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Logo Design Process
I have developed a five-step process for designing a small business's logo.
In this detailed process, I present you with multiple design options at every step.
You'll also get to play an active role in the design process, incorporating your industry expertise
and business knowledge, along with your preferences for colors, symbols and typefaces, into your
final design.
The result? A logo that's visible, credible and memorable—and uniquely yours.
Getting Started
Before beginning to sketch, I'll send you a copy of the Define Your Difference Branding Workbook.
The workbook format is designed to give you a chance to really consider the questions in the
workbook, and to answer them accurately. Once the workbook is filled out, send it back to me for
review.
Then, I will use the workbook to create your Brand Definition Report, and send this document to
you for review, to make sure that it captures all of the vital information about your business. Once
this report is complete and approved, I will use it to inform the design of your logo.
You can click on the images below to see larger versions of these sketches.
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Round 1: Development of a universal, timeless symbol
or a decorative element or treatment for the logo
The symbol in the logo is the best place to tell the story of what makes your business or service unique. Since it plays such a vital role, it is the first element of the logo to be developed.
This first round is done in black and white, and usually uses a single font to indicate placement of your business name.
Concept sketches for BayTree Wellness Center, based off the initial questionnaire feedback that they would like a logo with plant imagery and a "flowing" feeling.
Image #11 was chosen for further refinement.
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Round 2: Font specification
To specify a font for the logo, I consider two major aspects of the font: the character, style and message given by the font itself, and the legibility of the font at small sizes (i.e., on a business card). I can also modify or change an existing font to create a unique font for your brand in this phase.
Several unique fonts are recommended for the BayTree Wellness Center.
The clients chose the script font in sample #9 as their favorite, because it reinforced the "flowing" feeling they hoped to convey. They requested to see more script fonts in subsequent sketches, though, to further explore their options.
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Round 3: Color specification
Color specification for the logo depends on many criteria: color psychology, color theory, the emotions associated with colors, the contrast between colors, and the available printing budget. Occasionally, as in this sample case, the symbol will dictate that I consider colors within a single hue family. Even in cases like these, the subtle variations in color work to create different messages about your business and brand.
The clients chose to move forward with the bluish-green in #9.
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Round 4: Refinement
In this round, the logo begins to be refined. This can mean:
- Working with the details of the symbol to create the perfect image
- Tightening the overall composition of the logo
- Exploring more fonts or adjusting the font and spacing between words and letters
- Changing the balance of the colors
- Creating a unified look by matching the font and symbol's characteristics
Every project takes a different approach in this, and later, rounds.
This page shows several different script fonts, all with the capital T in BayTree. The top three versions show the script font from Round 2 of the process, with some modifications made to the "T" to make it fit in the logo better.
Font #7 was chosen for final use in the logo.
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Round 5: Further refinement
The logo continues to be refined until it is "just right." The changes in this round are usually very subtle, and I will go over the differences beten the options with you.
In this case, I designed the stems of the leaves to match the line quality of the font, so that the icon portion of the logo would be unified with the text. I also explored a few different versions of stem alignment, along with an option to print the stems in black instead of reversing them out of the leaves.
The clients chose #7C.
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Finalization
At this point, you are provided with a large version of the logo to inspect and to sign off on, indicating that the logo design is approved.
I deliver the logo in several color types (as applicable), including black and white, greyscale, and Pantone color versions. Each of these color types is converted into at least 10 different file formats, which enables you to use the logo in a variety of computer applications, including Microsoft Word, on the web, and for printing materials professionally. I am also happy to create non-standard graphic file formats of the logo at your request.
All of the final files are then collected in a ZIP file, and placed on my website for you to download for your records. I also keep archived copies of the files in case a backup copy is needed in the future.
Now that your logo is complete, I suggest that you leverage your new identity by having a business card, stationery set or a Brand Design Package professionally designed.
Contact me to start the logo design process, or
to learn more about my complete services.
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