44—You don’t need a personal logo.

Don’t worry. You don’t need a personal logo. Why not? Because your name is unique enough. Do I have a logo? Hell no. I don’t even think about it. Really. If you went through my notebooks, the most recent “Lucas Czarnecki” logo you would find is from 2012. The fact is, the likelihood of you creating a logo that is simple, effective, original, and telegraphs everything you want to say about yourself is nearly impossible. And that isn’t a slight against your skills, it’s simply the truth. Not to mention, you don’t actually need one. Unless you’re pulling multi-million dollar design contracts (in which case, why are you here?) your branding could be best served with type and color.

Here’s my personal branding process, summarized:

List the three core traits that you would like to be known for: are you honest, fun, and cutting edge? Are you artsy, whimsical, and delicate? (These are more about your work than you, but you’ll see how it extends to you in a moment.)

Once you have your characteristics listed out, here’s what you do:

Pick a typeface (or two) that feel like those characteristics: elegant? Go with Bodoni or Didot. Modern? Go with DIN or Avenir. Keep in mind, these are just examples, not exhaustive lists.

Next, pick a color (or two) that feel like those characteristics: Cutting edge? Green. Modern? Red. Artsy? Pastels. You get the idea.

Once you’ve done that, feel free to expand into other areas. What kind of layouts do you want to use? What sizes of type? What sizes of paper?

Then you can take these into your life. For example, in my personal brand, I use Akzidenz-Grotesk in print, AktivGrotesk on the web, layered grey rectangles, and little-to-no ornament. In my life, I wear all grey (no ornament), drive a grey car, and live very stoically (almost as if Akzidenz-Grotesk were a person.)