As designers involved with the important task in logo and brand creation for a new business or organisation we are fully aware that a logo is the first point of contact as to how it is perceived and promotes itself to the outside world.
We really appreciate the importance of creating something that will ultimately fit the bill and be fit for purpose.
With this in mind we thought it would be good to share some of the working practises involved in the creation of a unique and original logo.
Nice to meet you
We usually recommend that we meet up with a prospective client if logistically possible. It’s always worthwhile as we gain so much more from meeting each other and are able to pick up on things that may get lost in translation were you to rely solely on email communications. We can also see if we ‘fit in’ with and ‘get’ one another.
We will usually ask the client a standard set of questions to get the background and potential scope of the business/organisation. It’s also a good time for the client to ask us any questions or think about things that they maybe hadn’t even considered. The aim of our questioning is to try to identify the personality, aims and values that the business/organisation wants to adopt and be communicated to the intended target audience through the final logo.
Once we have gleaned all the answers with regards the business/organisation (which may involve a bit more thinking on the part of the client after our initial meeting ) we can then begin the design research process.
© 2011+ logo design process illustration by dotRUN. All rights reserved.
Research
Before we put pen to paper and start brain storming we usually begin by looking at what is happening in the chosen industry and will look at industry competitors both locally and if need be at an international level. We will see how potential competitors position themselves and how they may be perceived – we will also make ourselves aware of any current trends happening in and outside the industry.
Let the ideas flow
We usually begin with pen and paper as it’s a lot more immediate to articulate ideas than working straight on the computer. It also gives us a chance to work out strong ideas and discard the weaker ones. Two heads can be better than one at this stage and ideas are discussed within the team to get the creative juices flowing.
Once we have a few promising initial ideas we then use them as a guide and basis for our design. We tend to use vector based software such as Adobe Illustrator to create our logo artwork as it’s important to be able to scale the logo to the required size whilst maintaining quality (resolution), which this software allows.
At this stage we will usually be looking at form, layout and typography and maybe one or two colour palettes. We prefer to work without colour initially as this can be a big influencer in itself and may detract from the essence of the logo at this stage
I like it, but…
We will aim to send the client some draft mock-ups after about five days which is how long on average our process takes. Alongside the logos we will provide a small description to explain our thinking behind each design.
Feedback is crucial at this stage. For some it may be something as primal as a gut instinct with regards to liking or not liking our designs, we understand this and don’t take feedback personally. As designers we are trying to encapsulate what the client knows, thinks and/or feels about what their logo should be so it is always helpful if the feedback is straight-forward, logical and constructive so that there aren’t any misunderstandings.
This is a reiterative process which may just involve a few tweaks – if the client is not entirely satisfied then it’s back to the drawing board to draft more mock-ups. Colour is also introduced at this stage and again feedback from the client is vitally important.
Good job
Once the client has chosen the final design they must sign off and approve the final artwork. Once signed off we will provide the final logo in file formats suitable for both web and print and also in Pantone and CMYK colour palettes. We also transfer full copyright to the logo once the final payment has been made.
At this stage we can also assign the logo to other brand collateral if this is to be part of a bigger branding exercise, or if required, devise some logo design guidelines for the client if they want to ensure that strict rules are in place for future use of the logo.
So there you have it, with these simple but effective steps in place we can ensure we get it right.
We hope this blog post has been useful and welcome any feedback, comments or your own experience of getting a logo designed.
