12 Essential Steps For Successfully Managing Logo Design .

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Creating the perfect logo design —12 essential steps for successfullymanaging logo design projects

Because, although everymemorable logo has a greatidea at its heart, that’s only partof the back story. Have youever stopped to wonder whattriggered that Eureka moment?How many other great designsthe client rejected? Or how youcould create something thatsuccessful yourself?The path to a perfect logo design israrely smooth. It takes hard work, bags ofconfidence and a steely determination. Therereally isn’t a standard template for pulling itoff: every single logo project is different, justas every client is different. That said, havinga clearly defined, yet highly flexible, processcan help you get there. It helps you and theclient know what’s coming next and meansthat everyone understands what’s expected ofthem. The following advice is based on manyyears of experience, working on logo designprojects, both good and bad. It’s by no meansfoolproof. But use these steps as your startingpoint or as a sanity check as you go along, andyou’ll be on the right track.You’ll know when you’ve seen one: a supersmart logo that jumps off the page and stampsitself firmly in your consciousness. The sort ofbeautifully designed logo that makes designerswish they’d created it and clients wish they hadone like it. A logo that looks brilliantly simple butwas anything but simple in its making.Creating the perfect logo design2

1Start with a strategy —Without a brief and someproper upfront thinking you’realways going to be on the backfoot. Whether that’s a simpleone-page design brief or ahighly sophisticated, probablyexpensive, brand strategy, youneed a clear purpose. Becausewithout a strong frameworkto build your brand marks on,they’ll crumble and fall down.Without some agreed criteria to judgeyour designs against, it will come down tosomeone sticking their finger in the air andsaying “I’m not sure why, but I like that one”.If there’s a brand strategy report you canget hold off, you’re off to a good start. Withany luck, this should provide an intriguingGenericoWhy we do what we doHow we do what we doWhat we doBecausesmart thinkingcan changehow the eBraveWe makesmart logisticssoftware thatsolves complexproblemsinsight into the organisation, its competition,positioning, tone of voice, brand story andessence – tons of great stuff to get yourcreative teeth stuck into.If such a documentdoesn’t exist, you’ll have to do some legworkyourself. Talk to your client (and preferablyget more than one person’s perspective)about who they are, what they stand for, howthey see themselves and how they’d like theircustomers to see them.With or without a brand strategy document,it’s essential to start with a clear creative brief.Not just a few notes jotted down in the courseof a phone call or meeting. But a preciseoutline of the scope of work, what makes theorganisation different and maybe even someearly direction on how they can be singled outfrom the crowd. Write this up yourself basedon early conversations with your client, or askthem to write it. In either case, get them tosign it off so that everyone knows where theyare and what to expect. Now let’s get started,we’re working for a company called Generico.Brand strategy provides a central ideaand blueprint on which great logo marksare built. These are often developed asa collaboration between the client, thestrategist and the designer.Creating the perfect logo design Start with a strategyGenericoEssenceInspired LogicValuesPersonalityCommitment. Flexibilty.Transformation. Accountability.Intelligent. Curious. Geeky.Visionary. Objective. Brave.3

2Give it some meaning — ecureCon identControlCreating the perfect logo design Give it some meaningIntelligentLook at the world’s successfulbrands: in most of their logosyou’ll find some sort of meaning.Something that represents orexpresses their brand idea.Something that shows theirpersonality. Something thatconveys what they believe in.Give your designs some meaningand you’re off to a flying start.The best way to achieve this is with a bit oforganised creative thinking (if that isn’t acontradiction in terms). Start by extractingconcepts, ideas and keywords from the briefand clustering them into overarching themes.Map out the cliches, symbols, icons and wellestablished visual language for each theme.Look for crossovers, scope for development orthe potential to create something distinctive.As mentioned, our fictitious company is calledGenerico, a forward-thinking business, full ofsuper-smart people who challenge conventionalwisdom. It creates intelligent logistics software.It makes complicated problems simple. ButGenerico has hidden in the shadows for too long.Following some serious investment, it’s time forit to take its products to market and become amore commercial beast. This project is all aboutbuilding a brand from scratch, not re-designingan existing one. It’s a brilliant opportunityto express what it’s all about. And a greatopportunity to flex our creative muscles.How do we make Generico shine?Creating a logo requires insight and intuition.While insight can be achieved throughgathering and interpreting information,intuition is more closely aligned toexperience and gut feel.4

3Considerdifferent typesof logo —WordmarksCan the brand personalitybe conveyed using purelytypographic means?LetterformsCould the company’s initial(or initials) create a uniquebranding device?Logo’s come in all shapes and sizes. Fromwordmarks to image-based marks, there areno hard and fast rules about which approachworks best. Experiment, but be sure theideas fit the brief.EmblemsIs there a shape or holding devicewith which the company name isinextricably connected?Pictorial marksCould an immediately recognisableimage be simplified or stylised?Creating the perfect logo design Consider different types of logoAbstract symbolsCan you invent a symbol thatconveys the brand’s big idea?A logo in itself is not a brand. The term logois short for logotype, graphic designer speakfor a custom-lettered word. Logos is Greekfor word. You can see why the term ‘logo’caught on - it’s dead catchy. But what peopleare usually referring to when they say ‘logo’is a symbol, emblem, monogram, initials orany form of graphic device that represents acompany or its products and services. A logo(or brand mark) is the flag behind which prettymuch every organisation stands. And, just likepeople, they come in all sorts of shapes, sizesand varieties.In the early part of a project it pays not to limityour thinking to one particular approach. Beadventurous and try them all. What fits? Whatworks? What doesn’t? Would this idea workbetter this way, or that way? Have a go atcoming up with ideas for all of the followingcategories, even if you have a hunch aboutwhat the client will go for. Remember thatthere are no hard-and-fast rules, so explorecombinations of categories and crossoverbetween them: sometimes that’s where you’llfind the best ideas, and clients can makeunexpected decisions, so test the water.5

4Getting to grips with a company’s structure and brandarchitecture will ensure the logo designs are futureproofed, and bring consistency to a clients portfolioof services, products and communications.Look at thebigger picture — Before unleashing your creativityon logo ideas, it’s a good idea toknow where your logo fits into thebigger picture. Get to grips withthe brand structure of the companyyou’re working with.What’s the fundamental framework of theorganisation? Does it have sub-brands or a portfolioof different products and services? How do these fittogether? Is there a master brand, or several separatebrands? Should different offerings feel like they arepart of the same family? Or distant relatives?Brand architecture, as it’s known, might not soundlike the most exciting aspect of logo design, buttackling this now can spare your blushes downthe line. And while this structure, along with itsassociated internal politics, should have been sortedas part of the strategy work, your job as the designeris to make sense of things visually.MonolithicThe organisation uses onename and visual identitysystem across its entireportfolio. For example, VirginAtlantic, Virgin Media, VirginActive and Virgin Money.Sketching out the brand framework, before jumpingon your Mac, is always a good idea. It can really helpto make sense of things, and clarify your thinking.Broadly speaking, the brand architecture ofmost organisations falls into one of the followingcategories, or is a hybrid of them.No brand architecture is exactly the same, and noone architecture is better than another. Each has itsown advantages and disadvantages. And nothingis set in stone - it can be appropriate to develop theframework over a period of time, as circumstancesdictate. There’s an infinite amount of scope forvariation within each system, so experiment anddon’t be afraid to offer up several alternatives toachieve the end goal.Creating the perfect logo design Look at the bigger pictureEndorsedThe organisation owns a varietyof brands, each of which isendorsed by the group name.For example, Shredded Wheatby Nestlé, KitKat by Nestlé andNescafé by Nestlé.BrandedThe organisation ownsa number of brands orcompanies that appearto be unrelated. For example,Vauxhall, Chevrolet,Cadillac and Opel.All General Motors brands.6

5How the mind works —123ShapeColourTypeShapes come first. Reading is not necessary to identifyshapes, but identifying shapes is necessary to read. Thebrain acknowledges distinctive shapes that make a fasterimprint on the memory.Research tells us a lot about how the human brain processessensory information. It’s mostly common sense, but worthserious consideration when designing brand marks. Forinstance, we tend to acknowledge shapes before language,which might be worth bearing in mind if you’re creating a logothat needs to compete in a particularly congested sector.Creating the perfect logo design How the mind worksColours come second in our sequence of cognition.Colour can evoke emotion and trigger its own associationwith a brand, but needs to be considered carefully. Somecompanies virtually own a colour.Symbols can become incredibly recognisable throughexposure, so much so that some organisations have droppedtheir name entirely. Nike and Apple are two brilliant examplesof this. Of our senses, sight plays the most significant role inour ability to recognise and remember a brand. So it’s worththinking about how the brain will process your logo designs:Our brains take more time to process language, whichmeans that content comes third in the sequence behindshape and colour. This becomes particularly relevant ifyou’re working with a complex brand mark.Our brains are hardwired to processdistinctive shapes before colour andwords. Symbols can become so instantlyrecognisable that organisations are ableto drop their name altogether.7

6Word marksGenerate lots of ideas —The beginning of a newproject is really exciting: yourenthusiasm is at its strongestand the possibilities are infinite.At this time, the more ideas youcan come up with, the merrier.But how do you stop thingsrumbling on forever?Where do you draw the line?It’s important to set yourself clear goals anda proper definitive deadline. For instance,commit to generating 10 type-only wordmarks in an hour, 20 letterforms in two hours,or as many abstract symbols as you can in aday. Then stick to your goal religiously.If your ideas hit the buffers and you’restruggling for inspiration, ask yourself lotsand lots of questions. Could the brand ideabe expressed by exaggerating something?Taking things literally? Saying the opposite?Using double meaning? Using a metaphor?Changing perspective? Comparing the brandto something unrelated?Use a pen, use a mouse, use whatevermedium you work fastest in. Quickly translateyour ideas onto the screen or page as soon asyou can. These are sketches, and it’s about theidea at this stage, so avoid too much fiddlingand tweaking. Always stop when you said thatyou would. Set aside time to properly revieweverything you’ve come up with, make ashortlist for development, then move on.Concentrate on ideas initially, not theexecution, and be sure to know when tostop. Then apply quality control, narrowyour focus and work up your preferredlogo designs for presentationCreating the perfect logo design Generate lots of ideaLetterformsEmblemsPictoral marksAbstract symbols8

7Check out the competition — It’s no good coming up with anabsolutely brilliant logo if it’svirtually identical to one of yourclient’s closest competitors. Or,worse still, one of the world’sbiggest and best known brands.Do your homework. Check out the brand’srivals. Check out the whole sector. Whatsymbols do they use? What fonts do they use?What colours do they use? Know your stuff,do some research, look for opportunities inthe marketplace and create your own space.By all means spend some time hunting thelogo blogs and checking out agency websites,but don’t copy what’s already out there.Be inspired by it. It’s great to be aware ofwhat’s fashionable in the world of branding,but always aim to present designs that are notonly distinctly different from the competition,but simple and timeless.Much of the ground work will have beendone during the research and brandstrategy stage. But it’s still worth doing afinal search to ensure your perfect logoisn’t going to land you in hot water.Creating the perfect logo design Check out the competition9

8Stretch your designs to extremes —Brand marks live in anincreasingly complex, multichannel environment. Inlayman’s terms, this means thathow your logo works as an appicon on your smartphone orin your twitter feed is just asimportant as how it looks on abusiness card, on the side of abus or behind the reception deskin your client’s office building.How will this brilliant design of yours work ina tall skinny space? How will it work in a wideshallow space? Does it still work in black andwhite? Could it be stitched onto a garment?Could it be screen printed on a balloon?Answer questions like these early on in thedesign process and you can save yourselfa world of problems later on.Choose a small selection of the most visibleapplications and see how the front-runningdesigns work on them. Think about potentialproduction issues, and remember to includedigital channels, such as social media icons.Creating the perfect logo design Stretch your designs to extremesAt this stage of the project, it might also helpto create some rough mockups. Brand marksrarely exist in a vacuum and there are tonsof resources out there to help you achievemockups quickly and effectively. Whetheryou choose to create designs for stationery,signage or social media, mockups can helpyou and the client visualise and evaluate alogo’s potential beyond the design in isolation.10

9Judge your shortlist properly —Sometimes gut feel is a greatjudge of the way to go. Butoften, one person’s gut feelcan be another’s gut wrench.Finding the way forward canoften be tricky.Clients frequently lack the confidence to makebig decisions and as humans we struggle tobe objective and get past what we simply likeor don’t like. You can sometimes find yourselfstuck between a rock and a hard place whenopinion is divided within a project team.Aim to filter your client’s selections, feedbackand development suggestions back throughthe criteria set out in the creative brief. Alwaysremember what the project is aiming toachieve and focus discussions around that.If in doubt, use a scorecard to help judgedesigns objectively. Your scorecard shouldinclude some of the following questions:Brand scorecardLogo ALogo BLogo CDoes it support the brand idea?532Is it distinctive and memorable?323Is it different from the competition?315Will it work across different media?2You might not always choose the winning logothis way but it helps focus minds on the taskin hand. This is also a good point to rememberthat there’s way more to branding than justa logo. A brand mark can’t do everythingon its own. But it can be filled with value byeverything from photography and typographyto tone of voice and staff behaviours.Aid your own decision making through aclearly defined criteria against which theclient can also judge your designs. This willavoid design by committee, and ensure theright choices are made.Will it stand the test of time?TotalCreating the perfect logo design Judge your shortlist properly11

10Listen to feedback —Once you’ve created ashortlist - ideally this shouldbe no more than a few ideas canvas opinion from as manypeople as you can.What does your mum think of it? What doesa five-year-old make of your sophisticateddesigns? Is it easy to read? Does it lookfriendly? Does it look a bit like a dog? Havethey seen anything similar? If there’s time,run some workshops, focus groups or anonline survey with the target audience. Listento everything people say, not just what yourfellow designers and the client think. You’llprobably hear a lot of random stuff that youcan disregard, but if lots of people are sayingthe same thing, no matter how uncomfortablethat might be, you need to tackle it.Listen to feedback constructively. Havethe confidence to discount personalpreference, such as I don’t like purple.If a particular issue or concern is raisedmore than once however, take note.Creating the perfect logo design Listen to feedback12

11Refine, refine,refine —Once the final logo designhas been selected, it’s easy torelax and take your eye off theball for a moment. But the devilreally is in the detail.Step back and take a long, hard look atyour masterpiece. Ensure it’s legible in allcolour variants and sizes. Check the spacingbetween characters and the relationshipbetween the symbol and type.Double check that any curves in your brandmark are super smooth. Makes sure thespacing between letters is spot on and thateach letter is perfectly proportioned to therest. Double check them again, well beforereleasing it into the wild. Zoom right in andcheck for glitches. Print it out really largeand stare at it for a bit. Scale it down to 100pixels and see what happens. You probablywon’t get another chance to change it onceit’s gone, so try and get it right first time.Then once you’re finished refining, finish.And stop twiddling.Creating the perfect logo design Refine, refine, refine13

1212 - Create robust master artworkCreate robustmaster artworkThere’s nothing worse thanseeing your beautiful, slavedover, masterpiece wrongly orbadly reproduced. You canhelp prevent this happeningby producing a comprehensiveand well organised set ofmaster artworks.Logo o.epsLogo.tifWe’ll leave detailed brand guidelinedocuments for another day, but a few simplerules and the correct file formats shouldhelp prevent mistakes and aid consistentreproduction. Covering all the common graphics file formats - EPS, JPG, CMYK and RGB will stop the inevitable email requests and makesure users are not left to their own devices.Create master artwork for every eventualapplication and channel, from full colour tosingle colour and from digital to print. Test allfile formats before releasing final artwork forimplementation.Creating the perfect logo design Create robust master artwork14

ConclusionThere’s no sure-fire way toproduce a brilliant logo - youneed to tailor your process tosuit the particular project andyour own preferred way ofworking. Some logo designersgenerate dozens of rough ideas,while others prefer to hone a fewideas and work up more fullydeveloped prototypes for each.At the end of the day, it’s the idea thatcounts. No amount of sheen will compensatefor a lack of fresh, creative thinking, and asimple rough sketch won’t stop a great ideashining through.While following these steps alone won’tguarantee sign-off on your favourite idea, thisis a pretty robust way of planning your nextlogo design assignment. It should help youfeel more confident about the process andprovide the flexibility to suit almost any type ofclient. It should also help your project stay ontrack and focus minds on the end goal. Alwaysremember that if all logo design projectswere the same, life would be boring. Everyone of them is unique, with different aims,aspirations, expectations and budgets.It’s worth repeating that a logotype alone isnot a brand. Spotify will still be Spotify with adifferent logo design. But, along with other keyingredients in the branding mix – language,colour, typography, illustration, photography– logos are a key component of the visualwrapping that makes brands recognisable tothe outside world.Creating the perfect logo design Conclusion15

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Creating the perfect logo design Consider different types of logo 5 Consider different types of logo — 3 A logo in itself is not a brand. The term logo is short for logotype, graphic designer speak for a custom-lettered word. Logos is Gree

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