15% | Different from competitors |
| Timelessness | 10% | Not trend-dependent |

## Deliverable Requirements
- [ ] Primary logo (SVG + PNG)
- [ ] Horizontal lockup
- [ ] Stacked lockup
- [ ] Square icon / favicon
- [ ] Single-color version
- [ ] Reverse (white on dark) version
- [ ] Brand mark only (no text)
- [ ] Color specifications (hex, RGB, CMYK)

QA Rubric (scored)

  • Strategic connection (0-5): logo direction traces clearly to brand positioning and identity, not just aesthetics.
  • Specificity (0-5): brief is precise enough to evaluate logo submissions objectively — no room for "I just don't feel it."
  • Exclusion clarity (0-5): what the logo must NOT be is as clear as what it should be.
  • Technical completeness (0-5): all required formats, sizes, and use cases are specified.

Examples (good/bad)

  • Good: "Brand: Lumio (AI-powered website scanner). Logo must communicate: clarity, illumination, insight. Type: symbol + wordmark. Territory A: 'Lens' — a geometric light-refraction shape suggesting scanning and revealing. Territory B: 'Beacon' — a radiating point of light suggesting guidance and signal. Typography: modern geometric sans-serif (Inter/Satoshi family), medium weight, lowercase. Exclusions: no generic magnifying glass, no circuit board patterns, no AI brain imagery, no gradients (flat design). Must work at 16px favicon."
  • Bad: "Make it modern and clean. Blue would be nice. Something techy but also friendly. We like Apple's logo." (No strategic grounding, contradictory direction, no exclusions, no technical specs, not evaluable)

Variants

  • Refresh variant: update an existing logo while preserving brand equity — define what to keep vs. what to change.
  • Icon-first variant: product logo where the app icon/favicon is the primary use case — design from 16px up, not down.
  • Multi-brand variant: logo system for a brand architecture — define visual relationship between parent and sub-brands.
  • AI-generation variant: brief optimized for AI image tools (Midjourney, DALL-E) — includes prompt engineering guidance for logo generation.