A logo design is something that will impact your business for years to come. It is important to get it right from the beginning. This is why at Norris Design, we put a lot of time into the design upfront before we even touch the computer to design something that is beautiful is easy, to design something that works is another story. We want to show you the breakdown of our process and how we create logos.
Discovery Session with Our Client
In a discovery session, our main goal is to listen. This is where we can really begin to hear and understand your problems, goals and dreams.
We also understand that we have to ask the right questions. We want to know about your goals as a company, your problems, who your target market is, how you are differentiated in the market, and how we can help!
Strategy Development
After the discovery session, we take the information and develop a strategy according to the needs, goals and target of the business. This is where we spend much time researching, thinking and brainstorming on our own.
Strategy is not just one simple part. Usually there are multiple aspects of the brand that we must marry together to create the fully developed feel of the brand.
Sketching
Once the strategy is developed and the vision is clear, we start to sketch. Sketching is the best way for us to get our ideas on paper efficiently and creatively. This helps us illuminate ideas that don't seem to pan out and further develop the ideas that do. Many times, the original ideas evolve into something very different as we continue to sketch. This is usually how our best design work is done.
Design of the Digital Logo
Once the sketch is complete and we are in love with the design, we scan the sketch and start creating the artwork on the computer. This is sometimes the shortest part of our design process. Sometimes, we just digitize the sketch but most of the time we continue to perfect and evolve the logo even further.
Logo Presentation
When we present the logo we start with a brief presentation. This includes a step by step introduction to our thought process and experience when designing a logo.
First,
We tell our clients that its not always about what an owner likes or dislikes, it is about what works. Our goal is to create work that is effective and appropriate for the business and target market. Many times the owner of the business is not the target market so our goal is not to only appeal to them.
Second,
We explain the criteria that we use for a good logo design. This is that it is appropriate in style and feel according to your target market as well as your position in the market. We also aim that the mark is both distinctive and memorable. This is important so that you can have ownership of your logo but also so that it can really hold its own and stand out. Lastly, it must be simple. This is usually overlooked. The logo should not say much. It should be these three things and it needs to be simple enough so that it can work in every place that it might be used. It needs to work in small formats, vertical or horizontal orientations, and it needs to be able to take on different colors as a silhouette.
Third,
We help manage our client's expectations. It is never love at first sight. It doesn't have to say everything about our client and their company. And most importantly, the mark is meant to be a vessel to contain what the brand says over time.
Fourth,
We discuss our perspective of the project, the objective as well as the strategy. This is to prepare our client to understand the thought behind every decision that we have made.
For this project our objective was to create a logo that can encompass the
values of the brand and can have consistent representations across all platforms so that the brand can grow recognition and value.
This was the objective because this was their third logo. Each time they changed the logo they lost time of brand recognition. We needed something that would work for many years to come and gain value. We also wanted to encompass the values and feel of the brand. The feel of this brand was to be personable, not rigid, forward thinking, the feel of upward trajectory and the ideas of accounting.
The strategy was that...
Empowered Tax Services should be represented by a logo that is unique and
encompass the feeling of personality.
It should feel inviting, not harsh (because she wanted to break the rigid stereotype of impersonal accountants since her business is very relational and involved.)
It should feel professional, not rigid (because it still need that element of trust and professionalism since it is a very important business service.)
It should feel modern, not old fashioned (because of this business' forward thinking, use of technology and modern practices when it comes to accounting).
The Presentation of the logo
Below is a style scape. This is one of multiple that we show to our clients in the logo presentation. The purpose of this style scape is to show the overall feel of the brand. Since the brand is not just the logo, we want to show the logo as well as our vision for the brand, too.
To accomplish the personable feel that this business wanted to portray, we chose the color of blue along with this light and airy feeling that is inviting yet not too feminine.
The color blue represents calm, trust and intelligence.
The light and airy feel helps this brand to not look too rigid while still looking high class, professional, and inviting.
The icon of this logo takes on many meanings.
The icon is in the shape of an abstract "E."
The three checkmarks represent the tasks of the accounting and the number of three represents completion.
The angle of the line represent upward trajectory of money.
Implementation of Feedback
During the logo presentation, we get feedback from our client and afterwards, we implement any changes needed. For this specific project there were no changes needed. For any logo project, we do include 2 rounds of revisions of the design work if needed.
Final Delivery
Once the logo is finalized, we prepare the files for delivery. We provide a package of many file types that you might need, a brand guide and all rights to use the logo. We also have a discussion to see how we can help you from this point to build your brand whether that is through a website, print marketing, or any other services.
"Kimberly with Norris Design was great to work with. She communicates effectively and focuses on understanding client needs and direction. She does quality work in a very timely manner. I highly recommend Norris Design Company for your website and graphic design needs." - Michelle Ross, Empowered Accounting Services
Check out or blog What Makes a Good Logo? for more useful information.
Logos that don't say ANYTHING is also a great blog that provides more insight on this subject.
Kimberly Norris | Norrisdc.com | Kimberly@norrisdc.com
