CourseVerdict

Iconic Logo Design: Brainstorm & Refine Unique Concepts vs Logo Design with Draplin: Secrets of Shape, Type and Colour

Same Bayesian formula, same rubric — so the difference in scores reflects the difference in the courses, not the difference in how we evaluated them.

Skillshare · Design

Iconic Logo Design: Brainstorm & Refine Unique Concepts

4.2/ 5 · 24 opinions
16 positive5 neutral3 negative/ 24 total

Skillshare · Design

Logo Design with Draplin: Secrets of Shape, Type and Colour

4.0/ 5 · 42 opinions
30 positive8 neutral4 negative/ 42 total

Per-criterion

Content quality3.9 / 5

One hour of class time covers client research, competitive analysis, mood-boarding, brainstorming and concept refinement — a complete process overview. The depth is deliberately surface-level by Skillshare class standards: the value is the framework, not exhaustive technique instruction. Learners expecting multi-hour tool walkthroughs will be underserved.

Instructor4.7 / 5

Will Paterson is a recognised professional logo designer and hand-lettering artist with a substantial YouTube following built on transparent, process-driven content. His teaching style is clear, direct and grounded in real client work — not influencer performance. Universally praised across the sample.

Value for money4.3 / 5

Included in a Skillshare membership (~$14/month), which also unlocks hundreds of other design classes. For the price of a subscription that a learner would take for other Skillshare courses, adding Will Paterson's logo class costs nothing extra.

Portfolio output3.7 / 5

The class project produces a single logo concept taken from brief through mood board to refined vector — a lean but real deliverable. The scope reflects the one-hour format; do not expect a multi-logo brand identity suite. What you produce is your own work using a professional process, not a copy of the instructor's design.

Real-world use4.2 / 5

Will Paterson's research-mood board-brainstorm-refine sequence is his actual client workflow, not a simplified teaching version. Learners consistently report that the process carries directly to freelance and studio logo briefs. The Adobe Illustrator requirement makes it less accessible for learners not already on the vector toolchain.

Content quality4.4 / 5

Tight 70-minute walk-through of one logo (a family crest) from research to vector polish. Praised across the corpus for clarity and density of Illustrator tips. Capped because the syllabus is narrow — no full brand-system work, no presentation deck, no client process.

Instructor4.8 / 5

Draplin is the single most-cited reason to take the class. Reviewers converge on the same descriptors — funny, no-nonsense, generous, "honest and electrifying" in Skillshare's own framing. Nine years of consistently positive coverage from HN to Logo Design Love.

Value for money4.5 / 5

Included in the Skillshare subscription (~$14/month after trial). A single 70-minute class is hard to compare to multi-month bootcamps, but for the price the catalogue access alone — five Draplin classes plus thousands of others — makes the value case clear.

Portfolio output4.0 / 5

One end-to-end project — a family crest — produces a shareable portfolio artefact, and the Skillshare projects tab has hundreds of completed submissions to learn from. Capped because peer feedback is minimal and there is only one brief, not a series.

Real-world use4.1 / 5

Illustrator shortcuts (Envelope Distort, Offset Path, "keep it live") and the simplification mindset transfer directly to client work. Limit is scope — the class does not cover briefs, presentations, revisions or brand systems, which a real logo job demands.

Scoring methodology applies identically to every course on the site — see the formula.