As part of the creative team here at Ideba, I get to wear many hats to help deliver creative solutions for our clients. Out of all the myriad ways we help them succeed, branding and more specifically logo design top my list of rewarding challenges.
What makes a good logo and the process to create one differs from designer to designer but here are a few steps and things I try to follow during the creative workflow:
Research & listening
A logo should reflect your business, so before any concepts have been created and any creative ink is spilled, I try and listen to the client and gather information. Every business has its own personality and each one is unique so being aware of their history, objectives, and motivations helps inform the look and feel of the logo representing them.
Choices and more choices
Everyone’s opinion counts and is valid, so I find it’s a good idea initially to create multiple different approaches to share and then gather opinions before reducing the nominees.
Testing 1, 2, 3
At this stage, I like to refine and develop the shortlisted options, testing them in various usage situations including on a business card, letterhead, website and various swag, and seeing how they display in different sizes. Experimenting with the color palette and how each option works in full color, 2 colors, reversed on black also helps weed out the field.
And the winner is…
Once a winner has been crowned, I make sure to export and deliver the finished design in file formats covering all the bases inc. high-res, vector, and layered files and thus future-proofing the design for any and all applications.
A logo is arguably the most important part of any brand identity and much like meeting someone new – first impressions count. A good one can elicit an immediate reaction, is attention-grabbing, memorable, and can set you apart from your competitors. Building one that projects trust is a custom bespoke process as there’s no one-size-fits-all creative solution and if well-designed, could possibly mean the difference between someone deciding to allow you to earn that trust or not.
So, what does your company logo say about you and how would you change it if you could?
Let us know and if you want to learn more about how we can help you with your branding and logo design needs, feel free to get in touch with us here.
-Dan Rosen, Art Director
