A good logo design can bring many significant benefits and influence, including:
Establishing a brand image: A good logo design can help build the image and identity of a brand, making it easier for people to remember and identify your brand.
Improving brand awareness: A good logo design can increase the popularity of the brand and make it stand out in a fiercely competitive market.
Strengthening brand value: A good logo design can convey the value and mission of the brand, allowing people to establish an emotional connection and trust with the brand.
Communicating brand information: A good logo design can convey the brand's information and concepts through image and text, allowing people to better understand your brand.
Improving sales and performance: A good logo design can help attract potential customers and loyal customers, and enhance the loyalty of the brand.
So, how do you design a brand logo? Donuts Design's Senior Designer Vivian has summarised the following 7 steps for you:
1. Design a Logo- Preliminary Preparation
Preparation includes understanding the product information and analysing competing products. These are the most basic and most important. You need to understand the following information:
The colour you want to use
The brand concept
The style of logo you like
The overall temperament
The purpose of the above four issues is to make the needs of the client more clear and communicate the requirements from colour, meaning, form, and overall temperament.
2. Information Analysis and Design Direction
This step involves extracting all useful information or elements from the information collected, summarising them into keywords or sentences, and using these keywords to brainstorm ideas. Analyse what forms these keywords can be used and think about the design method in each direction. There are several forms of logo, including text, form, figurative figure, and abstract figure.
3. Collection of Inspiration Materials
During the research phase, it's unlikely you'll find the perfect idea, but there should be a lot of directions to choose from. Next, you should find some related or similar inspiration materials for each direction. It's not limited to just good logos. Sometimes, photographs, paintings, advertising designs, clothing, etc., can also provide related pictures.
For example, if there is an "S-letter" scheme in your design direction, you should find some "S-letter" designs. Or, if you have a more abstract keyword like "technology," then go to a design website to search for images that convey a sense of technology. Save the inspiration pictures and find inspiration in every element and keyword.
The reason for this is to build an inspiration library and to avoid plagiarism. There are many instances where logos have been copied. Therefore, try to understand as much as possible at this stage.
4. Sketch Stage (Hand-drawn + Fast Vector)
Then enter the design stage, and make sketches of every solution that you feel is possible. My habit is to quickly draw the effect by hand and then quickly make a simple vector solution. Try a few ways as possible, and draw related elements. Even if it's not a very mature solution, it should be drawn and put aside. At a glance, you can see all the schemes that allow you to discover different combination methods.
Some directions may not be very good. In this case, look for inspiration to see if you can combine directions, such as positive and negative, several directions, adding several elements, using the same elements in different forms, etc. At this point, it's not necessary for the plan to be perfect, but it should express the direction you want.
5. Selection + Detailed Stage
Find all sketches and refine them as final plans. Refine the plan from the following aspects:
Color selection
In the early preparation phase, you should consider the general colour scheme. Each scheme should be colourful. The colour matching method can be referred to the related colour schemes.
Combine Different Approaches
While some design schemes may appear immature or incomplete on their own, the act of combining two or more distinct solutions can often yield unexpected and fruitful results. This approach allows for the synthesis of diverse ideas and the creation of a more holistic and nuanced design direction.
By thoughtfully considering and integrating seemingly disparate approaches, designers can unlock new possibilities and push the boundaries of what's possible in their field. This process of combining and refining ideas is a key aspect of creative problem-solving and can lead to truly innovative and impactful solutions.
Change the Form of Design Expression
Some schemes may not look perfect, perhaps the form of elemental expression is inappropriate.In this case, look at your inspiration materials again and try a new form of expression.
Multi Language font design
The design of the font is a very important part of the logo. One way is to find a relatively suitable pre-made font and adjust it accordingly. Alternatively, you can use a designated font. The weight of the word, tilt, setting, the sense of power, movement, elegance, etc. that the brand should convey, must be consistent with the brand image.
Trend
Pay close attention to the current design trends. Consider whether the current trend can be applied to your own design, such as popular colour projections, double-colour designs, etc.
Design details
Ask yourself a few questions. Is the colour comfortable? Is it possible to be perfect in form? If necessary, find some logos and compare them side by side.
6. Proposal Preparation
After putting in a lot of effort, you now have many plans in hand, and the next step is to prepare your proposal.
First, organise your own plans by categorising them into those you recommend, those that are accompanied by labels, and those that are required. Then, make your recommended solutions stand out and increase their chances of being selected.
Visual Communication
To ensure that your plan is clearly understood, it is important to use visuals in addition to language. Try to convey your ideas using images and not rely solely on words. Don't make the customer or the demander have to fill in the gaps in your understanding.
Detailed Proposal
Ensure that the demands of the client are met with a strong aesthetic foundation, and not just a few basic elements. Your proposal may not be detailed enough at this stage, so adding more details will help the client better understand your design ideas.
Real Scene Display
Describe the effect to the demand side in actual application.
Further Development
If you have enough time, extend the design of the logo by considering other brand elements such as patterns. This increases the chances of your design being selected.
Video Introduction
If you have extra time, consider creating a video to showcase your logo design.
Language Organization
Organise your language to ensure that your thoughts are expressed clearly. Utilize the materials you have collected and communicate effectively with the demands of the client.
7. Design and Improvement
After the proposal, the plan is finalised, but the design of the logo is not yet complete. There is still work to be done, including continuous improvement during the logo's usage and creation of a complete VI (Visual Identity) manual.
Detailed Proposal
At this stage, your detailed proposal will differ from the proposal stage. The proposal aimed to help the client understand your design ideas, while now the focus is on improving every detail of the logo including proportions, spacing, chamfering, thickness, etc. Every detail adds to the refinement and movement of the logo. The labels in the logo drawing are the aesthetic tools of the designer.
Different Versions for Different Scenarios
Different scenarios require different versions of the logo. For example, the logo for Facebook may only be 180x180 pixels. Will it be easily recognisable at that size? Another example is the use of a vertical logo in a guide system. Therefore, you must create different versions according to the use case and adjust the details accordingly.
Refining the Post-Use Process
During later usage, you may find that some adjustments are necessary to make the logo complete. Make the necessary adjustments to ensure the product logo is perfect.
That's all for the design content. Thank you for reading, and I hope it helps with your design process.
If there are more topics you want to discuss with our designer team or submit your article with us, please contact business@donutsdesign.sg
Kommentare