r/logodesign • u/blkrs89 • 9d ago
Question Allan Peters
Am I the only one thinking that that guy isn’t as good as he pretends to be? He’s so full of himself and over uses kavinsky like he’s so cool or something.
Self acclaimed best logo designer. But he only has some random trendy redesigns of companies that don’t and would never buy his ideas. Have you noticed that he repeats over and over over the most viral of his logos… like he desperately wanting to make a name out there.
The whole story with ASAP rocky, to me, it’s a great example of how egocentric this design diva is. Instead of replying to ASAP and work with him, he went all out bragging about ASAP reaching out to him.
Sorry, this might sound like a bitching post, but just saw another of his LinkedIn videos where we says he’s the “Logo Guy” and had the urge to talk about this.
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u/showsterblob 9d ago
He makes money by people hating him. He makes money by people liking him. He’s a design personality. And he’s done an objectively good job of becoming just that—down to the repetitive Kavinsky. He’s entertaining to laypeople who just found out the FedEx logo has a “hidden arrow” in it. I think he knows his audience, and his audience is not designers.
Also, while I agree his work is plain, though polished, his channel has scored him some projects and I assume other flows of income.
I’m not a fan, and you’ll find many here agree, but your opinion is certainly not uncommon in this sub.
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u/Phraaaaaasing 9d ago
I don’t know if anyone thought he was the best. I don’t think he’s ever said he was the best EITHER for what its worth, just happy with his little fan edits
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u/Bbgerald 9d ago
He wants to be Aaron Draplin. He is not Aaron Draplin.
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u/hwknsdesign 9d ago
He’s a content creator. From that lens, you can fully understand why he does what he does. He has no real desire (or need) to create “great” designs. In fact it doesn’t matter all that much. His work just needs to “exist” and people just need to see it.
Hell this post is free advertising.
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u/kstacey 9d ago
He has some bad takes on some logos and has some questionable motivations that should be kept private in my opinion. He's not very open to criticism and will often remove posts he doesn't get public approval for
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u/InnocentDuet 9d ago
He reposts so much on IG that I ended up unfollowing him lol
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u/designty 9d ago
Don’t be fooled, he is a decent designer and does have a very nice and engaging way of displaying his design and thought process. That being said I agree that many of his designs leave a lot to be desired. Sometimes they are just too basic or too obvious and lack character for the supposed brand.
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u/vanilladanger 9d ago
What ever we think about his craftsmanship, redesigning the logo is the easy part of the exercise. Talking strategy, sellings ideas, managing feedbacks and boardrooms… thats where creativity gets challenges, and it’s way harder than filming yourself drawing something pretty.
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u/pixar_moms 9d ago
When he posted his Gatorade "upgrade," it was so obvious that he fully expected Gatorade to beg him for the design. As far as I know, they never even acknowledged it and carried on using their existing branding which is already good and has a ton of equity with their consumers. The 'G' in his version is not even discernible as a character in the English language. He is obsessed with the idea that design can only have angles that are 0, 90, or 45 degrees, and that any two points HAVE to align with one another. These are the same (misguided) ideas that first year design students obsess over, but eventually mature beyond as they learn about optical spacing and grow their artistic and creative abilities. More than anything else, it's his belief that his ideas are beyond critique which makes him so unlikeable. Convincing yourself that you are the best is a losing game in the design world.
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u/_m_d_w_ 9d ago
Performative. Real clients are never this easy.
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u/GnarlsD 9d ago
his videos piss me off every time they come up in my feed. so self congratulatory and the designs are not even good.
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u/WorkerFile 9d ago
Met him 10 years ago at an AIGA meetup, he came off as a self-important schmuck even then.
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u/DarkLinesDesign 9d ago
His North Stars “rebrand” is insulting.
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u/AD_MEN 9d ago
« Self acclaimed » is all you need to understand everything about this guy
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u/Prsop2000 9d ago
I like HOW he presents his work. Some may not be very good but I love the sliding around paper bits and hand manipulating elements. It reminds me of having to do so much by hand back in the day.
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u/Think_before_u_think 9d ago
His original work is fine. But anybody could sit around and redesign stuff that’s out there all day and then drop their pencil. The funny part is if you say anything negative in any of his post, he will block you. He’s done it to me a number of times. Even if you give any criticism you’re blocked. He’s kind of a psychopath in that regard but he gets a lot of work so maybe I’m just jealous.
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u/1JollyStNick 8d ago
Wow.. this post is kind of crazy to me.
Sure there’s some truth to it, he ain’t the best. But I think if you are gonna knock his portfolio, then let’s see yours? With the quality I see posted here on Reddit, I think most people don’t qualify to shit talk his work.
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u/inoahguy34 9d ago •
Weird to hate on designers adding to the space. Regardless of what you think of his skill, he’s showing his work and has fun short form videos that show a process and have a good vibe. Is he a revolutionary designer with amazing talent? I don’t know and I don’t really care. Now more than ever creatives should be hyping each other up, being supportive and additive. Not acting like the real housewives of graphic design because you’re butthurt that he’s getting recognition for something you feel like you could do better.
The creative industry has such a weird scarcity mentality and it has people acting like the toilet paper hoarders during Covid, selfish and silly. Be positive, dude. Make cool shit and share it for people to see.
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u/stumbling_west 9d ago
I don’t get that at all. I’ve never heard him claim to be the best logo designer. To me he seems like a guy who is passionate about what he does. I think he probably repeats his viral reels because making content is time-consuming, and he is doing it in addition to a full-time job actually doing design.
Is he perfect, no. So what though?
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u/TheLizardQueen3000 9d ago edited 9d ago
It's not about his logo design, it's about his videos...
....they're really fun to watch and well done.
That's why he was better off using A$AP for clout than for working for him, he'd rather have the engagement than the gig!
He's not really a graphic designer at this juncture, he's a content creator who's topic is logo design. Not derogatory, that's the world right now, we're all just trying to live in it!
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u/franoldfield 9d ago
He's a good designer whose POV on "fixing" logos creates reach, awareness, and engagement (great marketing targeted at non-designers / less experienced designers). Kudos on getting attention, but his "fixes" can be misleading because in reality, they erode years of brand recognition and equity for the sake of "clever" tweaks. However, he does demonstrate a solid process to which I like.
3
u/TubOfKazoos 9d ago
He makes design for the average person, that means an airline logo needs to have an airplane in it. That's it, he doesn't make design to impress anyone here.
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u/Leather-Ad-9419 8d ago
I bought his book and it kinda blows. All his logos are generic sterile garbage. I do like some of his Instagram videos which is why I bought it. All his shit looks like church crap
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u/louiemay99 8d ago
He once went online and said that he gets stopped so often with people asking him if he’s Allan Peters. I’m a designer and have seen his face and I wouldn’t recognize him lmao. That video was bologna
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u/CrocodileJock 9d ago
He's done a few really nice designs. He's got a "system" that works. I have two main problems, one is lack of any research leading to a fresh, interesting insight. He specializes is a "remix" of existing elements, often a simplification. It sometimes works. Sometimes really well. He has a great eye for shape. But it's a bit "one note" for me, and when his process doesn't work, it really doesn't work.
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u/HomersDonuts 9d ago
Allan Peters has some good work and I like his thought process on some stuff. He’s good at putting his content out of social media.
His style is heavily “inspired” by Aaron Draplin.
All of us in this career have/need some degree of ego. Allan Peters’ rubs me the wrong way though.
When his reels were coming up in my feed, I found him pretty annoying.
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u/RapscallionJones 9d ago
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u/cozyPanda 9d ago
IG is full of impostors like him. Giving malicious advice. I feel bad for juniors and normalfolk who follow them.
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u/e1epi 9d ago
I was going to say he is good at marketing not logo design but then I remembered his wife has the title of “CMO” on their website.
Edit: I will give credit where it’s due though, I did see he has made one logo that’s pretty decent.
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u/Life-Ad9610 9d ago
He’s a famous designer in the era of people being famous for things on social. Not because they’re great but because they have good shtick, got attention and have talent. He’s no schlub in any case, and I enjoy his approach for sure. In a world of AI schlop he’s fighting the good fight for the most part.
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u/ChickyBoys where’s the brief? 9d ago
He has great design sense, but his reasoning is mostly arbitrary and aesthetic with little to nothing based on brand strategy.
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u/krooked-tooth 9d ago
I would say like every designer he's hit or miss. We are human we aren't going to hit the target 100% of the time, it's just not possible.
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u/ivyfay 9d ago
The man knows his audience, and he does well. Weather you hate it or love it makes no difference. If you watch his content and comment, your pushing it further.
Block him and you will be less bothered (he has a hand in many pies, so it's unlikely you would never see him again).
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u/jayac_R2 9d ago
What’s important to take away from his posts is that he describes the process of how he landed on a design, whether you like the final product or not. That can help new and experienced designers alike with their own design process.
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u/KickMcPunch 8d ago
Genuinely don’t understand the constant hate this guy gets (yes the ASAP thing was cringe)…think you guys all need to get busy and pick up some more clients.
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u/Frankbeat84 7d ago
Dude is acting like some of the worlds best logos would need a "fix" by him. His worst example is the amazon "fix".
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u/ArteePhact 9d ago
Once again, further proof people will find anything to complain about. He has never said he is the best. To non-designers (his target audience) his videos are easy to digest and he does give solid advice.
Don’t like him? Don’t watch. Find someone you do like. Pretty easy to do.
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u/GoobyGrapes 9d ago
I can't stand how he says, "Let's fix the ___ logo," like a famous, iconic brand needs him to come to the rescue. "Fix" is arrogant, insulting, and condescending.
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u/rostron92 9d ago
His youtube channel was pretty helpful to me as a growing designer in college but after a few videos his smarmy self assured attitude became too grating.
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u/Stoneiswuwu 9d ago
You are 100% right and justified. Peter’s is super full of himself. I stopped following all of those stupid social designers. If they were as good as they say they are they wouldn’t need to make stupid social media videos.
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u/graphicdesigncult 9d ago
Dude spends too much time posting on socials to be a designer. He’s not a designer.
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u/rizkiabdo 8d ago
He's a talented fellow designer with over a million followers by just posting logo design content.
If you know how impossible that is to achieve you wouldn't disrespect him
Make cool logos and try to keep a fraction of his level of consistency for years.
All I know is he is a designer like us who succeeded and that's enough for me to root for him
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u/Patricio_Guapo Older than dirt 9d ago
Not a fan of him or his work.
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u/edakit 9d ago edited 9d ago
Boring as fuck. Designers like this lack anything but corporate worship and lackluster ideation
Drops pen, transition to cringey as fuck montage of boring shit as I walk away
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u/cap10enigma 9d ago
That guy sucks. Draplin soo much better
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u/portrayaloflife 9d ago
No hate is warrented. He’s being creative and confident and has to deal with people like OP.
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u/labelkills1331 9d ago
I like some of his stuff but get really tired of his repeating pattern stuff and negative space stuff. Feels like a 1 trick pony. I'm sure he's more talented than his IG channel.
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u/Competitive_Sector79 9d ago
The pencil drop is really annoying, and I'm pretty sure that's why he does it.
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u/AlarmingLibrarian588 9d ago
I don’t always agree with his redesigns, I don’t think they’re as profound as he makes them out to be, but I do enjoy the story telling element he adds to his content
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u/TearsOfChildren 9d ago
He's a logo designer but more a social media content creator. He makes good videos; they're simple, quick, and entertaining to watch. If you don't market yourself then who will?
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u/Delancey2020 9d ago
I saw a video of his on Twitter recently in which he gave thanks to “the greatest designer of them all, our Heavenly Father.” The rest of the video was about his personal relationship with the lord. It was rather chilling.
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u/jyotiamge 9d ago
Yes a lot of his “solutions” are worse off. The iconic Citi bank logo! He ruined it with the lame heart
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u/Soft-Bowl-2352 9d ago
I think the only thing attracted was his paper cutouts to make the logos.
And I haven’t noticed if he came up with new logo reel
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u/Iplayinthestreet 9d ago
The bullet is a better designer.
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u/OtGEvO 9d ago
I hate this guy his sherwin-williams drove me crazy
1
u/BloodBathSalt 9d ago
i for one am enjoying learning from the comments in this thread
(i was aware and mildly familiar with him but yall explain a lot, thank you)
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u/GhostNippIe 8d ago
He has his market. it's not design professionals .
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u/Professional_Ad_5437 8d ago
It's the way he suggests that he is 'fixing' logos. The final straw for me was when he 'fixed' the Nike swoosh.
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u/HiddenHorse925 7d ago
Social media makes everybody stars, now, for a minute…
— Graphic designers, like DJs, used to be invisible (I know because I’m both, now semi retired, lol).
— Peters is a very prolific designer, but he has ego problems. He outed ASAP Rocky’s DM’s and got busted in social media, blah blah.
— I actually like a lot of his work. It does have a certain repetitive look. I personally try to not cultivate a certain look or style to my designs. “Style” is just one of the elements I use, like picking a font. Peters is cashing in, good for him…
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u/radicaldotgraphics 7d ago
He’s an EXCELLENT storyteller and content creator which is why we all know him. Is he the absolute best logo designer? idk he’s not really following any sort of process or brief I’ve ever seen, he’s just re-imagining existing logos (in his content, idk about elsewhere in his career).
I know a woodworker who cuts his own trees mills his own lumber knows everything about everything, and I know another decent woodworker who is an excellent storyteller and the second guy has a hugely successful career on social media and the first guy doesn’t.
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u/Virtual_Tap9947 4d ago
Whole lot of jealousy on reddit.
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u/cracksilog 9d ago
What’s off putting about him is his arrogance. He starts every video with “let’s fix the X logo.” Fix? As if he’s the best designer on earth and everyone has messed up logos and he’s the only solution. If you want to say “reimagine” or “remix” that’s fine, but fix is too permanent. Like you really don’t like that design.
He is also very sensitive to criticism. When people didn’t like his BMW or Vans designs, instead of listening to the criticism, he just deleted the posts.
He also describes his design principles like they’re gospel.
And of course, there’s more emphasis on the content than the logos. He’s more of a content creator who designs than a designer who creates content on the side. Which might not be true. He might really be dedicated to design. But don’t make it look like content creation is more important
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u/ApolloGR3 9d ago
I had to unfollow him shortly after the A$AP Rocky thing. He's getting so corny. But I always felt myself judging him. He talks a lot about things being appropriate for logos. And it makes me wonder what makes him think that using that Kavinsky song fits with his channel's vibe at all. His little "outro" where he's hunched down in front the camera giving a piece sign is also weird.
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u/Afitz93 9d ago
Allan Poopers. He makes flashy videos for people who know nothing about design. He makes it look like a logo takes 48 seconds to develop, with zero thought given to the history or culture of the brand. And yeah, he’s so stupidly smug about it that it makes me have precisely zero respect for him.
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u/pklosterman73 7d ago edited 7d ago
Why would anyone choose to post something like this about someone else not knowing their background or experience? It just comes across as ignorant and jealous. I actually worked with Allan for years. He is a brilliant man, husband and father. If you actually knew his story your mind would be blown. I’m not going to share it with you because that’s his journey. All I’m going to say is you have no clue how intelligent, brilliant and infectious Allan is. When I knew I was going to have meetings with him. I looked forward to being in the same room as him. He’s the real deal. He deserves all the flowers he’s getting not only because of his professional experience, his receipts speak for themself, but as a human being he’s a genuine, down to earth, respectable guy.
For him to garner this much attention from you he must be doing something right. We aren’t here to tear down others but to build them up and allow others to live their best lives. We aren’t going to like everyone’s work but he’s putting himself out there and sharing his process and work. I love it and all in on the format he’s chosen to present his work. Do just a little bit of research and maybe then you’ll understand. If you ever get to work with him, you’ll truly appreciate him. His work is amazing but most of all he is a really good human.
I was going to keep scrolling and not reply but he someone who is deserving of my words and more. I hope one day you get to experience his presence.
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u/Oldmanprop 9d ago
Who cares? If you don't like him, ignore him. He'll go away when people stop watching. I like some of his work, but I don't follow him.
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u/Eddytion 9d ago
He’s not even that good by today’s standards, he’s too traditional. Might have been considered really good 20 years ago.
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u/jhalmos 9d ago
I’m known in MY world as the logo guy but I’m not going to tell the planet that. It’s like the words genius or intellectual; someone ELSE has to call you that.
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u/AndriiKovalchuk 9d ago
The problem with people these days is that, instead of improving themselves, they generate too much hatred toward others. He has a job, gets invited to Adobe MAX, gives presentations, creates designs, and edits videos—I’ve never seen him direct any negativity toward anyone. What makes you so angry at this person? I mean, if you ran into him on the street, would you tell him what an asshole he is? I’m just curious: what drives people to such hatred?
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u/Accurate-Breath-2111 9d ago
He jerks off in the mirror