There is a saying that a logo is worth a thousand words, and a great logo will take a lot of the burden off your shoulders when it comes to creating a strong identity for a new company or brand. In our opinion, choosing the right seller is only the beginning of the quest to discover the holy grail of a symbol. When it comes to putting your seller of choice on the right path, a well-written brief is an essential part of the process.
Therefore, we have created this step-by-step guide to help guide your seller through the process of creating the perfect logo design brief, which will provide them with all the information they need and help them on the way to great results.
First and foremost, what is a design brief?
It is the designer’s guide to your business that serves as the basis for the logo design brief. The purpose of this step is to communicate your needs to the designer as well as to outline any important information regarding your brand, desired style, budget, and deadline.
Step 1: Introduce Your Business
Rather than jumping right into the visual guidelines, resist the urge to jump right into what your brand is and what its core values are, and instead communicate what it is and what it stands for. In your business name, what do you think stands behind it? How do you plan to achieve your goals? You should make sure you specify the category of your industry and what you are offering in your advertisement. Basically, you should be able to explain clearly what you do and how you do it in a clear and concise manner.
Step 2: Who is your target audience?
You should use a playful logo if you want to reach a younger crowd. The kind of style that you choose should convey an upscale look and feel in order to appeal to your potential customers who are in the upper echelon of society. Design styles and elements can be used by sellers to visually represent user values, so make sure you define what you need before you order.
Step 3: Determine your ‘Big Picture’ requirements
The logo is still only a small part of the larger branding strategy of a company when you are building a business, though it is one that is very important. Consider where you would like your logo to appear and how you would like it to look. Is your logo going to be a digital one or would you also need it printed on flyers, business cards, or brochures as part of your marketing campaign?
Do you plan on using the design in-house or as marketing material for your company? Are you starting from scratch and do you need a brand style guide to help you create your brand? It is very important that you communicate any format demands, size, and resolution requirements you may need in the future, or right now.
Step 4: List of references
Using the designer’s own work as a visual guide is a great idea, so you can review their work samples, portfolio, and/or previous deliveries on your own to figure out what you are looking for. Identify a certain style, font, colour, or shape that they have delivered in the past – this will help you to get a better idea of what they will do when creating your logo.
Step 5: Choosing colors
There is always a need to include a preferred color palette when designing a logo for a company. It will be up to the designer to interpret your instructions, whether they are straight-forward (“I want a black and white logo”) or even as simple as stating what colors you don’t want to be used (such as that of your competitor’s logo) and letting the designer decide. As with most things, the more specific you are about what you want, the greater the chances of the end result being something you love. It is important to keep in mind that every color conveys a different emotional response and has its own “personality”. In order to help you settle on a color scheme that translates to the core values of your brand, here is a list that you can use for inspiration.
White: Symbol of cleanliness, innocence, purity, youth, purity.
Black: Intelligence, luxury, glamour, strength, modernity.
Orange: Passion, enthusiasm, prosperity, warmth, playfulness.
Red: Power, warmth, love, passion, gentleness, energy, Romance, romance, energy.
Green: Generosity, fertility, tranquillity, harmony, nature, health.
Yellow: Positive, friendly, young, energetic, cheerful.
Purple: Introspection, spirituality, truthfulness, quality.
Blue: Integrity, loyalty, mystery, sophistication, respectability.
Brown: Dependability, trustworthiness, security, and friendship.
Pink: Traditional, feminine, polite, romantic, sappy, tender, sweet, witty.
Step 5: Select a logotype
Logos can be categorized into eight main types. It’s helpful to choose a seller whose gig offers the logo type that’s right for you despite the fact they may appear under different names (badge logos can also be called ‘retro logos’). You need to know about the following types of logos:
Wordmarks are font-based logos focused on a company’s name. Google comes to mind.
Lettermark (or Monogram) logos usually consist of letters, usually the brand’s initials. Take HP as an example.
Combination Marks embrace both words and images in their designs. Take Adidas as an example.
Badge Logo logos consist of fonts enclosing symbols or icons. Starbucks comes to mind.
Pictorial (symbols) logos based on icons or graphics. Take Apple as an example.
An abstract mark is a particular type of graphic logo. Your logo represents your business in an abstract form rather than a recognizable image, such as a car or a bird. Pepsi is a good example.
Mascot logos feature an illustrated cartoon character that acts as the brand’s spokesperson. KFC comes to mind.
Final thoughts
As you order and receive the result you are excited about, remember that the more information you provide, the better the outcome you will get. When your seller approaches you with further inquiries, make sure you include details about your needs and company values.
