As a branding specialist and occasional logo designer, I am often asked about my logo creation process. Honestly, I don’t claim to teach you things that the rest of the internet hasn’t already told you. But since repetition is the mother of learning, I will walk you through the steps of creating a logo, ending with a surprise related to my experience designing logos in Africa for Africans.
Step 1: Evaluate the brand
Take the time to understand the product/service, the Why and the How, positioning, mission, vision, customers, competition, and use this as the foundation for defining your work axes.
Step 2: Research the industry
Explore major players in the industry internationally, those who are successful (customers always make unconscious associations with leading brands). Also, research local players who are doing well. Often, a trend emerges. At this point, you can either follow this trend in your axes or take a disruptive approach and swim against the current.
Step 3: List where the logo will be used
Depending on the industry, list physical or digital platforms where your logo will be used, considering the various production constraints that may arise.
Step 4: Sketch a variety of logo concepts
Start sketching ideas on paper based on the defined axes. This is the stage where you truly let your creativity flow. Make as many sketches as possible; the final result will only be better. Select the best sketches from each axis at the end.
Step 5: Create digital drafts in vector software
Digitize the selected sketches using vector drawing software. I personally use Adobe Illustrator, but Affinity Designer is also a very interesting professional alternative.
Step 6: Refine the logo design with feedback
Present the results to different observers and, of course, to the client, refining them based on the feedback they provide.
Step 7: Prepare and deliver the final logo files
Prepare the final logo file, ensuring it includes the usual formats (Ai, PDF, SVG, JPG, PNG) and various versions (horizontal, vertical, grayscale, monochrome, black 100%, etc).
When you present 3 proposals, there’s a good chance that clients appreciate details from each proposal (better than when they dislike everything) and ask you to produce misshapen combinations of your different proposals, sometimes resulting in a Frankenstein-like outcome.
The trick of the experienced designers: Create an illustrated and commented presentation that clearly shows the axes, construction elements, and the relevance of the choices. This provides clients with more material to make objective choices and to provide constructive feedback.
