Revisit Process Logo Design

Preliminary Stage

1. Make sure Client has completed logo & branding form.
2. Review client’s primary competition, and research discover more competitors, until you have nine successful companies.
3. Discover who the audience is by talking to the client, sales representatives, or marketing department. There can be three audience groups: primary, secondary, and general audience.
4. Discover the core company values (ie Innovation, creativity, risk taking). Discover the company’s strengths and weaknesses.
5. Guiding attributes – create a list of five to eight words that describe the business.

Note: A logo identifies, it does not describe (Apple’s logo is neutral – it does not describe computers at all). A logo cannot solve every problem. You need to be able to see a logo from a distance easily. They must have mnemonic value. They must be able to exist in a variety of media (Today a logo will be on a website, on a business card, on a t-shirt, on a tv, or on a billboard). A logo is not an illustration.

Production Stage

1. Decide if the logo is going to be a Wordmark, Monogram, or Icon. You would typically only use a Monogram if the company name has over a dozen characters. You would typically only use an Icon if the company is already famous or well know.  If the client is really enforcing a Monogram or an Icon despite their company attributes, attempt to fulfill their needs regardless.
2. Application required: Adobe Illustrator CC
3. Filing system required: (Video Instructions)
4. Create a new document at (width = 16 in, height =  9 in, resolution = 300 dpi). Benefit: The artwork will be the same size of a full screen for viewing.

WORDMARK

1. Save the file with this filing convention “company abreviation”_”deliverable”_”version”.ai in all lowercase (example: el_wordmark_01.ai).
2. Save the file in location “client/company/logo” folder.
3. Type the name of the wordmark on the document and duplicate 15 times. Create 16 versions of the wordmark on the page with four rows and four columns. Explore different fonts until all 16 versions have unique fonts, making sure the fonts parallel to the Client’s brand. Duplicate the artboard and repeat the process until you have 32 unique wordmarks. Now duplicate these two artboards, so you have four artboards, and 64 wordmarks. Set the two new artboards to all caps. Your document should look something like this.
4. Refine the choices down to your eight favorite and place them on a new document of the same size at four wordmarks wide, by two tall.
5. Take these eight options and play with the arrangements. Do the letter forms make interesting negative forms when they’re connected? Is it easier to read the uppercase or lowercase versions? Are there similar shapes to the letters that can be made consistent, such as circles or lines? Try all kinds of combinations. But don’t torture the letters.

MONOGRAM

1. Save the file with this filing convention “company abreviation”_”deliverable”_”version”.ai in all lowercase (example: el_monogram_01.ai).
2. Save the file in location “client/company/logo” folder.
3. Type the name of the wordmark on the document and duplicate 15 times. Create 16 versions of the wordmark on the page with four rows and four columns. Explore different fonts until all 16 versions have unique fonts, making sure the fonts parallel to the Client’s brand. Duplicate the artboard and repeat the process until you have 32 unique wordmarks. Now duplicate these two artboards, so you have four artboards, and 64 wordmarks. Set the two new artboards to all caps. Your document should look something like this.
4. Refine the choices down to your eight favorite and place them on a new document of the same size at four wordmarks wide, by two tall.
5. Take these eight options and play with the arrangements. Do the letter forms make interesting negative forms when they’re connected? Is it easier to read the uppercase or lowercase versions? Are there similar shapes to the letters that can be made consistent, such as circles or lines? Try all kinds of combinations. But don’t torture the letters.

ICON

1. Save the file with this filing convention “company abreviation”_”deliverable”_”version”.ai in all lowercase (example: el_icon_01.ai).
2. Save the file in location “client/company/logo” folder.
3. Type the name of the wordmark on the document and duplicate 15 times. Create 16 versions of the wordmark on the page with four rows and four columns. Explore different fonts until all 16 versions have unique fonts, making sure the fonts parallel to the Client’s brand. Duplicate the artboard and repeat the process until you have 32 unique wordmarks. Now duplicate these two artboards, so you have four artboards, and 64 wordmarks. Set the two new artboards to all caps. Your document should look something like this.
4. Refine the choices down to your eight favorite and place them on a new document of the same size at four wordmarks wide, by two tall.
5. Take these eight options and play with the arrangements. Do the letter forms make interesting negative forms when they’re connected? Is it easier to read the uppercase or lowercase versions? Are there similar shapes to the letters that can be made consistent, such as circles or lines? Try all kinds of combinations. But don’t torture the letters.

Delivery Stage

1. Preflight (Video Instructions)
2. Formats (Video Instructions)
3. Delivery Method (Video Instructions)

 

Billing Stage

1. Please submit your hours (Video Instructions)