Personal Branding and Logo Design
Design Overview
This project focused on creating a personal brand identity that visually represents who I am as a designer. The goal was to develop a cohesive visual system built around my name, Lauren Sawhook, that could be used consistently across professional platforms such as LinkedIn and my portfolio. The final outcome includes a logo, brand guidelines, and branded digital assets such as a LinkedIn banner and updated headshot.
Ideation and Sketching
The process began with hand-drawn sketches exploring different ways to structure and stylize my name. I experimented with a variety of layouts, lettering styles, and compositions, including ways to emphasize my initials “LS.”
Sketching allowed me to quickly generate many ideas and test different visual directions before moving into digital design. Some concepts focused on simple typographic arrangements, while others explored more decorative or stylized approaches to the lettering.
Digital Ideation
After identifying the most promising concepts from my sketches, I moved into Adobe Illustrator to refine the ideas digitally. This stage involved recreating my sketches as vector graphics and experimenting with multiple variations of the logo.
I explored different letterforms, spacing, and compositions to determine which designs felt the most balanced and recognizable. Illustrator also allowed me to test different color combinations and stylistic adjustments to further develop the brand’s visual personality.
Final Logo
Through several rounds of iteration, I developed a final logo that represents a balance between creativity and professionalism. The design uses bold lettering paired with a bright, playful color palette to create a visual identity that feels energetic and approachable.
The final logo emphasizes clarity and memorability while maintaining a unique style that reflects my personality as a designer.
Branding Guidelines
To ensure consistency across all applications, I created a set of branding guidelines. These guidelines define the core elements of the brand, including:
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Color palette
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Typography
Establishing these rules ensures that the brand remains cohesive across different platforms and design materials.
Brand Applications
To bring the brand identity to life, I applied the final visual system to several professional assets. This included designing a LinkedIn banner and updating my headshot to align with the brand’s visual style.
Custom illustrations and flowing line graphics were incorporated into the banner to reinforce the playful and creative tone of the brand. Using the same colors and visual elements across these assets helps create a cohesive and recognizable online presence.
Final Outcome
This project demonstrates my full design process, from initial brainstorming and sketching to digital refinement and final brand application. By exploring multiple concepts and iterating on the strongest ideas, I was able to develop a cohesive personal brand identity that reflects both my creativity and professionalism as a designer.