To order a logo design, you need to understand how logos are created. Only by understanding the whole process from the inside, it is possible to assess whether the work on the development of the logo was done well. We reveal the secrets of creative cuisine in our new article.

1. Brief

First of all, our branding agency sends a branding brief to the client. A brief is a questionnaire, the task of which is to obtain the most detailed information about the future brand. In the brief, each agency asks those questions that it considers necessary in order to correctly set the task for the creative group. Therefore, there is no universal brief. Remember this hairdresser meme “Not another word”? For some, just the name of the company is enough …

As a rule, the brief should include the target audience… If a client believes that his brand is for everyone, then with a 100% guarantee I can say that the result will not suit him. For everyone, it means for anyone. If you haven’t thought about the audience of your brand before, then, investing in the development of your company, it’s time to do it.

It is advisable to prescribe in as much detail your unique selling proposition… It is important for a designer to understand why you are better than others. What features of your business must be reflected when creating a brand.

2. Statement of the problem

After receiving the completed brief, the art director and project manager study it to set a task for the creative group: for designer and illustrator. The moment of setting the problem is very important. It is at this moment that the art director translates the essence of the problem from the language of marketers into a language that designers can understand.

Often, if the client did not like any version of the logo, then there was an error in the formulation of the problem. Or happened misunderstanding between the client and the art director of the agency. In that There is nothing wrong, such situations also happen. You just need to conduct a second briefing, clarify the points that caused misunderstanding. After that, an accurate hit usually occurs.

3. Research

The brief has been studied, the task of developing a logo has been set. The research process begins. we we study the marketto understand what your competitors look like. We carry out competitor positioning analysis – what and how they say about themselves. Is their USP reflected in the logo design?

Research is important for several reasons. First, it is important detach from competitors… Show customers that you are different, you are the best. Secondly, the logo must be unique… You should not allow even partial mixing of your brand with competitors, unless it is your task to mimic the leader.

4. Search for an image

After analyzing the results of the study, we already understand what strengths of the company we need to reflect in the logo. The illustration below shows an example of a mood board that contains visual images of the future logo. For instance, image of efficiency can be shown through dynamic elements: font tilt, arrows, letter bevels. Show professionalism of the company it is possible through images associated with the professional field of the company. In this case, it was the stock charts and the image of money.

Having made such a selection of images from icons, photographs and pictures, the designers proceed directly to the development of the logo: they sketch out ideas for the future logo in the form of sketches. The most successful solutions are presented to the art director. The art director selects the most viable sketches and sends the designer to finalize them. Or again looking for an idea.

5. Working with the font

But a logo is not only a trademark. The creation of the text part of the logo is also a separate and painstaking work. For the best ideas created at the stage of image search, the font of the text part of the logo is selected. The font is definitely being finalized to make the logo writing unique.

A unique font is important, especially if you are going to register a trademark. It also happens that the logo consists only of the text part. Then the emphasis on typography is maximum. Below are a few examples of how to refine the font part of the logo. It was based on a modern ready-made typeface, which was transformed into a unique corporate spelling. The thickness of the lines, the angle of inclination of the lines in letters, the letter spacing are being finalized. Letters can be cut off, combined. Sometimes a letter is taken as a basis, which looks foreign in the font, and on its basis the font is corrected for a harmonious perception of the entire inscription.

6. Color matching

The color scheme of the logo is one of the most important stages in creating the image of your company. Based on their knowledge of the psychology of color perception, our designers select color combinations that should match the character of the future brand. Reflect his field of activity and at the same time emphasize individuality.

We often present the first sketches of the logo in black, so as not to distract attention from the image of the identity. At the same time, the presentation of the first sketches in color is also permissible, when we have already decided on the emotional characteristics of the brand.

7. Presentation of logo sketches

After the art director has selected 4-5 best logo options, finalized them together with the designers, a presentation of the logo options is being prepared. In the presentation, we demonstrate on photo-links or mockups how the logo will be live and work in a real environment… This can be the placement of a logo on business cards, signboards, souvenirs. This photorealism helps complex perception future logo.

The logo presentation also contains description of the idea of ​​each option logo. Indeed, in a successful logo, the most important thing is the idea, the inner meaning. Thus, having received the presentation, you understand what the designer wanted to say this logo. What kind traits of your brand reflected. What color range we used and why. You will also see. how the logo can be used on real print media.

8. Feedback from the client

If you decide to order the development of a logo, it is important to understand that in the process of work we interact very closely with the client. We are not only we inform the client about the start of work and landmarks by project delivery time, but we also expect the most prompt response to our letters from the client. Such interaction, when the creative team of the branding agency and the client’s representative work in one bundle, solving common problems is the key to successful logo development.

9. Refinement of the logo

After sending the presentation of the logo options, the client sends us his wishes and makes the choice of one of the directions for further refinement. Refinement may include how combining several successful ideas into one, and a wish “Screw up” idea, finalize the image. We listen carefully to the wishes of the client, but first of all we are interested in what exactly you want to solve with such amendments. For example, if there is a desire to enlarge the icon, then the first question from us will be – what result or effect do you want to achieve by this, what task to solve… It is possible that the same problem can be solved in another way. And we, as branding professionals, are obliged to tell you about it.

One way or another, at this stage of logo development, we finalize the appearance of the logo. Align the logo to the grid and guides. Checking the distances between characters. We build the proportions of the logo in accordance with a specific system. It can be like building proportions along the golden ratio or using other proportions.

10. Delivery of the project

And now it is the final moment of the logo design project delivery. As a result, you get the final, perfected logo of your company in the formats for printing and for posting on the website. Additional formats can be negotiated upon request. for example, for an avatar on social networks. As a rule, along with the development of the logo, they also order the creation of a corporate identity for the uniformity of all your advertising materials.

Source: mindrepublic