Logo Design

[young osprey]

The main goal of this project was so that I could make a simple logo so that my friends could use it for this discord server called Luminary Society. Which is a community that helps give highschoolers the resources to get into colleges

The theme was supposed to be "elegant" (to reflect the high status of schools such as harvard and yale) but It's hard for me to convey it especially with the sun design and the color palette

I would like tips on how to make a truly "elegant" design without sacrificing readability

[tired hollow]

A good start. Looks very religious or cultish, for whatever that's worth.

The colours are very studious, but not very elegant or luminary. I could see this in either bright golds or ivory, or even embossed on a slightly worn leather to get that ivy league feel.

As for the forms you could use a bit more space between the top of the S and the ascender of the L to actually increase legibility. You could play with adding more flourish to the letterforms, but it's not really necessary.

The spikes on the light ring don't come out of the center of the circle, they seem to be just roughly eyeballed. Elegance has stability and balance, even if it's asymmetric. Make the spikes radiate from the center of the light, and give them a bit more regularity, and use consistent angles (larger spikes on 90° and 45° angles, smaller spikes on the 22.5° and 67.5° angles).

The ring itself also terminates very bluntly. You can use another circle to taper the ends of the circle to make it feel more intentional.

[young osprey]

cultish is crazy 😭

Sorry I'm late so i forgot to check this server

How do I make it less cultish in vibe?

[tired hollow]

Well, specifically this gave me something between The Church of Latter Day Saints and Scientology vibes. The "S" coming out of the L like that, and basically any variation on a sunburst will land you in that spot.

I think "elegance" is maybe the wrong target here. If it's basically a study group to get into ivy league schools then I think "academic" and "prestigious" are more appropriate. Right now your only symbol is for "luminance", but that easily falls into the tropes of religions that "show you the light".

You can introduce a book, or a lightbulb for a more academic type of luminance, or a more individualized luminance. You can use a shield or ivy, or both, to connote the ivy league and more prestigious academic institutions.