L.D.

P
L O G O

D E S I G N

P R O C E S S

START TO FINISH

PROCESS OVERVIEW
1. Design Brief
Converse with the client about their brand, what they want their logo to look like, what it needs to
represent, themes, ask client to fill out a design questionairre or interview said client on logo needs,
brand aesthetic, what the brand is (merchandise, technology, real estate, publishing etc).
2. Research The Brand And Client
3. Reference
Look at succesful logos from the past, collect references, collect inspiration, brainstorm, think about
theme etc.
4. Concept
Visualise a concept through sketches, or digital mock ups.
5. Reflection
Take breaks, get feeback, reflect on concepts and improve upon said concepts.
6. Positioning
Build a lasting relationship with the client, take on board the clients needs, converse appropriately
with said client,
build trust between said client.

WHAT IS A LOGO?
A logo is a symbol or pictograph that represents a brand, corporation,
merchandise or company, a company may have indivdual logos and
coporate identities for every movie, game, merchandise, food stuff,
appliance, technology, item and brand that they release or create.
A brand or company usually hires a graphic designer to help create
their logo or brand identity, a series of designs,
layouts, packaging design and logos are called a brand or corporate
identity, these corporate identities are usually
referred to as packages during the creation process.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LOGO?

A good logo is simple, bold, represents the brands identity clearly and efficiently, is unique,
isnt too detailed, and can be easily re-sized. Good logos are usually somewhat symbolic
and geometric in their shape, however whether or not the shape is specifically geometric
will depend on the clients needs and their corporate identity or theme.
A lot of logos are created in programs such as InDesign, and more popularly Adobe
Illustrator, this is because both of these programs use vector graphics, which are easily
re-sizable. A logo must represent the clients corporate identity efficiently, and must be
unique to that brand, it must also be atractive to the human eye, not too bright or gaudy,
and not too subtle otherwise the logo will not stand out on packaging.
Fonts are also important in creating an efficient logo, you should always value legibility and
practicality over aesthetics, but that isnt to say that a logos font cannot be artistically
inclined. A good logo contains a mixture of artistic liscense, creativity, practicality, legbility,
and most of all, communication with the client.

Design Brief in Detail:

The first event in the design process is being contacted by a

company to design something in the first place, this is why it is
important to have a portfolio ready, a blog to upload your work
to, a digital portfolio, and contact details that can be viewed on
said blogs and digital portfolios. Once you have been contacted,
you may
exchange emails and converse further on what the company is
looking for in their logo design, the company may even want you
to
design a whole corporate identity package, or even the actual
product design as well, depending on your areas of expertise.
In order to build a design brief you must know what the customer is looking for and what aesthetic they have in mind for
their corporate identity or logo, their target audience, where their
merchandise will be stocked and sold, for example a company
could approach you to create a logo for a new brand of toy, and
so their target audience may be kids or adults depending upon
the toy, then there is the question of how expensive it will be and
whether or not it will be available on the high street so on and so
forth.

To do this you must ask a variety of questions, or have them

fill out a questionairre, or interview them to directly ask what
they want. Things like keywords from the customer will come in
handy when brainstorming and creating mock ups.

QUESTIONS YOU WILL NEED TO ASK IN YOUR QUESTIONAIRRE:

Aesthetic?
Competitors?
Fresh? Creepy? Cool? Economic chic? Fashion- How do they market themselves?
able? Trendy etc?
Strengths of your brand?
Target audience?
Kids? Adults? Teens? Rich? Poor? Middle
class?
Culture? Ethinicity etc?
Product?
Appliance? Toy? Movie? Franchise? Real Estate
etc?
Details?
In colour? Black and white etc?
Use?
Will it be displayed on packaging? Does it need
to be scaleable? Does it need to emulate the
products shape etc?

Research the brand and collect references:

Researching the brand is almost essential, not just from a business point of view, but also
from a personal point of view. Researching the history of the client can give you insight into
the companies aesthetic and logos that have been succesful in the past.
It is also a very good idea to research the companies financial history on the side, in case
the company has a history of unfair contracts and policies etc. Researching the client will
also help you to understand the clients point of view in some cases.
Research would also include their target market and audience, location of the brand, logos
of the past, the industry they are in etc. Only after thorough research can creating designs
begin.
Collecting references is also important, research the latest logo design trends, and look at
recent logos that have been succesful, dont follow the trends for the sake of popularity
though, as you want the logo to be unique.

Looking at the trends within the industry in which the logo will be used may also be a good
idea. Make sure that your logo is
up-to-date with modern aesthetics as well. References from other sources such as the
logos inspiration (for example, if designing something inspired by a rose, take photographs
of roses as a reference point) will also be helpful when in the designing stage of the
process.

Designing a Concept in Detail:

Now it is time to begin creating the logo design, using everything you know about the clients
needs, and using the references you have collected, begin brainstorming ideas, ideas may
come easily or not so easily at first, do not worry, take a break and look for some inspiration
if need be. There are many ways you can brainstorm, creating a mindmap of keywords is a
good way to start, once you have made or even started creating a mindmap, you may find
that you begin to envision things more easily. You can even sketch and brainstorm at the
same time, whichever works for you and gets the best and most aesthetically
pleasing results quickest is the best way of doing things. Although bear in mind if you are on
a schedule or have a deadline, you may be expected to make progress quickly and
efficiently, so make sure you take advantage of the time in between your graphic design
work and any free spaces in your schedule to come up with ideas and make progress. Be
sure to take breaks however, as you are more likely to come up with good design ideas
when you are well rested and relaxed.

After you have created at least one sheet of potential designs to be used, you should
probably move onto re-creating some designs digitally to get more of a feel for what theyll
look like on screen. During this process, you will want to reflect and gain feedback on your
designs from the client, at this stage it is also important to experiment with different
typefaces if there is any text within the logo itself, or even for the products slogan. And then
after as much communication as possible, move onto colour if need be. Always re-create
your ideas in Illustrator to ensure that they are scaleable and of a high quality.

Examples of mindmaps

Images of logo variations, taken from google images.

POSITIONING AND CLIENT RELATIONSHIP

Building a lasting relationship with your clients is important, and keeping a a professional relationship is even more important, make sure
you keep each clients email and contacts within that company saved
as this will help you contact them in future, for future commissions
and work.
Certain contacts within a company may be helpful for future
comissions and positions within the industry as well. It is a good idea
to try and understand the clients point of view when designing and
working with them as this will ensure you know what they are
looking for within you as a graphic designer, and help you work with
the company or person without bumps in the road.
Good communication is key, there can never be too much
communication between you and your clients, as building a lasting
and trusting relationship relies on good communication and
proffessionalism.

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