The logo designing process may almost seem like magic with the final result. The truth is that a lot goes into the process and every designer has their unique inspiration and approach to logo designing and development.
Some professionals take anywhere from 60 minutes to 90 minutes of execution based on their methods and given experience. It is this crucial time when they dive deep into their creativity and get the most for the brand.
Despite having a unique approach to logo designing, most can agree on certain steps and logo design process that all the professionals, irrespective of their experience have in common. In this article, step-by-step logo designing process, with illustrations that can help you understand the process of logo designing by a professional.
Impact of Logo Designing
Have you ever come across a big brand without a brand logo? No right? It’s because there aren’t any. A logo has a major impact on what the brands represent and the way customers perceive and identify your brand. A lot of thought must be put behind the logo to make it memorable and outstanding.
Logo designing can make or break the brand to some extent. It is one of the key factors that reflect a brand’s identity and the way people identify and relate to it. A simple change in the brand can either take your brand to new heights or cause a slump in performance. Logo helps people to identify a brand without words and reflects the kind of persona a brand has.
Here are the crucial steps that every logo professional takes up and adds innovative thinking to the whole process.
These steps are very generic and would hopefully help the clients to improve their understanding of the quantum of work required for designing a logo. This article would give a very brief overview of what business owners can keep a check while getting a custom logo done by a professional.
Before we begin to look into these steps individually, it is essential to determine what it takes to make a great logo in the first place
Understanding the Essentials of a Great Logo
Every designer has a unique approach to logo designing. However, every strategy used for a great logo boils down to three fundamental principle criteria.
Three basic logo designing principles to check:
Appropriate – This criterion suggests whether the logo relates to the product or industry that the business runs. Customers can only relate to such brands which are communicative about their business through visuals.
Simplicity – This suggests that the logo needs to be visually easy to understand and not too loud or complicated. Simple logos make the most impact so make sure that the logo is not too loud and confusing for the clients to misinterpret. This also makes the logo unrelatable.
Familiarity – The logo must seem familiar to anyone who comes across your brand. A great logo is one where the customers/ laymen can identify the brand only by the logo, without mentioning its name. It needs to be memorable and easy to recall.
Now that we have looked into the prerequisites, let’s look into the process of logo designing.
#1. Identify
The first step in the process of logo designing is to discover everything about the company’s history, work ethics, and business. Every designer has a unique approach to it but it boils down to a single target. It is essential for the logo designing professional to create a brand strategy that can help them identify and create an impactful logo.
Logo designing is not just an art but a creative way to communicate the core message of the brand. It is impossible to design an impactful brand based on just aesthetics. The logo serves a specific purpose of the brand.
#2. Analysis
The second essential step is to make sure that all the information from the identifying phase needs to be researched well and insightful research will help validate the ideation criteria.
Researching will help the designer to get a better idea about the environment and theme of logo designing. The goal in this step is to get a proper understanding of the client’s work to ensure that your design aligns with their purpose.
Once you understand the business, it is important to narrow down what would work and what are some key points that you should know that can help you differentiate the client from his competitors.
Take note of the strong and unique points and beware of certain pitfalls before brainstorming.
#3. Brainstorming
This is the first stage when the real idea originates. Based on the conclusions made after identifying and researching, brainstorming helps you to pen down all the possibilities that will eventually become the basis of your creative designing process.
Brand personality, considering the demographic of the audience will help you to brainstorm and create relatable mood boards. A mood board is a combination of colors and objects (patterns), that is based on a specific theme.
You can find inspiration online or create your own from the available resources and ideas. Creating mood boards will help you to redirect towards a solid logo strategy.
#4. Pen it down!
Logo designing doesn’t start in the software. The logo professional needs to pen down and do the homework to analyze his designs.
In this process, the logo designer gives a creative form to the base idea. Most professional logo designers choose to sketch the logo by hand, on paper. Brainstorming is not easy as it seems. Most of the best ideas come when they are least expected to.
#5. Create a digital copy
Once the drafts are optimally judged, few likable options are selected to be designed digitally. You might need to jump back to previous steps if the design is weak and unlike what you imagined it to be.
This can take some time as you might make several changes in the design elements before you arrive at the best aesthetics.
Conclusion
Understand that great design doesn’t happen in a minute. It is a product of strategic thinking, planning, and refining what’s explored. Even though it is all about creativity and skills, it does not dim the shine of the importance of strategic planning. To create a meaningful logo design, these steps will help you get the best from a logo professional.
How Vowels can help you?
Even though you can follow these exact steps to create the logo, the experience and knowledge in this field are what separates logo designing by a branding agency from a rookie logo designer.
Our professionals have a hang on the process, making it easier for you and reduces the burden of uncertainty. Vowels is a Dubai, UAE-based branding agency that helps businesses get impactful logos designed by professionals.
Want to create a fresh logo for your brand? Reach out to us today!
