Designing great logos is not a magic trick and it doesn’t just happen. Each designer has their own process for creating stunning logos. It took me a while (A few years actually!) to develop a process that worked for me and produced consistent results every time. This is what you want with your design projects and freelance career. Consistency.

Step 1: Have an awesome creative brief.

I will not proceed any further with a logo design project without a creative brief. A creative brief is a document you send to clients that has questions about the logo, but it’s much more important than that. The brief will direct the flow of the project. If you ever hit a stumbling stone you can go back to the brief. Asking the right relevant questions is very important.

Some of the questions I ask on the brief are:

Your business’s name?

Describe what your business does:

Where are you located?

How many years have you been in business?

Why are you seeking a new logo?

What is the exact name you want in the logo? Any variations to this?

Who are your competitors?

Who is your target audience or market? (Age, Gender, Location, Income Bracket, .etc.)

What keywords should your target audience associate with your business?

Do you have any preferences regarding the logo?

Do you have anyone dedicated to maintaining the brand identity?

Deliverables for this project (i.e. X amount of logos, branding guidelines, business cards):

Budget for this project:

Step 2: Research.

Once my client has filled out the brief and sent it back I will begin researching. This is also the point where I start timing my work using a free tool called toggl. I will check out the client’s competition. Research their target audience to see what would be attractive to them. I will learn the basics of their company history, their business, what they do and about the products they’re selling, taking notes along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask the client more questions during this phase.

Step 3: Concept Generation.

After the research I will begin collecting images. I generally use Pinterest to create a mood board which you can easily share with a client. I also insist that every designer uses mind maps. A mind map doesn’t have to be complicated. I start with the name of the logo on the center of a white page. Create branches to each new idea about the logo. Anything can be relevant, it’s whatever comes to your mind. You can also consult a thesaurus if you have to. I try to fill the whole page before I begin thumbnail sketches.

I happen to be a traditionally trained artist, but you don’t need to draw good to get your sketches down, because it’s about getting your ideas down so you don’t lose them. Never forsake the thumbnail sketches in your process. I try to get at least 10 solid ideas down for the client. Don’t concentrate on making everything perfect. Sketching is an exploratory process.

Step 4: Vectorize.

Once I have about 10 thumbnail sketches I will begin to “vectorize” them. I always try to use mathematical shapes rather than abstract shapes, but it depends on each project. Illustrator’s shape builder / pathfinder tool is a logo designers best friend with the second best friend being smart guides / rulers. The pen tool has its place in my arsenal, but I prefer to use perfect shapes that are already built into illustrator for their predictability and precision.

Step 5: Present.

Out of these 10 concepts I will present 3-5 of the best ones to a client. It’s important to know What makes a good logo so you know which ones you can eliminate. Another reason I only send 3-5 is that a client’s time is valuable and I want to narrow their focus. This helps wrap projects up in a timely manner and remove a lot of wasted time pursuing options which are not the best.

Step 6: Revisions.

Very rarely will a project be finished within the first round of concepts. It’s not saying anything bad about your work, but expect there to be 1-3 rounds of revisions, and don’t get upset if there is more. It’s part of the process of designing the best possible logo for a client. Make sure to encourage your client to give reasons why they rejected a certain concept, what they didn’t like about the concepts and what they did like. Communication and honest feedback is essential to a successful project.

Step 7: Finalize.

Once a client LOVES a concept it’s time to take that concept and create a brand around it. It’s very rare that a client just wants a vector logo. I always create black and white, horizontal, vertical, icon only versions of the logo as well as .jpg, .png, and .svgs. It’s also very important to create a branding style guide for reference. In this style guide you outline information about the logo such as the colors of the logo in RGB, HEX, CMYK, Pantone; the secondary color scheme for branding, the heading typography and body typography for the brand, and rules and clear space concerning the logo.

Follow up with the client. Ask the client about business cards and additional materials at this point. Ask them if they need help managing the brand. Offer more additional services to support the brand. This is the way to get repeat work, and make sure their brand is managed correctly.