Designing a great logo (and corporate identity) requires an equally great design process to ensure that the outcome is outstanding. Producing exceptional work is a collaborative process which starts with clear objectives and direction, good customer insights and an inspired creative team.
Step 1: Design Brief (information gathering)
A design brief questionnaire will be sent to the client for completion. This document will guide the client to give us his requirements. The objective of this step is to get the information we need about the project to enable us to come up with the perfect logo.
Some of the items that the design brief will cover is
• Target market
• Message objectives
• Existing design style guides and parameters (e.g., company colors, typeface, etc.)
• Budget
• Schedule, milestones, and deadlines
Step 2: Research (Competitor analysis, trends analysis)
On this step the designer find out more about the industry your client is in. Consider the historical perspective of the client and their industry, and look at emerging trends in the marketplace.
Step 3: Build the Design Concepts
One the research is done then we start on the fun part of the logo design process. We draw the concepts on a piece of paper that convey the right message for the client. In this step, we’re are trying to encapsulate the diverse and complex nature of a business into a small and simple design, suitable for use in a multitude of different circumstances (business cards, marketing material, website design, and more).
For each logo design concept you create, we ask yourself these questions:
• Will this logo design work for our client?
• Will this logo resonate with the client’s customers?
• How does this logo fare against the competition?
Step 4: Feedback and Review
The assigned designer will choose stronger concepts and discard weak one. S/He would get t feedback from colleagues and other designers, and possibly even from the client.
Constructive criticism will enable us to improve upon our work, so this step is an essential component of design projects.
Step 5: Presentation
Once we have finalized the designs, it’s time for a formal presentation to the client. Client will be given the opportunity to select a logo that works best for them.