When does a hand-drawn logo make sense for a brand?

In this case, a Barcelona-based creative studio founded by a team with decades of combined experience approached me wanting a hand-drawn identity that would feel unexpected for a team like them, a way to signal creativity and distinction.

They came with a strong concept: the sediment at the bottom of a wine glass. What stays after everything else fades. A nod to what good work leaves behind after years of experience.

The entire identity is built on hand-drawn illustration, so the logo needed to do something different. With so much personality already living in the visuals, we went for a logotype with weight and presence, something that could anchor the brand and communicate their expertise.

The hand is still there. Just in a different form.

Do you think hand-drawn elements are being used more as a trend than as an intentional choice?

Looks super cool! Love the craft behind every branded element, from type to illustration. I believe it makes the brand very strong and consistent

The Variable logo design process went in many directions before we arrived at the final version. The initial brand name was different and the team had done some early design exploration through AI. I began by expanding on their present vision, but the more we reviewed that design direction, the more the founders realized they wanted to explore something new. After a company name change to Variable, we started from scratch with original concepts. After a fresh discovery session, we arrived at the handwritten wordmark. Early on we had a toy block graphic element that accompanied the logo text, but shifted that to the hand-drawn triangle graphic element to maintain minimalism while still depicting early education.

This looks incredibly professional 🔥