How I designed a run club brand with Envato, Photoshop, and Illustrator

Hey there, I’m Alex Pillow, a designer who loves turning small ideas into full visual systems. When I set out to design a community run club brand identity, I used Envato’s tools to push that spark further, experimenting with GraphicsGen for quick AI ideas, shaping them in Illustrator, and visualizing the energy of the brand through Photoshop mockups.

I wanted the run club brand to feel alive, something that captured motion, sunshine, and the togetherness that comes with running alongside others. What started as a simple logo idea turned into a full brand system that could live across T-shirts, posters, and digital assets.

TL;DR: I started with a typographic logo, created expressive icons with GraphicsGen, refined everything in Illustrator, and visualized the final brand in Photoshop mockups.

Tools I used to design a run club brand

For this run club brand project, I relied on tools that made creativity fast, flexible, and fun:

1. Envato’s creative asset library – for discovering typefaces, mockups, and textures.
2. Envato GraphicsGen – an AI-powered design companion for generating icons and illustration styles.
3. Adobe Illustrator – my go-to for building and refining the logo and icons.
4. Adobe Photoshop – to visualize how the brand would look in the real world.

Step 1: Starting with the logo

I always begin with the logo; it sets the tone for everything that follows. For this run club, I wanted something that felt modern, flexible, and easy to apply across different brand assets.

In Adobe Illustrator, I explored several typefaces from Envato before landing on Timun, a versatile sans-serif family. I used two weights from the same family — a clean bold for “Run” and a lighter weight for “Club” — to create contrast without losing cohesion.

Unlimited creative assets. Access to AI tools.

View all

Timun – Modern Expanded Font Family

rgbryand

That simple contrast gave me a base that felt confident yet approachable. It also set the foundation for the rest of the brand: clean, athletic, and timeless.

Step 2: Creating icons and illustrations with GraphicsGen

With the run club brand logo locked in, I shifted my focus to iconography; the part of the design where I could have more fun. I wanted the icons to reflect a warm, sun-soaked coastal energy, so I turned to Envato GraphicsGen for some AI-powered design exploration.

I started with the reference style “Handpress 286” to get that slightly imperfect, hand-pressed texture I love. Then I used a few custom prompts:

• “Simple abstracted icon of a palm tree”
• “Simple abstracted icon of a person running”
• “Simple abstracted icon of a sun with rays”

For the running figure, I also uploaded a personal style reference image — something to blend my own aesthetic with the GraphicsGen look.

After generating the icons, I imported them into Illustrator and used Image Trace to vectorize everything. This allowed me to clean up the lines, control the stroke weights, and make sure each icon scaled perfectly.

The result: three expressive icons that felt both handcrafted and unified with the main logo.

Step 3: Visualizing the brand with mockups

Once my core assets were ready, I wanted to see how the run club brand would feel in real-world use. This is my favorite part: turning flat design into something tangible.

I browsed Envato and downloaded a few mockups that fit the athletic theme: a T-shirt mockup and a crumpled poster mockup. Opening these in Photoshop, I dropped in my logo and icons, experimenting with different placements — the running icon as a sleeve detail, the palm tree on the tag, and the main logo centered on a vintage-style poster.

Seeing the design on physical surfaces brought the brand to life. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a concept, it was a club you could imagine joining.

Step 4: Refining and systematizing the brand

With the visuals coming together, I shifted into refinement mode. This meant establishing consistent rules — the details that make a brand truly work across formats.

In Illustrator, I created a small brand system document that included:

• A color palette inspired by sunrise runs (warm oranges, dusty blues).
• Clear spacing and size rules for the logo.
• Guidelines for icon usage, including minimum sizes and line thickness.

This stage might not be as exciting as design exploration, but it’s essential. It ensures that anyone, from another designer to a screen printer, can use your brand elements correctly and consistently.

Step 5: exporting and sharing the final system

When I was happy with the overall look, I exported the assets for multiple use cases:

• Vector files (AI, EPS, SVG) for scalability.
• High-resolution PNG and JPEG files for digital use.
• A presentation deck that showcased the final logo, icons, and mockups together.

Seeing everything assembled, from fonts to icons to apparel, was deeply satisfying. The system felt cohesive, full of personality, and ready for the next step: community.

Pro tip: Always export both color and black-and-white versions of your logo to ensure maximum flexibility across mediums.

Why this approach worked

Starting with typography gave the design a clear backbone. Using GraphicsGen sped up my ideation process without sacrificing creative control, and working in Illustrator allowed me to polish every curve and vector. Finishing in Photoshop tied it all together through mockups that told a story.

This workflow enables me to move quickly while staying thoughtful, balancing structure with creative play.

Common mistakes I avoided

• Skipping refinement: I took time to clean up AI-generated vectors. Rough edges can ruin print quality.
• Doing too much: Simple logos always scale better.
• Ignoring context: I tested every design on both light and dark backgrounds.
• Forgetting cohesion: I ensured that my icons, typography, and colors shared a consistent mood.
• See more graphics generation issues and how to fix them

Pro tips from my process

• Use Envato Workspaces to organize fonts, icons, and textures in one place.
• Create reusable color swatches in Illustrator to speed up future projects.
• Step away from the project for a day: fresh eyes always reveal better alignment or hierarchy tweaks.

Building your own community brand

This project reminded me why I love design: it’s about taking an idea, like a community run club, and giving it life through shape, color, and rhythm.

By combining Envato’s creative assets, GraphicsGen, Photoshop, and Illustrator, I designed a brand that feels both professional and personal.

If you’re building your own community run club brand, start simple. Let typography lead, use AI tools for quick inspiration, and finish with mockups that help others feel your idea. That’s where brand identity stops being a design exercise and becomes something people connect with. Want to start your own creative journey? Explore Envato for AI tools and unlimited creative assets, including fonts, mockups, and templates, that can take your next idea further.