freelance

From my post in r/logodesign

Patreon is the latest brand to get dragged by the internet for its new logo design. At the risk of catching a few strays, I'm here to defend it, just a bit, especially in the context of this sub.

Is the logo marking basically just a blob? Yes. Is the accompanying philosophy maybe a little pretentious and wacky? For sure. It reminds me of Pepsi's logo rebrand doc

But the Patreon logo is fundamentally a good design, in my opinion (which I try my best to form using guidance from great logo designers). Here's why:

It's identifiable, scalable, and highly adaptable.

Identifiable: The marking is as simple and solid as possible without feeling ambiguous. We might see a kidney bean now, but that will pass. Over the years, the marking will be unmistakably “Patreon.” Same with the custom(?) lettermark. It complements the marking but is distinct enough to stand on its own.

I see so many designs here that first aim to be clever, adding unnecessary ornamentation at the expense of recall ability.

Scaleable: When I think of scaleability, I think of the Twitter logo. You can tell that the designers worked hardon keeping its shape when small. Patreon's marking, lettermark, and combination mark are identifiable at any size. The marking will even look good as a favicon (32x32). How many logos can claim that?

Adaptable: Patreon's brand guide covers multiple use cases for its logo. All work well. Adaptability is primarily dependent on the first two points above. For example, the ability to use the logo as a marking, icon, lettermark, and combo mark without losing its identity means it'll adapt to any medium, from an app icon to a billboard.

The logo also looks good monochromatic. I don't know what they're doing with the animated blob thing, but it doesn't lose any detail as a solid color. That's important for formats that restrict the use of color, or when the logo isn't the focal point of the marketing message.

Conclusion

Patreon's logo is just very different from the geometric outline shapes we're used to. It's solid and organic. It's anti-brutalist and anti-Scandinavian (design style, not the people.) Maybe it's the start of a whole new design era. Who knows. Organic shapes and ornamentation are already popping up on website designs.

None of this is to say that personal taste doesn't account for anything. A logo can be fundamentally “correct” and still look ugly. Maybe that's the case with Patreon. But personally, if I'm aiming for anything in a design, it's the three things mentioned above. These are targets too important to miss.

It happened on a Friday morning.

I stood on the roof of the parking garage with my box of belongings, and less one employee ID card. My eyes scanned the building for my office window as if to confirm that it too had vanished.

I didn't feel bitter. Not yet, at least. I even remember a surprised feeling of appreciation for the brutalist architecture I had loathed just the day before.

I did not want to cry. I did not want to laugh. I didn't want to fling the tie from my neck and belt out a “Go fuck yourselves!” Any urge for cathartic release simply wasn't there.

I just wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there forever.

Here’s the part of the story when I tell you that being fired was the “best thing to ever happen to me”! Let me be clear — No the fuck it wasn’t. I was devastated.

Sure, I started my own business that I still have today. Most years, that business even pays my bills. But I'm not so big on finding purpose in pain. Sometimes, everything is just the worst, Kenneth, as Liz Lemon would say.

I made the best of a shitty situation. Freelance was always in me. I would've found it sans-pink slip.

My messy relationship with freelance

Freelance doesn't grant me carte blanche for all aspects of my life, but it bought me some time when I desperately needed to figure out who I was. For that I'm grateful.

It has since allowed me to work on my own terms. For that I am luckily.

I have ADHD and hypersensitivity. Both have been a fairly destructive force in my life. Particularly in a corporate office setting and especially while undiagnosed for so long.

(Finishing this soon — From Jason)

The author is me, Jason.

Hey, my name is Jason Velazquez and I write the Freelance blog, plus two others.

I'm a freelancer— writer, information architect, and web developer. Pixel Riot is my freelance business. It's going through a bit of a transitional period at the moment, as I shift from offering services to creating digital products. Check out my current projects page.

I have ADHD. I have hypersensitivity. I have a lot of thoughts. That doesn't have anything to do about anything. I just want to get better at giving folks a heads up.

Some would label me an internet troublemaker. They'd be mostly correct. But, I've been slowly moving away from centralized social media and towards the federated web. (Twitter is dead; can you believe it?)

I enjoy curating lists—an activity that feeds my brain— and sharing those lists with my friends, unsolicited. I also have a passion for well-designed things. One of my favorite books is The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.

I'm a solo traveler, pastry sommelier, and admirer of the French Goodbye. I like full-grain leather weekend bags, libraries, and 90s New York rap. My favorite hobby is collecting note-taking apps.

My life’s goal is to own a small goat farm in Montana. There, I'll write a mediocre Magic Realism novel. I'll grow a long, patchy beard and wear a tattered wool sweater. As the years pass, I slowly slip into mild insanity.

One day, while at the market, I notice a newspaper with the headline “World Ending! Zombies Invade!” When I arrive back home, a child is standing at my door. I learn that the child has the zombie cure. I know what I must do. I embark on a hero's journey, trekking across country to save the world. Will I succeed? Only God knows.

Anyway, that's an original story idea. Please don't steal it.

If my writing has provided value to your life, you can buy me a treat. My favorite treat is a venti Dragon Drink. Here's my Venmo.

Or, you can just say hi. I hope you enjoy your time here. Take care.

PS— I always enjoy receiving a nice email from someone. Say hi to me anytime!

---

How to Commission a Logo Design: A Practical Guide for Non-Designers (working title)

If you're a freelancer starting your new business, you'll need a logo. The problem is most people don't know how to project manage a logo design. They are often left with designs that don't fit their needs and file formats they don't understand.

The How to Commission a Logo Design guide attempts to solve this problem.