Logo Design & Mascot Design
I design custom logos, brand mascots and character-based visual identities for companies, associations, NGOs, institutions, events and independent businesses. Some projects are large and public-facing. Others are smaller, local and highly practical. In each case, the aim is the same: to create an identity that is clear, memorable and genuinely useful.
This can involve a standalone logo, a custom mascot, or a broader visual identity system combining character, typography, colour and supporting assets for print, signage, merchandise, editorial use, presentations and digital platforms. Everything is created specifically for the brief — no templates, no stock artwork, no generic shortcuts.
My background includes identity and mascot work for international brands, public institutions and major events, but I also work directly with smaller organisations, local businesses and cultural initiatives that need strong visual identity work without going through a large agency structure.
What this work can include
- Logo design — custom brand marks, typographic identities and scalable vector logo systems
- Mascot design — memorable characters for brands, institutions, public communication, campaigns and education
- Character-based identity systems — visual languages that combine mascot, typography, colour and repeatable assets
- Event and campaign branding — logos, characters and supporting visuals for exhibitions, championships, festivals and public-facing initiatives
- Production-ready identity assets — artwork prepared for signage, uniforms, merchandise, editorial layouts, websites, presentations and animation
The scale can vary considerably — from a local restaurant, municipal initiative or nonprofit campaign to a national association or internationally visible event — but the design thinking remains the same: originality, clarity, recognisability and practical usability.
Selected identity and mascot projects
Here are a few examples ranging from internationally visible commissions to more focused identity work for organisations, publications and brands that needed a distinctive visual language.
Google Doodles
First official Google Doodle artist in 2000. I was the first Google Doodle artist and also created the original Sydney 2000 Olympic Google Doodles, including the Kangaroodle character integrated into the Google logo across multiple sports themes. It remains a strong example of how a simple mascot-based concept can give a brand flexibility, recognition and personality across a wider campaign system.
FIS Alpine Ski World Championships 2003
Official event mascot for the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in St. Moritz. The character was developed for broad public use across signage, staff clothing, merchandise, event material and promotional communication. It is a good example of mascot design that needed to work clearly across many formats and audiences.
Expo.02 — Swiss National Exposition
Commissioned as lead mascot designer for Switzerland’s national exhibition, creating the main mascot and supporting characters for the four themed exhibition sites or “arteplages”. This project shows how mascot work can function not only as decoration, but as part of a coherent public-facing identity system.
Pfiffikus — Si SHK
Updating a classic character for Si SHK magazine in Germany so it could work effectively across digital campaigns, social media and educational publishing. This kind of project is a reminder that mascot design is often about careful adaptation and continuity, not only about inventing something new from zero.
Oskar — seele GmbH
Oskar was developed as a full-body vector character for one of Europe’s leading façade engineering firms. The brief was to make workplace safety communication more human, clear and memorable across training manuals, on-site signage, presentations and animated material. It is a strong example of mascot design used for internal communication rather than consumer branding.
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft
Full-body vector character of Joseph von Fraunhofer, created for Germany’s leading applied research organisation. The illustration was designed to work across print, web, merchandise and motion-based use, showing how illustrated brand assets can support institutional communication without becoming visually heavy or overcomplicated.
Johnny Mundo
Brand identity work for wrestler and performer John Hennigan, including vector-based character art, illustrated portraits, typographic marks and merchandise graphics. This is a useful example of identity work built around personality, fandom and performance rather than a conventional company structure.
AN2V, France
Strategic rebranding for AN2V, France’s national association for video protection and smart city security. The project included a 3D logo system, animated logo versions and an editorial identity framework for the organisation’s publication PIXEL. It is a good example of a more formal identity brief where clarity, consistency and flexible application mattered more than visual spectacle.
Practical identity design for different kinds of clients
I bring the same seriousness to a smaller local commission as to a large public-facing brief. Some clients need a complete mascot and identity system. Others need a single strong logo, a character for a campaign, or a clearer visual structure for communication that already exists.
The process is adapted to the real scale of the project. That may mean a focused logo commission for a local business, a mascot for an educational or nonprofit initiative, or a broader system that has to work across signage, merchandise, editorial layouts, internal communication and digital use.
- Production-ready vector artwork for print, signage, digital and merchandise use
- Clear licensing terms adapted to the actual scale of use
- Direct collaboration from first sketches through final delivery
- Approach tailored to real budgets and real needs, whether the client is a local shop, an NGO, an association, an institution or a larger brand
If you need a logo, mascot or character-based identity and want the work to feel specific, practical and well resolved, feel free to get in touch.
Radio Interview: The Art & Strategy of Professional Mascot Design
Below is a feature interview with Swiss national broadcaster SRF3 about the creative process behind professional mascot design: briefing, concept development, case studies and what helps a character connect with audiences across different contexts. Language: Swiss German.
Click any image to enlarge
Logo and Mascot Designs by Ian David Marsden
