The first step of the creative process is the creative brief. This is when I, the designer discovers the details of the project. Understanding your company’s goals for the logo is essential. The creative brief allows me to gather as much information about your company as possible from the basics of what your company actually does right up to your target audience and demographic. It also helps me to learn whether the company has an already established colour scheme and/or visual presence that needs to be incorporated into the new logo. In some cases, a new logo might be a good chance to start fresh and create a brand new visual identity, whereas in other cases it might be important that some kind of consistency is maintained.

Once enough information has been gathered about your business and creative goals, the next stage is research. The creative brief should have given me all that I need about your company, so now it’s time for me to look further at the industry you’re in, the current design trends that might run through that industry and also look at your competitors identity design systems to gain an insight into the effectiveness of various logo styles.

It’s important to note that all designers are different. But identifying keywords related to the company and its product or service is a common practice at this point in the creative process. These words will be used to inspire possible visual representations of the company. Once ideas begin flowing onto the page in text form, visual symbols and shapes will begin to take form also. Now it is time to begin conceptualizing the themes and text established earlier. I tend to sketch these ideas on paper as they come to mind so as not to miss certain elements. Once a theme becomes clear, it’s time to take those ideas to the next level.

Once sufficient time has been spent on research and sketching, the draft production process begins. Digital implementation of those sketches can now begin in the form of vector artwork. They will begin to come to life with the addition of color and detail, and they will be tweaked until they accurately represent the client’s wishes. Some logos rely solely on words or text, called “wordmarks,” while for others text is just one piece of the puzzle. Regardless, it is important to note here that choosing the typeface and correct colour schemes will set the tone for the whole logo. Testing each logo option with a number of different fonts and colours will ultimately lead to a more effective final product.

Once I have a few ideas in digital form, with different colour schemes and fonts, I like to step away from the project for a while. This break acts as a time of reflection, a chance to get feedback from people around me which enables me to return to the project with a fresh perspective. Designing a logo can be a very involved process; so gaining insight from an extra pair of eyes (or two) is highly beneficial. After returning to the logo designs, the most effective combinations will be chosen and assembled for presentation.

By this stage, I will have created a number of options, the most effective choices will now be made available for you to consider. Sometimes the logo options may be included, to help you envision how they will look on different media types. At this point, I usually ask you to consider the ideas and respond with feedback. Once the feedback has been received, I can then go ahead with any requested changes. The improved logo will then again be presented. It’s important to me to get the logo 100% as envisioned, so unlimited changes are not a problem.

Once you’re happy with the resulting logo, I will procede to create the final logo in a variety of file types that can be used for various outputs.Upon delivery of the final files, it might be time to think about employing the logo on marketing materials and promotional products. Taking the logo to the next level by creating a full brand identity.