logo-design-guide

name logo-design-guide description Logo design principles and AI image generation best practices for creating logos. Covers logo types, prompting techniques, scalability rules, and iteration workflows. Use for: brand identity, startup logos, app icons, favicons, logo concepts. Triggers: logo design, create logo, brand logo, logo generation, ai logo, logo maker, icon design, brand mark, logo concept, startup logo, app icon logo allowed-tools Bash(belt *) Install the belt CLI skill: npx skills add belt-sh/cli Logo Design Guide Design effective logos with AI image generation via inference.sh CLI. Quick Start Requires inference.sh CLI ( belt ). Install instructions belt login # Generate a logo concept belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{ "prompt": "flat vector logo of a mountain peak with a sunrise, minimal geometric style, single color, clean lines, white background", "width": 1024, "height": 1024 }' Logo Types Type Description When to Use Example Wordmark Company name styled as logo Strong brand name, short (< 10 chars) Google, Coca-Cola Lettermark Initials only Long company name, formal IBM, HBO, CNN Pictorial Recognizable icon/symbol Universal brand, works without text Apple, Twitter bird Abstract Geometric/non-literal shape Tech companies, conceptual brands Nike swoosh, Pepsi Mascot Character illustration Friendly brands, food/sports KFC Colonel, Pringles Combination Icon + wordmark together New brands needing both recognition and name Burger King, Adidas Critical AI Limitation AI image generators cannot reliably render text. Letters will be distorted, misspelled, or garbled. Strategy: Generate the icon/symbol only with AI Add text/wordmark in a design tool (Figma, Canva, Illustrator) Or use a combination approach: AI icon + manually set typography Prompting for Logos Keywords That Work flat vector logo, simple minimal icon, single color silhouette, geometric logo mark, clean lines, negative space design, line art logo, flat design icon, minimalist symbol Keywords That Fail ❌ photorealistic logo (contradiction — logos aren't photos) ❌ 3D rendered logo (too complex, won't scale down) ❌ gradient logo (inconsistent results, hard to reproduce) ❌ logo with text "Company Name" (text rendering fails) Prompt Structure flat vector logo of [subject], [style], [color constraint], [background], [additional detail] Examples by Logo Type # Abstract geometric belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{ "prompt": "flat vector abstract logo, interlocking hexagonal shapes forming a letter S, minimal geometric style, single navy blue color, white background, clean sharp edges" }' # Pictorial nature belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{ "prompt": "flat vector logo of a fox head in profile, geometric faceted style, orange and white, minimal clean lines, white background, negative space design" }' # Mascot style belt app run bytedance/seedream-4-5 --input '{ "prompt": "friendly cartoon owl mascot logo, simple flat illustration, wearing graduation cap, purple and gold colors, white background, clean vector style" }' # Tech abstract belt app run xai/grok-imagine-image-pro --input '{ "prompt": "minimal abstract logo mark, interconnected nodes forming a brain shape, line art style, single teal color, white background, tech startup aesthetic" }' Scalability Rules A logo must work at every size: Context Size What Must Work Favicon 16x16 px Silhouette recognizable App icon 1024x1024 px Full detail visible Social avatar 400x400 px Clear at a glance Business card ~1 inch Clean print reproduction Billboard 10+ feet No pixelation, simple enough Scalability Checklist Recognizable as a 16px favicon (squint test) Works in single color (black on white) Works inverted (white on black) No tiny details that disappear at small sizes No thin lines that vanish when shrunk Clear silhouette without color Color Guidelines Maximum 2-3 colors for the primary logo Must work in single color (black, white, or brand primary) Consider color psychology : Blue: trust, professional (finance, tech, healthcare) Red: energy, urgency (food, entertainment, retail) Green: growth, nature (health, sustainability, finance) Orange: friendly, creative (startups, youth brands) Purple: luxury, wisdom (beauty, education) Black: premium, elegant (fashion, luxury, tech) Test on both light and dark backgrounds Iteration Workflow # Step 1: Generate 5-10 broad concepts for i in {1..5}; do belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{ "prompt": "flat vector logo of a lighthouse, minimal geometric, single color, white background" }' --no-wait done # Step 2: Refine the best concept with variations belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{ "prompt": "flat vector logo of a geometric lighthouse with light beam rays, minimal line art, navy blue, white background, negative space design" }' # Step 3: Generate at high resolution for final belt app run bytedance/seedream-4-5 --input '{ "prompt": "flat vector logo of a geometric lighthouse with radiating light beams, minimal clean design, navy blue single color, pure white background", "size": "2K" }' # Step 4: Upscale for production use belt app run falai/topaz-image-upscaler --input '{ "image": "path/to/best-logo.png", "scale": 4 }' Common Mistakes Mistake Problem Fix Too much detail Loses clarity at small sizes Simplify to essential shapes Relies on color Fails in B&W contexts Design in black first Text in AI generation Garbled/misspelled letters Generate icon only, add text manually Trendy effects (glows, shadows) Dates quickly, reproduction issues Stick to flat, timeless design Too many colors Hard to reproduce, expensive printing Max 2-3 colors Asymmetric without purpose Looks unfinished Use intentional asymmetry or stay balanced File Format Delivery Format Use Case SVG Scalable vector, web, editing PNG (transparent) Digital use, presentations PNG (white bg) Documents, email signatures ICO / Favicon Website favicon (16, 32, 48px) High-res PNG (4096px+) Print, billboards Note: AI generates raster images (PNG). For true vector SVG, use the AI output as a reference and trace in a vector tool, or use AI-to-SVG conversion tools. Related Skills npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-image-generation npx skills add inference-sh/skills@prompt-engineering Browse all apps: belt app list