How to Design a Logo
It has been a while since my last blog post about our design process, I thought it was about time to check in, consider and update. Although this time, we do not reference a specific project, it is a more general, how we do it.
Branding is a process. Design is a conversation between agency and client. Great branding is a translation of truth, representing the company's values, history or missions simply enough, that the brand is memorable and creates a lasting effect on the viewer.
A great logo is a future-proof, memorable and purposeful mark that translates exactly what the company wants people to remember about the brand.
A great logo is born from a critical, considered process of discussion, ideation, delivery, conversation, revision and execution.
1. Discussion
This part is the same. We discuss openly about the client's company values, the missions, customer base, five-year, ten-year goals openly. This forms the design brief.
2. Ideation
We have framed the problem, as designers we respond, if 'responding' was not the initiator of our practice we would-be artists. Once the problem is framed, we research. We explore relevant threads from the discussion, which are wide-ranging, to help us understand and contextualise the brand. It's history, it's future, its competitors and its customers.
Once contextualised, we can start to translate words into symbols, picking them apart, and re-constructing until we have three clear directions that we could take the visual identity in.
3. Delivery
The delivery of the visual identity concepts is the first clear milestone of the branding process. This is the first moment where the client can see how close or far we are to their expectations. We present our ideas to the client, talk them through, showing where each concept was ideated from through the contextual and visual reference we explored. We don't ask the client for feedback straight away, asking them to sleep on it, allowing the client enough time to digest each concept and meet again a few days later to discuss.
4. Conversation & Revision
We then go through three stages of design revision, each stage with a client discussion. We come back, and we talk through each concept, what the client likes, what they don't like. I recently wrote a post about the development stage of the process in more detail, which you can read here.
5. Execution
The execution stage is the wrap-up and handover. The finalised identity is executed across collaterals, which are executed in print-ready files and sent to the printer. Along with all files, print and web-ready, we hand the client a Brand Usage Guideline, detailing how the client should use the mark, across future collaterals, marketing materials, detailing colours, typography, layouts and incorrect usage.