Logo design process
From logo design brief to master artwork, let us support you through the whole process.
From logo design brief to master artwork, let us support you through the whole process.
Our logo design process begins when you call us up on 01752 830 000 or complete our briefing questionnaire and this form can be downloaded as a Word document. One of our account managers will contact you to discuss your project in detail, agree which of our packages is appropriate and arrange payment by card or bank transfer of 50% of the total fee. If it is relevant the account manager will undertake web-based research into your competitors and target market.
Working to your brief, our design team will create a selection of prototype designs. These initial visuals will often be wide ranging in their interpretation of the brief and some will deliberately challenge any preconceived notions for the design.
It is important to appreciate that the initial designs we offer you are in no way attempts at offering you the final design. We do not believe in quick fixes, it’s always an interesting journey and we want to explore possible alternative routes with you. We don’t want you to feel fobbed off with a hack solution, we want to provide you with great design that you have collaborated on with us during the development process.
With your feedback we will then go back to the process and provide some further designs which follow your direction. Now we’re moving towards your solution
The first set of visuals we send you are concepts, not final designs, and they start a conversation between our team and you, the client. Clients usually find sufficient variety, creative flair and visual wizardry in the first batch of concepts to want us to take one or two of them forward. This starts a process which refines the design through a series of development stages.
At every stage your feedback drives and directs the work. It’s a really stimulating process and you’ll also find it challenging but ultimately rewarding.
Towards the end it is often useful to have an online screen sharing session with your account manager and designer to fine tune colours, line weight and so on. By now you should be on the same wavelength and respect each other’s input and usually these conversations go along the lines of ‘Can we try making the blue a little darker…darker still…mmm what do you think?’ You will be involved at all stages and the process is only concluded when you are entirely happy with the result.
Everyone asks us how long it all takes, the answer mainly depends on you but generally, given a smooth ride, a logo takes roughly a couple of weeks to complete. We like to respond quickly and we like to keep the energy flowing but we appreciate that you will need time to assimilate our designs and it is certainly a good idea to ‘sleep on them’ and review them in the cold morning light.
It is also usually true that the greater the number of decision makers the longer (and more arduous) the process will be. Large professional practices with several partners all fighting their corner can turn what should be a pleasant process into something protracted causing conflict and disagreement.
If this reflects your company structure consider delegating the task to a small sub committee to see the process through, you are likely to get a far better logo design and preserve peace in the boardroom. Usually having a new logo designed for a new venture or to rebrand an existing enterprise is a happy process that helps focus, energise and reinvigorate teams.
After all the variations, experiments and refinements have been made and once the final design has been agreed and signed off, various colour versions and file types are produced and assembled onto a master disc along with documentation of the colours in RGB and CMYK colour spaces, the typeface (unless we have drawn it specially for you) and recommendations for the complimentary font and colour palette.
If it was agreed as part of the original commission we will go on to produce guidelines for using your new visual identity which will include rules for using the logo in various situations including its use at different sizes, on different colour schemes, the exclusion zones and illustrations of what must not be done! Guidelines usually show the new corporate identity applied to a number of applications which may include stationery, signage, website banner and vehicle livery.