Check out the new logo on their website here

Below is their prior logo.

With that said, there are a core set of principles to live by when taking a logo from conception to delivery for a prospecting client. These core elements drive the basic themes and ideas that should essentially be embedded in the process behind every logo design.

(1) A thorough inception

First and foremost, a designer needs to spend time meeting with the client to get a feel for the client themselves, the product or service they are providing and the general culture of the company or individuals seeking the design. This is vital for one simple reason. If one does not take the time to familiarize themselves with their clients, there is no way that they can then build a design or identity that would come close to representing them accurately or effectively. Without an ample understanding of their vision, culture and background of your client, you simply can’t put a design together that will best represent their brand in an effective or responsible way.

(2) Research comparable marketplaces

Once you have developed a strong understanding of the client themselves, thoroughly developed their profile and their internal ambitions, then it’s time to turn to the market they will be competing in. Study their competitors, market-specific trends, tendencies and data on what to avoid. Identify how to differentiate your clients logo and market identity from the crowd, while still providing a direct or indirect association with their respective marketplace. Their design should not result in imagery that might inadvertently displace them into another marketplace due to poor color, form or imagery associations.

(3) Creative development

If both step 1 and step 2 are fullfilled, then a designer can then move forward into conceptualization. This is the time to put marker to dry-erase board, pencil to paper, or whatever intitial medium one choses to literally start throwing ideas around and see what sticks. Some may create 4-5 initial thoughts, others more. Honestly, I think a designer needs to apply a bare minimum of ten initial concepts (but only rough ones) – not to the client, but to themselves. I say this beacuse every time I have stopped short of that, I later come up with a design idea that ultimately becomes the final draft. Don’t settle! If you’re not excited about a design, then the client won’t be either. The key here is to take breaks when the creative juices stop flowing. Go back to it later if need be. Take a walk around your neighborhood and you’ll be surprised by what might give you a sudden idea or burst of inspiration.

(4) Invoke an emotional response

This is a step in the design process many designers skip right over. This is a crucial element of a well designed logo. Once an initial design(s) is developed through the designer’s conceptualization, it is then time to step back and absorb the visual message it/they translate. Does it tell an internal or evident story? It should. Does it appeal to some human sense? It should. What innate associations arise from it? These natural, human tendencies to see something visual and immediately associate it with something else is very common and must be taken into consideration. It is part of how a human brain functions – sectioning off certain stimuli and categorizing them with other similar connotations. Be aware of this… be very aware, and address it accordingly.  If you take this step to heart and build in a correlated dialogue, story or appropriate emotional contingent, you will immediate build value in the design in your client’s eyes.

(5) Presentation and feedback

Once a designer has addressed the above steps, it is now time to present the work. Designers should not approach this too proudly. If they do, it may translate to the client that the designer feels they know better than them. Not a good start. Only present your strongest design concepts is a common theme among logo designers. I personally think this up to the designer. If only a few final designs are presented, then yes, just present the strongest ones. But if a designer wants to approach the presentation by offering numerous solutions to the design, so be it. Maybe the client might need more choices before the process can be narrowed down. But be sure to have some very strong ones within the mix. If you have good ones mixed in with the really powerful ones, they can sometimes help accentuate the ones the designer wants the focus to fall upon. Be careful though, offering too many options can render confusion and indecisiveness with the client. Part of a designers job is to bring focus and solutions to a visual identity, not create more questions to ponder over. The presentation is also crucial, in that this is the time to listen – not defend your designs. Take the feedback and work it into the design. This is time when you need to follow your mother’s advice and “be a good listener!”

(6) Refine and Solve

Now it is time for a designer to take the feedback back to the studio, address it within the design that solves both the client’s and the designer’s internal dilemmas. There is no place for ego here. This is where the designer needs to ask themselves whether they’re in the business to build a portfolio or address their client’s needs. Decision time. I have been stuck between these two rocks before, but stepped aside, then reengaged and found that I could address their needs while satisfying my desire to render in a particular way. If designers do this, they will succeed in the final piece.

By utilizing these basic principals throughout the design process, a successful logo will demonstrate to the client that a great deal of time, effort and critical thinking went into the final rendering – which adds a great deal of value and appreciation for the work performed.

Read this post and more on my blog at mylogosphere.com