Logothon: Designing Logos for Open Source Projects

Author:libregd

Why I Started This

1. As a designer who is currently learning programming, I’ve benefited a lot from open source projects, tutorials, books, templates, and tools on GitHub.
   This challenge is not only a way to improve my own design skills but also a way to give something back to the community.

2. Logos add recognition, a sense of formality, and even emotion to a project.
   By creating logos, I also got a deeper understanding of different programming concepts and domains.

My Process

1. License first – projects with GPL or other strong open source licenses come first. The more aligned with the “open source spirit,” the higher the priority.
2. If a project already has a mature logo in use, I skip it — other projects need design support more.
3. I prefer projects where the logo request feels challenging, such as domains or industries I’ve never worked in before.
4. I review the project’s README, website (if available), and the issue discussion. I also use AI tools to help me understand technical concepts that are new to me.
5. Next, I look for inspiration. I define some keywords based on my understanding of the project and then expand them into related ideas. On average, I collect around 100 reference images per project.
6. I sketch rough ideas, then refine them in Affinity Designer as precise vector drawings.
7. I export the designs as SVG, prepare mockups in Figma, and create preview images.
8. I open a new issue to share the logo proposal and wait for feedback.
9. If the proposal is accepted, I follow up with a PR as agreed.

Submitted Proposals

NekoCrypt

issue: Logo 设计提案 #4

nwb2bids

issue: Logo Contribution: Proposed a Visual Identity Design #83

open-cli

issue: We need a logo #31

lolcat

issue: We need a logo! #33

earthnet.tech

issue: 🪐 Logo Proposal for EarthNet #28

ctf-primer

issue: Logo Proposal for ctf-primer #62

kustomize

issue: Proposal: Logo design for Kustomize #5986

chapel-lang/TSC

issue: Logo Proposal for Chapel #13

Challenges Along the Way

1. Some projects looked very interesting but had no license specified, so I had to skip them.
2. A few “need logo” issues weren’t serious requests — just casual comments. Larger projects usually had more contributors confirming whether the need was real, which was helpful as an outsider.
3. In some cases, maintainers didn’t respond. Later I found that even though the issue was new, the project itself had been inactive for a year.

Reflections on Workflow

1. During the inspiration phase, AI tools were especially useful in helping me expand keywords — particularly since English is not my native language.
   For example, starting from the word book, I could expand to ideas like discipline, persistence, wisdom, and growth.
2. The most challenging part was digging deeper into the project itself. For example, with Kustomize, my understanding kept evolving, which meant I had to throw away earlier sketches. I ended up collecting 169 reference images for that project alone, because I changed direction several times.

Results and Next Steps

• In one week, I submitted 8 logo proposals.

  • 2 maintainers invited me to submit PRs.
  • 1 is still in discussion/iteration.
  • 1 was rejected.
  • 4 haven’t received a response yet.

• Looking ahead, I’m considering:

  • Running Logothon as a recurring activity — it helps me grow while helping others.
  • Expanding beyond logos to UI/UX or documentation covers (maybe that would become a Designathon).
  • Writing a small “Open Source Design Guide” based on this process for others to follow.

Thanks for reading. If you’re maintaining a project that needs a logo, feel free to open an issue — maybe it’ll be part of the next Logothon.