Musicologie is a music school headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. They hired me to design a fun cartoon mascot inspired by the bird in their existing logo:
![](https://i0.wp.com/cedricstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Musicologie-Web-Header-Logo.png?resize=600%2C133&ssl=1)
I started with some VERY rough thumbnail doodles, messing around with a bunch of shapes and proportions. Some turned out better than others but that’s how every creative process starts:
![](https://i0.wp.com/cedricstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bird-Thumbnails-v1-800px.jpg?resize=800%2C1035&ssl=1)
The client asked me to stay closer to the shape and proportions of the bird in their logo. I did another round of exploratory thumbnails, this time adding color:
![](https://i0.wp.com/cedricstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bird-Thumbnails-v2-800px.jpg?resize=840%2C787&ssl=1)
The client really liked the body shape in “PP”. However, with the big head + tiny pointed tail + upside-down tear drop shaped body + the shade of blue, I felt it was starting to feel a lot like a cartoon version of the Twitter logo. Which would look derivative. Also, Twitter has a negative brand association in some people’s minds. Many think of it as a place for arguments and fights and ranting. So I tried adding some stylization to the wings and feathers to help differentiate it from the Twitter bird:
![](https://i0.wp.com/cedricstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bird-Sketches-v1-800px.jpg?resize=800%2C827&ssl=1)
The client liked PP2 but asked me to try exploring more options for the eyes:
![](https://i0.wp.com/cedricstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bird-Sketches-v2-800px.jpg?resize=800%2C827&ssl=1)
Here’s the final design, rendered as vector art:
![](https://i0.wp.com/cedricstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Bird-Mascot-Final-800px-1.jpg?w=916&ssl=1)
Learn how a mascot can benefit your business: