Logo Development – a ‘brief’ challenge

When recently faced with a briefing challenge around creating a new logo for a client we were reminded of the fact that it is both easy and dangerous to overlook some crucial steps in the development process. While completing a brief is important, to rely on it alone can be limiting.

An interesting and relevant article written by Duane Kinsey from Logobird. outlines how going the extra mile to understand your client can greatly improve the relevance and effectiveness of the final logo design.

The article looks at some key steps involved in developing a logo that is truly representative of a business or brand: 

1. Ensure your client completes a thorough and succinct design brief.  This is the first and most critical step in obtaining information from your client.  It is information about the business and your client that is coming directly from them and written in their personal style. Ideas into Action are happy to share our logo design brief form. Using Survey Monkey we have an easy to complete online survey:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LogoDesignBrief                                        
2. Interview your client, preferable in person or by phone if distance is an issue. You may face the challenge with a client who simply doesn’t want to fill out a brief form, doesn’t have time to or doesn’t understand how to answer the questions. Interviewing your client gives you the opportunity to fill in any blanks from a brief and get a greater understanding and detail from their responses. Talking in person will give you a more intimate sense of their personality and their likes and dislikes which ultimately influences their concept selection. The more you understand how a client thinks, the more efficient and appropriate your concept development will be.                                                                                  
3. Research as much as you can, about your client, their competitors and their target audience. The more information the greater depth of understanding you will have of how the logo should be positioned in the market.                                  
4. Meet in person Visiting a client’s workplace or office can be invaluable. You will gain an understanding for the atmosphere and vibe within an organisation, their business culture and personality. How will their new logo work within their operating environment? Could the environment inspire the logo design?