Keep It Symbol: The Logo Design Process in Five Simple Steps

Keep It Symbol.

by Corey Seitz

The Logo Design Process in Five Simple Steps

“The strongest logos tell simple stories.”

Sol Sender

Table of Contents

Step 1: Discovery

2-3

Step 2: Exploration

4

Step 3: Sketching

5

Step 4: Drafting

6-7

Step 5: Finalization

8-9

1

Intro.

The process of designing a logo can be an intimidating task. After all, there have been 500-page books written on the subject.

Where should you even start? This booklet approaches the topic using five simple steps to guide you through the logo design process: Discovery, Exploration, Sketching, Drafting, and Finalization. By following these steps, you can learn to design logos more successfully and more simply. Let’s get started!

Step 1:

Discovery Ask questions, questions, and more questions. Now’s your chance to get the vital information you need from the client so you can start designing their logo.

Questions should serve the purpose of learning what physical and emotional elements need to be worked into the logo.

But don’t only ask design-related questions.

Inquire about the client’s vision for their company. A logo is a brand’s primary ambassador, so it’s essential to have a working knowledge of what the client’s company is all about.

2

“What is the name of your company as you’d like it to appear in your logo?”

“Do you have any specific imagery in mind for the logo?”

“What beliefs and values are important to your company?”

“Do you have any specific colors in mind for the logo?”

Of course, the questions you ask might vary from these examples. The overall goal of the Discovery phase is to get a solid understanding of who the logo is for and what sort of message it needs to send.

“What are some words that describe your brand?”

“Who are your targeted audiences?”

3

Step 2:

Exploration Now that you have discovered what should be incorporated into the logo from an emotional and physical standpoint, it’s time to nail down a stylistic direction. Opposed to trying to create numerous stylistic examples from scratch, it’s best to simply compile design inspiration and ideas together to show your client. Some popular resources for finding ideas include Dribbble, Behance, Pinterest, and even searching on Google.

4

Remember to keep your keywords from the previous step in mind as you sift through design examples. Compile logos and visual elements that you think could inspire and influence your logo’s appearance. You’ll then want to compile all this inspiration into a “mood board” to present to your client.

Step 3:

Sketching Here’s where the real fun begins for us creatives. Time for you to take the knowledge you’ve obtained in the Discovery and Exploration phases, and start to get your ideas for the logo onto paper. Sketch out anything that comes to mind; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Every idea is worth drawing out and helps with brainstorming.

Once you have a solid number of rough sketches, focus on your few favorites and refine their design. The goal is to have maybe 2-3 sketches that you move onto the next step with.

5

Step 4:

Drafting Ok cool. You’ve got a few awesome sketches, and now they need to be recreated and refined in a vector format. Adobe Illustrator is the best option, but other alternatives include Inkscape, GIMP, and Affinity Designer. Place an image of your sketches in your design program and use them as a reference.

The great thing about creating your final drafts in a vector format is that everything is easily editable. So, now the perfect time to experiment with color and typography choices for your logo. Set out to design two or three final drafts for the client to choose from.

Although every designer may have a unique artistic style, here are four foundational principles to follow when designing a successful logo:

Tip: Always make sure your designs work in black + white, not just in full color.

6

Simplicity

Too often, logos are thought of as illustrations that quickly become too complex to be memorable. In reality, a logo is a symbol, not a detailed artistic design.

A good logo design should communicate the company’s personality and message simply and tastefully.

Uniqueness

You want your logo design to stand out.

No one should take a look at your logo and think of a different company or, even worse, forget your logo altogether. Find ways to make your logo uniquely its own.

Versatility

The client needs to a logo that will work in a wide variety of formats. Designers should create multiple iterations of a logo for different use cases. Primarily, you’ll want a horizontal-oriented version, a vertically stacked version, and a logomark for apps and web favicons.

Scalability

Don’t let your design be limited by where it is placed. You want your logo to be as readable and recognizable on a miniature scale as it is on a highway billboard.

7

Step 5:

Finalization Congrats, you’re nearly finished! You’ve created some fantastic options for the logo, and now you just have to sell the client on one of them. It’s worth putting your designs in a presentation to go through with your client. This way, you can showcase the entire process you went through for each option.

Walk the client through each logo option, explaining your thought process and showing your various sketches. Once you’ve completed the presentation, don’t expect or pressure them to make a decision right away. Take any upfront feedback the client has, but also allow them to get back to you.

They’ll likely need time to make a decision.

8

“Have I supplied a ‘Use Guide’ to the client outlining proper usage of the logo?”

“Does the client have all the design files they need?

SVGs, PNGs, JPEGs, etc?”

Once your client has decided on one of your designs and any requested adjustments have been made, you have the final logo! The last thing to do is supply them with every deliverable that they’ll need to use the logo moving forward. You don’t ever want a past client coming back to you for any design or image files you forgot to hand off.

Outro.

And with that, you’re finished!

We’ve reached the end. Of course, the steps covered in this booklet only scratch the surface of the full extent of the logo design process.

However, using these five fundamental steps is an effective way to design simple and impactful logos for clients everywhere.

Thanks for reading!

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“I strive for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of those two things.”

Lindon Leader