I led a “Design Your Own Logo” workshop when my son was in 1st grade and what a joy it was! I started the overview of logo design by asking the 1st graders if they knew what a logo was. I received a range of entertaining answers from “It’s a picture of an animal or person,” to “It’s something you see on YouTube” (both answers are quite accurate).
Then I posted examples of familiar logos on the blackboard, which got quite an enthusiastic response (“I know that one! Xbox! Cheerios! I love Target! Nike!”) This generation clearly has a handle on brand recognition.
We reviewed the logos and made observations, such as how many of them use the color red, how some of them only use typography while others use an icon without text (Xbox), and how some of them use an illustration or photographic image as part of their logo (Cheerios).
After that, we jumped into creating a logo. The logo design worksheet I created included a few simple logo design guidelines:
The kids had many questions for me, such as: How many colors can I use? Can I use all the colors? Do I have to use my name? Can I make up a name? Can my logo be the YouTube logo? The latter inspired a lively conversation about copyright and trademark infringement—with my son commenting, “No, you’ll go to jail!” (Clearly, he has been influenced by his graphic designer mom.)
What was interesting was observing how different each of the kids’ design process was. Some kids jumped right in, with one even asking if he could create two or three logos. My son was one of the kids who spent most of his time conceptualizing, wanting to get his design just right before adding color (He even skipped recess to finish his logo. Now that’s dedication!) Overall, they were all so excited to show me how they were implementing the design principles we just learned (which made the inner teacher in me so happy!)
Watching thirty 6- and 7-year-olds bring their logo to life was truly the highlight of my work week. It reminded me that design doesn’t always have to be so serious. Sometimes you just need to play.
Contact me for my Design Your Own Logo worksheet PDF. It’s perfect for classroom, Girl Scouts, or home use (probably best for kindergarten through 4th grade). You can also share examples of my logo design work with them.
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