B RE AK I N G DOW N DE SIGN BRI E F S

L I KE A BADA S S

W W W. M A D E B Y J A M E S . C O
 A P P R E C I AT E Y O U
HEY MATE
SO GLAD YOU’RE A PART OF THE TEAM…IN THIS
DOCUMENT I AM GOING TO BE DROPPING SOME
KNOWLEDGE ON HOW I BREAK DOWN DESIGN
BRIEFS. THIS IS YOURS TO KEEP FOREVER SO I HOPE
IT HELPS YOU AS MUCH AS IT HAS HELPED ME.

STAY AWESOME.

M A D E B Y J A M E S
OVERVIEW 1 DECONSTRUCT BRIEF

2 WRITTEN THOUGHT GENERATION

THOUGHT GENERATION

3 DEFINE DIRECTION

4 RAPID PROTOTYPING

5 FOCUS & REFINE

6 REPEAT UNTIL BADASSERY

M A D E B Y J A M E S
DE CONSTRUCT

www.madebyjames.co
SO THE FIRST STEP IS TO PRINT OUT THE BRIEF THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN
TO YOU BY YOUR CLIENT… THIS IS AN EXAMPLE THAT I WAS GIVEN BY
A CLIENT OF MINE WHICH WE CAN USE.

AND THE IDEA HERE IS TO PICK OUT ANYTHING THAT YOU THINK MAY
BE USEFUL AND IDEAS THAT COULD POSSIBLY HELP YOU IN YOUR
CREATIVE PROCESS.

1. READ THE BRIEF 2-3 TIMES

2. PRINT IT OUT ON AN A4 PIECE OF PAPER
3. HIGHLIGHT POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS FOR THOUGHT GENERATION
4. LOOK FOR ANY SIMILARITIES OR COMMON OCCURRENCES

M A D E B Y J A M E S
BEFORE I SHOW YOU WHAT I HAVE HIGH LIGHTED… WHY DON’T YOU
HAVE A GO AND SEE IF WE CHOOSE THE SAME THINGS!!!

HAHAHA - DON’T CHEAT.

M A D E B Y J A M E S
HOW DID YOU DO?
THE HIGHLIGHTED DETAILS ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT I THINK ARE
WORTH REMEMBERING… THESE ARE ALREADY GETTING MY MIND
BUBBLING WITH IDEAS;

1. BRIDGES THE GAP

2. CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES VS ANCIENT PRACTICES
3. PHYSICAL / MENTAL / SPIRITUAL
4. WELL ROUNDED / BALANCED
5. MOVEMENT AND SHIFT
6. EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY
7. TRANSITION
8. CLEAN
9. ANCIENT CULTURES
10. CONNECTED AT A DEEPER LEVEL
11. MIND / BODY / SPIRIT
12. EMBODY CHANGE

M A D E B Y J A M E S
WRITTEN THOUGHT
GENERATION

WORD MAPPING
www.madebyjames.co
THIS IS BY FAR MY FAVOURITE PART OF THE LOGO PROCESS.. ITS
WHERE ALL THE MAGIC STARTS TO HAPPEN… ITS ALL ABOUT WORD
ASSOCIATION AND GETTING THAT MIND MOVING… I ALWAYS START IN
THE TOP LEFT CORNER WITH THE COMPANY NAME AND GO FROM
THERE.

1. GET A BIG PIECE OF PAPER OUT - I USE AN A3 SKETCHBOOK

2. I USE MY HIGHLIGHTED ELEMENTS AS THE MAIN HEADERS
3. FREELY GENERATE IDEAS WITH NO BOUNDARIES
4. START TO LOOK FOR CROSS OVERS AND PATHS FOR CREATIVITY

JUST LET YOU MIND GO IN THIS PROCESS… ASSOCIATE THINGS WITH

OTHER THINGS.

TAKE A LOOK AT HOW I DO IT HERE AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

YOU KNOW WHERE I AM.

M A D E B Y J A M E S
DEFINE THAT
SIZZLE

www.madebyjames.co
SO NOW WE HAVE DONE ALL THAT BEAUTIFUL WORD MAPPING AND
PUT ALL OUR IDEAS DOWN ON PAPER, ITS NOW TIME TO START
DEFINING OUR DIRECTION.

I TEND TO CHOOSE 3-4 THINGS TO VISUALISE WITHIN A LOGO - I LOVE

TELLING STORIES AND ADDING IN THESE DETAILS. IT HELPS THE CLIENT
FALL TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH THE STUFF I CREATE… MOST OF THE TIME -
HAHA

1. AT THIS POINT IM STARTING TO VISUALISE THE LOGO IN MY MIND

2. I ASK MYSELF;
HOW CAN I VISUALLY SHOW THIS WITHIN A LOGO?
WHAT IS MY CREATIVE PATH?

3. THIS IS THE TIME TO CONSOLIDATE AND FOCUS MY IDEAS

M A D E B Y J A M E S
 RAPID
PROTOTYPING

www.madebyjames.co
WHOOP WHOOP - NOW WE GET TO DRAW SOME GOODNESS.

WHAT I START TO DO NEXT IS BUNDLE A LOAD OF IDEAS DOWN ON A

PIECE OF PAPER - DO NOT LIMIT YOUR MIND HERE… BY THIS STAGE
YOU WILL ALREADY HAVE SOME STUFF BUBBLING IN YOUR BRAIN SO
GET ALL OF THAT DOWN ONTO A PIECE OF PAPER.

NO RULES - JUST DOODLES

AT THIS STAGE I CAN SEE WHERE THE LOGO NEEDS TO GO - ITS IN MY

HEAD AND I JUST NEED TO REFINE MY THOUGHTS TO EXECUTE THAT
ONE BADASS IDEA.

YOU CAN SEE HERE HOW IM VISUALISING A FEW THINGS…

1. CELLS SPLITTING / BRIDGING THE GAP
2. LINES REPRESENTING MIND/BODY/SPIRIT

M A D E B Y J A M E S
 FOCUS AND
REFINING MY IDEAS

www.madebyjames.co
NOW ITS DECISION TIME.

FROM MY RAPID PROTOTYPING STAGE THERE WAS ONE DIRECTION

THAT TICKED ALL THE BOXES FOR ME.

I NOW MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE DETAIL IS SNEAKED INTO THE LOGO
DESIGN IN A SUPER CLEAN WAY - THE STORY IS REALLY STARTING TO
BE VISUALISED NOW.

YOU CAN SEE I HAVE MANAGED TO GET ALL OF THAT GOODNESS IN.
CHECK OUT THE NOTES AROUND THE SKETCH AND YOU’LL BE ABLE TO
SEE HOW I HAVE BOUGHT THE VISUAL TO LIFE WITH ALL THE DETAILS.

FREAKING LOVE FIGURING IT ALL OUT.

M A D E B Y J A M E S
I TRY AND DRAW THE DESIGN AS ACCURATELY AS POSSIBLE - AS I’M
NOT GOING TO LIE - I FREAKING HATE COMPUTERS - HAHA - SO I TRY
AND SPEND AS LITTLE TIME AS POSSIBLE ON THEM.

BUT WHAT THEY ARE SUPER USEFUL FOR IS ACCURACY… SO I HEAD

INTO ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR TO DO THAT MAGIC THAT THE LOGO NOW
NEEDS…. GETTING THOSE SPACES ALIGNED PROPERLY… AND HEY THAT
ILLUSTRATOR CAN DO A CIRCLE WAY BETTER THAN I CAN.

1. FOCUS ON PERFECTING THE CONCEPT

2. MAKE SURE ALL THE SPACING IS CORRECT
3. MAKE SURE ALL THE LINE WEIGHTS ARE ON POINT
4. THE RATIO OF TYPE AND LOGO MARK ARE CORRECT.

M A D E B Y J A M E S
REPEAT UNTIL
BADASSERY

www.madebyjames.co
SO AS A LOT OF YOU WILL KNOW MY PROCESS IS ALL ABOUT FOCUS,
AND TO DO THIS I ONLY PRESENT ONE LOGO IDEA AT A TIME.

BUT I DON’T ALWAYS HIT THE MARK FIRST TIME SO IF THE CLIENT IS
NOT TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH WHAT I HAVE DONE I JUST REPEAT THE
PROCESS;

1. I’LL HEAD BACK TO THE BRIEF TO SEE IF I MISSED ANYTHING

2. I’LL LOOK AT MY WORD MAP
3. I WILL TAKE A LOOK AT MY LOOSE SKETCHES AND GO AGAIN…

I ASK MY CLIENT TO FOCUS ON THE ELEMENTS THEY LIKE AND THE BITS
THAT THEY DON’T - THIS WAY I KNOW HOW TO DEVELOP THE DESIGN.

THIS WAY THE PROJECT IS ALWAYS MOVING FORWARD.

M A D E B Y J A M E S
 AND THATS THAT.

A P P R E C I AT E Y O U
I REALLY HOPE YOU FOUND THIS USEFUL AND IF YOU
HAVE ANY QUESTIONS JUST HIT ME UP VIA DM OR
EMAIL.

TEAM@MADEBYJAMES.CO - IM HERE FOR YOU.

SNAP A PIC OF YOURSELF USING THIS DOCUMENT

AND TAG ME IN ON INSTAGRAM AND ILL SHARE MY
FAVOURITES - @MADE.BY.JAMES

M A D E B Y J A M E S
STAY AWESOME TEAM