A lot of clients ask me all the time ‘how do you create a logo exactly?’ Well, that depends....if you want a pretty literal logo, then we cut straight to the chase, but with you want something with some quirkiness and imagination to it, this is the process I use:
THE SURVEY >>
The very first thing I like to have my clients do is fill-out a survey. The majority of it is filled with basic questions that give me a feel of what it is that you’re looking for you’re logo to do. It will also cover colors, font preference and a variety of graphic design questions. We'll also talk a bit so I can get a feeling for exactly what it is that you want.
HELLO THESAURUS >>
After going over the survey, the first thing I do is pull out a thesaurus and come up with at least 25 words that could describe the company or brand or identity. I prefer 50 because it pushes me to think of the less obvious (this is where the thesaurus comes in handy). This helps in the next step.
FEELS A LITTLE SKETCHY >>
Next I sketch for over 2 hours. Though this may sound a little dramatic and over done, in my opinion, it’s needed. The first ideas that come to mind aren’t really ideas at all, they’re usually logos you saw someone else...replications. The excessive amount of drawing time gives me time to explore. Usually, I will start with a sketch, which leads to another drawing, which leads to another and before I know it I started with a chicken egg and ended with a bicycle. Now that’s is a little dramatic, but you get the point.
LOGO BUFFET >>
From the sketches I did, I then usually pick 25-30 to mock-up on the computer in simple black and white. Sometimes this is super easy and you’ll have a chunk of designs that stick out, other times, you like them all equally and it’s hard to choose.
PICKING FAVORITES >>
This is when the process really starts to vary from client to client. Once the logos are created, I’ll send a copy to the client for proofing. Here, I will ask the person/business to choose 3 logos they like and tell me in detail what they like about them. I also have them pick 3 that they absolutely cannot stand and tell me why they don’t like about them. From there I do 25 more sketches taking the things the client told me into account.
I’ve had times when the company fell in love with a logo in the very first batch, I’ve had others when it has taken over 150 different logos for them to find one that they like so this part really ranges from client.
THE QUICK BROWN FOX >>
Once a logo is picked, we set that aside and start looking at fonts. Very much like the previous process, I will mock-up several different options in several different types. For example, all lower case, all caps, etc. In most cases, this is pretty easy to nail based on the company and the answers in the survey.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER >>
Next up is placing the logo with the font. Though there isn’t really a set number, I try to come up with as many possible combinations of arrange the font and logo. Sometimes I’ll barely squeeze 5, other times I’ve come up with 20. It depends on how the font lends itself to the logo.
How I do this is pretty elementary. I literally print out of the font and logo on 2 separate sheets of paper and start moving things around. Though this may sound a little amateur, doing this really comes up with some unqiue options.
Once again, the client will choose which one they like best and we’ll move on. If there isn’t one that sticks out we will keep going at it until we find one.
COLOR SPLASH >>
When picking out colors, this is the one part of process I like having the business or clients right there along side of me. Otherwise, there tends to be a lot of back of forth. My lime green is different from your lime green. By being there, it is super easy just to play around with color options then and there.
I always come prepared with color schemes and palettes, but ultimately, it is YOUR logo.
PACKAGING >>
Once color is all set, we are done folks! From there I will package the logo into several different options for your use (jpegs, pngs, pdfs, color, black & white, etc.). Then it’s all yours to show off to all of your clients!
People often ask how long this all takes. On average it takes usually 4-6 hours from start to finish. However, the process can be sped up if you want something simple and want to save a lot of money. It can also be lengthened if you want a really want a lot of feedback from focus groups and what not.
Big or small, simple or fancy I’m willing to make the perfect logo for you. Hopefully this gave you a little better idea of how your design process works.
Have more questions? Just ask me.
