Skills / Logo basics
Logo basics
Make a simple honest logo for a real project. Type-based first, exported at the sizes they need, with a clear stopping point. Use when they say "I need a logo", "design a logo for X", or want an avatar for a project.
Use this skill. Nothing to install.
Don't have an agent? · Raw file: skills/logo-basics.md
Watch the first two minutes
This is how a session goes, including the part everyone is afraid to say out loud. Click through it.
Scripted example of a real session.
I can't draw, so how do I get a logo?
By typing. The skill starts from the honest fact that most good logos for projects this size are a name set carefully in the right font: think of how many wordmarks you recognize with no picture attached. Its rules ban the shortcuts that look bad later: no gradients, no clip art, no AI-generated images pasted in. If a simple mark makes sense, it comes from your initial or one geometric shape that means something true about the project, and if it doesn't work within three rounds, the wordmark ships instead. Everything gets tested at 32 pixels before it is accepted.
What you end up with
Real files applied to a real surface, plus a record so the logo can be reproduced. Here is the closing record for the club above.
- A wordmark and a lettermark, no illustration. The name set well covers the header; the initial in a square covers the avatar. Nothing here required drawing.
- The 32px test is the gatekeeper. Decoration that dies at avatar size gets cut before you get attached to it.
- Files at the sizes the surface needs. One master SVG, then exactly the PNGs the first real surface asks for.
- Applied before the session ends. A logo in a folder is a maybe; a logo on the live avatar is done. The comment makes it reproducible later.
Questions people actually ask
Is this free?
The skill is free, no account, no catch. The fonts are free too: it works from Google Fonts. The agent you paste it into may or may not be; Gemini has the widest free tier, and ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot free plans can also run it.
Can I get a mascot or something illustrated?
Not from this skill; it says so up front. The scope is a wordmark or a simple geometric mark that works small and ships today. If you want an illustrated mascot later, you can commission one, but the wordmark you make now is what goes on the avatar, the header, and the README in the meantime.
Why not just generate a logo image with AI?
The skill's rules ban pasted AI-generated images, along with gradients and clip art. Generated logo images tend to fail exactly where logos live: at small sizes, in one color, and reproduced consistently. A typed wordmark passes all three.
What files do I actually get?
One master SVG in black, a white-on-transparent variant, PNGs at 512, 128, and 32 pixels at minimum, the exact avatar size if you named a platform, and a square avatar crop when the mark differs from the wordmark. They land in your project's assets folder, and the logo gets applied to the real surface before the session ends.
How do I know when it's done?
Three checks from the skill: it is legible tiny, you would put it on the real surface today, and neither you nor the agent can name a concrete problem with it. Past that point, more rounds make logos worse, so it stops.
Where to go from here
Give the logo a home:
Lock the look down:
Curious? Read the full skill — the exact instructions your agent gets
---
name: logo-basics
category: design
description: Make a simple honest logo for a real project. Type-based first, exported at the sizes they need, with a clear stopping point. Use when they say "I need a logo", "design a logo for X", or want an avatar for a project.
---
# logo-basics
Make a logo with someone for a real thing they run — a
project, club, team, or channel. The target is a wordmark or simple
mark that looks deliberate, works small, and ships today as files
they can actually use. Not a brand identity, not a mascot
illustration. Most good logos for small projects are just a name set
well.
## Start with type
1. Ask what the logo is for, where it will appear first (GitHub
avatar, site header, jersey, sticker), and one word for how it
should feel (serious, playful, technical, warm).
2. Set the name in 4–6 free fonts (Google Fonts) as an SVG or HTML
sheet, side by side, all black on white. Include at least one
bold sans, one serif, and one mono. Let them pick; give a
one-line read on each ("the mono says software", "the serif says
established").
3. Refine the winner: tighten letterspacing, try lowercase vs caps,
try cutting the name to a short form. Small moves, shown as
variants, their pick each round.
## Maybe a mark
Only if they need a square avatar or the name is too long: try the
initial letter in the chosen font inside a plain square or circle,
or a single geometric shape that means something true about the
project. If a mark takes more than three rounds to look right, drop
it and use the wordmark or lettermark — say why: a plain mark used
consistently beats a clever mark used once.
Rules that hold regardless: one color plus black and white versions,
no gradients, no clip art, no AI-generated images pasted in. It must
survive at 32 pixels — test it there before accepting it.
## When to stop
Stop when it is legible tiny, they would put it on the real surface
today, and neither of you can name a concrete problem with it. More
rounds past that point make logos worse. If they keep asking for
additions, show the current version at 32px next to the decorated
one at 32px and let that settle it.
## Export
Produce the actual files, from one master SVG:
- `logo.svg` (master, black), plus white-on-transparent variant
- PNG at the sizes their first surface needs (512, 128, 32 at
minimum; the exact avatar size if they named a platform)
- A square avatar crop if the mark differs from the wordmark
Put them in the project repo under `assets/` or wherever their
project keeps files, and apply the logo to the real surface — site
header, README, or profile — before ending. Note the font name and
hex color in a one-line comment next to the files so it can be
reproduced. If they want the full color-and-font lockdown, suggest
brand-kit next.
## Done
- Master SVG, required PNG sizes, monochrome variants, and reproduction notes saved
- Mark remains legible at the smallest real use and works on light and dark surfaces
- Logo is applied to one real surface and the person approved the final choice