What happens after we meet?
So we've had a meeting and discussed the logo you require. I will then spend a couple of days trying not to think about your logo. Inevitably, that's an invitation for my brain to sneakily think about it anyway, and pop ideas into my head at random times.
I’ll have a thorough read of the brief and research other related logos (competitors?) online. This will sometimes highlight a couple of ideas to explore, together with what I have potentially already sketched. (Yes! Doodles are my way to work things out).
Sometimes it's the actual process of the business that will give me a clue for a logo, sometimes it's the meaning, and sometimes it's something quite abstract but fitting.
I like to keep things simple and symbolic.
I usually work through my sketches and find the right font/typeface to go with the company - so that the words read with the right tone of voice and match the kind of logo the logo icon will be. This process secures the feel of the company - it makes me have to narrow down similar choices to find the ‘one’ with the best tone to match the business. I explore the icon/image (if there needs to be one) and try to simplify, simplify, simplify, to ensure the logo will be strong, simple, timeless and memorable. A logo could potentially be needed to be stitched onto a shirt, it needs to work on a large scale (and small), and it should be able to be represented in one colour (black or white only) as well as in full colour.
Any design elements that could be used for branding sometimes become evident in the logo design process and I may use them to illustrate my vision for the brand down the line.
When I send the first round of logo options I like to give a visual clue as to how I see the potential logo in situ. It does assist some people to see their potential logo on a business card, a sign, or a shirt. There may be things I need to explain or qualify my choices for, which I am always happy to do.
From there, my client can spend some time with the designs and give me their take on the visuals I’ve presented, after a few days. It may be that they like elements of something but get held up on other things. We can discuss colours, fonts, portrait/landscape use, or overall use, to guide me to the next step of the logo design. I have found this ‘distillation’ process gets us to something everyone believes in and is excited to implement quite quickly!
I provide vector format logos for print (.ai, .eps, .pdf) and other files for internal use or web use (.png, .jpg). If the logo needs to have a ‘reverse’ option, then I supply that too. Sometimes we need a portrait and landscape version - all of those will be supplied as vector and web files.
