Logo design is one of those lessons that just clicks with students. They already recognize logos, they have opinions about them, and they’re usually excited to create their own. The challenge isn’t getting their attention – it’s keeping the activity meaningful instead of turning into random clicking and decorating.

A simple way to start is by asking where they’ve seen logos today. You’ll get answers like games, food packaging, sports teams, and apps, which helps ground the lesson in something familiar. Some everyday examples: (a cool idea is to try and make them name all of the brands on a similar photo)

From there, keep the teaching part short and clear. Students don’t need a deep explanation, they are not at uni 🙂 just a few solid ideas they can actually use, like:

• Simple is better, clean designs are modern and viral
• Easy to recognize
• Matches what it represents
• Don’t overuse colors
• Don’t overwhelm the brain with too much info, text or shapes

If you show a clean logo next to a messy one, they’ll immediately understand what works and what doesn’t.

One part my students always find interesting is how logos used to look compared to now, and the Internet is full of examples. Older logos were often full of details, fancy fonts, and decorations, while modern ones are much cleaner and easier to read. It’s an easy way to reinforce the idea that simpler designs are often more effective, and definitely more modern. Here are some vintage logos:

Color is another quick win to talk about. You don’t need to turn it into a full lesson—just introduce the idea that colors can send messages (basic color psychology). Then throw out a quick question like what color they’d choose for a sports team versus a toy brand, or a relaxation place (a spa). That’s usually enough to get them thinking more intentionally.

This is a wonderful graphic, showing a lot of the color psychology of different brands, and the feelings they want you to feel when you see their logo or the packaging of their products:

Before letting them loose on computers, it really helps to have them sketch a couple of ideas. It slows them down in a good way. Without that step, they tend to rush and click randomly. With it, their designs are noticeably more thoughtful.

When it comes to tools, something simple works best. A free online tool (or even MS Paint) is more than enough—they can focus on creating instead of figuring out complicated features. If you want my suggestion for a great free online tool, check out the link at the end of this post.

If you want one activity that really sticks, try the “Fix the Bad Logo” task. Create a very bad logo, make it messy, overloaded with colors, and hard to read (or try to find an example online). Students actually enjoy pointing out what’s wrong.

Give them something intentionally terrible:

• Too many colors
• Messy layout
• Hard-to-read text
• Overloaded and overwhelming

Then have them:

• Point out what’s wrong, explain themselves
• Give ideas to fix the logo
• Redesign it

It’s simple, but it builds real understanding.

The next couple of tasks can be as creative or as narrow as you want/need them to be. The students get to the actual practical part and start designing some logos, either with a free mind, or with a special task given by you, like “design a logo for a car brand, or for a mall, or for a juice bar, etc.”.

And assessment doesn’t need to be complicated either. You’re mainly looking for:

• Clear and simple design, understanding the modern day practices
• A connection between the logo and the idea
• Some level of thought behind their choices, not mindless decorating

The nice thing about this lesson is how easy it is to adjust. Younger students can focus on simple shapes and ideas, while older ones can think a bit more about audience and purpose. You don’t really need to change the structure for each grade, just how deep you go.

By the end, you’re not just getting a finished logo – you’re seeing students make choices and explain them, even in a simple way. Also, now they will be able to see more things in real life and get more information, being more careful and mindful, knowing why exactly do brands do particular things and what they want from us.

If you’re planning to try something like this and want to save yourself the prep time, I’ve put together a ready-to-use lesson based on this exact approach. It includes the slides, activities (including the “fix the bad logo” task), many examples, and clear teacher notes so you can just walk in and teach it. Zero prep! I have given it a category of Grades 4-7, but it is also suitable for a bit older students as well, I think.

Might be worth a look if you want something creative but still structured 👍 Here’s a link: Design a Logo | Technology lesson | 5 practical tasks | Business project

This is one of those lessons where students start noticing logos everywhere afterward, and being able to understand the thought process behind them all, which is always a good sign it stuck 🙂 and that the students’ minds are expanded a bit further! What a joy it is 🙂