Brief before pixels
Great logos start with a written brief: what does the brand do, who is it for, what feeling should it evoke? Sketch 30 thumbnails on paper before touching Illustrator. The best ideas always come from the pencil; the software is just for finalising.
Set up the artboard
File → New → 1000×1000 px, RGB, 72 ppi for digital concepts. Add a 100 px safe margin guide. Use Smart Guides (Ctrl+U) for snapping and View → Pixel Preview to check rasterized clarity at small sizes.
Grids and golden ratios
View → Show Grid, set to 100 px with 10 subdivisions. The golden ratio (1:1.618) and circular grids make a mark feel balanced. Use the Polar Grid Tool to lay down construction circles before drawing your shapes.
Shape Builder for icons
Stack a few primitive shapes — circles, rectangles, triangles. Select all, press Shift+M for Shape Builder. Drag across overlapping regions to merge, Alt-drag to subtract. This is faster and more flexible than Pathfinder for complex symbols.
Pathfinder for precise booleans
Window → Pathfinder. Unite, Minus Front, Intersect and Exclude apply boolean operations destructively. Hold Alt to keep editable compound shapes — better for iterative logo design.
Type as logotype
Type → Find More Fonts via Adobe Fonts. Choose one display face for the wordmark, one neutral support face. Convert to outlines (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+O) only at the very end — keep editable type until the client signs off.
Color systems
Define brand colors as Global Swatches (double-click swatch → Global checkbox). Edit the swatch once and every artwork instance updates. Build CMYK, RGB and Pantone variants on separate artboards.
Export package
File → Export → Export for Screens to deliver PNG, SVG and PDF at multiple sizes in one click. For print, save EPS and PDF/X-1a. Include a one-page brand sheet showing clear space, minimum size and color values.