The Logo Design Process

Are you a prospective client and you would like to know what you can expect from the designer you work with? Or are you a designer yourself and interested in how another designer's design process works? Then read on! I have documented my process step by step. In this example I use a logo I designed for a fictional recruitment company. But this process can apply to any print project like flyers, business cards, etc.

Step 1: Questionaire

Before anything else, I need to know what you want. I send the client a questionnaire to fill out. The more answers you give me, the better idea I have of what you want and the quote will be more accurate. I asked the client questions like...
1.What does your company do?
2.Who is your target audience?
3.Please write the name you would like to appear in the logo.
4.What colours do you want me to use?
5.What “look and feel” should the design have?

The client then e-mails the questionnaire back to me.

Step 2: Quote and agreement

Now that I know how much work this is for me, and how long I will take, I can give the client a quote and a agreement. The client accepts the quote, signs the agreement and pays 25%. Then I can start working! If you want to have an idea of how much I charge, please download the pricelist.

Step 3: Client pays 25%

I require 25% of the project cost up-front. The rest is paid when the project is finished.

Step 4: Research

This step is very important. I research the client's market and their target market. I checked in the dictionary what recruitment exactly is: “Act of seeking prospective new employees or members for an organization. Recruitment is a vital function for an organization to maintain its personnel.”

From this definition I wrote down a few keywords: people, job, work, help, search.
Those were not enough, so I Googled recruitment. I found more definitions and also how the process of recruitment works.

I got a lot more keywords like: match, list, interview, attract, magnet, relationship, refer, networking, tracking, communication, selection, connect.

I also researched other recruitment logos. Most of the logos that I found have a picture of a person in them. I wanted to do something different and the client also asked for something unique.

Step 5: Sketching

I start sketching ideas on paper. I draw anything that comes to mind. The keyword “connect” made me think of an arrow. “Networking” made me think of the different types of topologies of networks -  computers arranged in a circle, in a square, the server in the middle, etc. Here are my sketches. It is important to take breaks when you’re designing a logo. Sometimes I get frustrated and can’t think of new ideas. Then you just have to leave that work and do something else. Sleeping works too! I’ve found that when I wake up the next morning, I have new ideas. 

Step 6: Computer

I chose my favourite ideas on paper and started developing them on the computer. Designers typically use CorelDraw or Adobe Illustrator. Always design your logo in a vector-based program. A logo may need to be resized to any size, and vectors don’t lose quality like rasters. If your logo is to be used on the web, design it in RGB and if it’s going to be printed, design it in CMYK or spot colour.

Font

The font I chose is Corbel.

Colours

The logo is only made up of two colours, so I used spot colour. The Pantone swatches are below.

I e-mail the client the logo and it is approved. I then send the invoice. Once I receive payment, I provide the client with the high quality version of the logo in several formats. I also send them a "brand guidelines" document. It shows them what versions of their logo they must use for what purposes.

As you can see from this process, logo design isn't a quick and easy thing. One can’t design a logo in a day. And that’s also why logo design doesn’t cost $5.00.

Please share your own logo design process in the comments. 

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