Introduction
Good logos convey the core tenets of an organization and what that organization does. Logos are usually the most recognizable representation of a company or organization. And with more information available to the average consumer today, logos also have to quickly and effectively communicate on behalf of their brand.
Our expert logo designers follow the principles of good logo design. Specifically, they will perform industry and client research, brainstorm ideas, and create sketches. Furthermore, we focus on understanding both the organization and its audience.
In the simplest terms, it comes down to understanding the client’s needs. For example, we start with questions and research. Next, we focus on creating and developing the concepts. Finally, we discuss the design with the client and expand it if needed.
Every phase has its own goal, process, and deliverable. We’ll outline why each phase is important, the series of actions or steps you need to take, and the final deliverable you’re working toward—which you’ll need for the next phase.
Design Process Phases
1. Discovery Phase- Getting To Know The Client’s Business
This phase is about getting to know the client’s business, its history, industry, competitors, and audience. During the discovery phase, we conduct branding exercises. For example, we make a detailed phone call or prepare a branding questionnaire for the client. That way we gather all the necessary information about the project. Most importantly, we determine what the brand is aiming for. Here are some of the general questions we ask our client:
- If your brand were a person, what adjectives would you use to describe it?
- What is your brand voice?
- Which values are important to your brand?
- What is your unique value proposition?
- How do you want your customers to describe your brand?
- What is your brand story?
- Who are your top brand “role models?”
- What do you want people to feel when they see your logo?
- What will be the main use for your logo design?
Thus, defining the attributes of your brand is one of the first steps in the logo design process. Precisely, this will help our designers get an idea of your brand identity. Accordingly, designers will be able to fully understand the client’s company, its values, business, brand attributes, etc. From here, they can start brainstorming to distill this information into keywords and looks.
After the client has answered these questions, we summarize the answers in a brand strategy. This strategy will provide a general overview of your business. Furthermore, it will guide the next phase and help us outline the foundation for the logo design process.
2. Research Phase—Learning About The Industry & Competitors
Take all the information from the discovery phase and conduct further research to draw insights. Research is all about analyzing the industry in more detail, conducting visual research, and drawing conclusions. Researching the industry helps us better understand the client’s field. That way we can ensure that our solutions can work for them effectively.
During the strategy session, we start doing competitive analysis. Often, we conduct additional research to gain important insights. For instance, we check the competitor’s websites and evaluate their brand identities. Consequently, we take notes on their strong and weak points during this phase. Finally, we research what kind of logos competitors and industry leaders have.
From other logos in your industry, we can see what logo techniques work for your industry, what logo techniques are overused, what logo techniques are ignored, what kind of customers dominate your industry, etc. Accordingly, we look for ways that our design can still be recognizable while standing out. Once the designer has a solid, objective understanding of the field or industry, it’s time to get the best possible understanding of what the client does and who their target audience is.
3. Brainstorm Phase- Outlining Logo Design Directions
Based on the discovery and research performed, we start outlining your strategy for generating logo ideas. Precisely, we think through all possible design directions that would work for your brand. For instance, we explore a look or a style based on your brand persona. Additionally, we include your brand personality and tone of voice in the process to help us brainstorm ideas. We go over the best selection of font, color, and style for your brand.
Accordingly, we come up with the proper visual language that would complement your brand strategy. Furthermore, we create three mood boards and review them together with you. After discussing the possible solutions, we make some decisions on what direction should we proceed. By narrowing our focus with mood boards we can stay objective during the next phase. Hence, we can base our sketches on solid strategic understanding.
4. Design Phase— Creating Logo Concepts Based On The Strategy
Finally, we take all the considerations and inputs from the first phases. By now, we have a lot of criteria for what could and what could not work for our client. During this process, we focus only on concepts that can work effectively for our client. Accordingly, we start generating some logo designs. When creating a logo design, we strive to make it:
Simple –Simplicity is one of the key features of a strong logo design in the business world. In short, it should be simple so it can work effectively.
Versatile: It should be flexible in a wide range of sizes and media. In other words, it should be able to scale to different sizes without losing quality. For example, it should fit both on a business card, and signage.
Memorable – It must also be distinctive enough to be easily remembered. The challenge is to keep it simple while making it distinctive enough to be remembered.
Timeless: It should be designed to remain fresh even for 10 years.
Relevant- The logo should be relevant in form and concept to the client and its industry.
Appropriate: In short, it should resonate with your audience.
Additionally, we consider both primary and secondary use-cases. Primary use-cases are your website or social media profiles. Your secondary use cases are printed marketing materials, recruitment, event banners, etc. Finally, we include mockups to make sure the image, words, and overall message translate across every medium. In short, mockups allow the client to figure out how will logo design be used in the real world.
5. Present Phase— Showing Logo Concepts To The Client
In the end, we present the logo designs within the proper logo presentation. Usually, we present the client with two or three solutions that can work for them effectively. Depending on the client’s feedback, we might still need to tweak a few things, combine elements of different concepts and polish the designs before the final approval. Hence, together with our client we review the advantages and disadvantages of each solution and arrive at a preferred logo design.
6. Delivery Phase— Delivering Logo Files & Creating A Style Guide
Once we have the client’s approval, it’s time to deliver the brand identity package. Specifically, this includes logo artwork and a style guide. In other words, it should include logo source files and a style guide that describes how to use that logo. Ultimately, your brand style guide will ensure your logo is used correctly.
In this package, we include basic variations of the logo, such as full color, black, white, and monochrome. Additionally, we deliver logo files for different use both in print and digital. Also, we inform the client about any commercial fonts being used in the logo or brand identity, just in case they want to design other applications in the future.
In the style guide, we specify other brand identity elements like color palette, typography system, photography style, perhaps illustrations, animations, and other elements. Depending on the client’s needs and budget, you can go from a very basic one-page style sheet to a more comprehensive brand guideline.
Conclusion
To conclude, the best logo designs are timeless and can grow with your company. Not only that, but they can convey a general idea to your audience of what your brand does. Great logos are the result of strategic thinking, exploring, and designing. Each aspect of the logo, such as shape, font, or color—can influence people’s perception of your brand.
Hire Experts To Do A Logo Design For You
With the right approach, we can create an effective law firm logo design for you that attracts more clients. When making a winning logo design, we always think about the best representation for your business in the crowded marketplace.
Besides that, Carmine Cloak’s expert team is here to educate your company so you can make informed decisions. Before hiring us, we schedule a free consultation to take a better look at your current situation and develop a plan according to your desires. If we agree that our services are the best fit for your firm, we proceed to educate, explain and help you make the right choices.