Process of Creating a Logo

CGR 115

I know that since I've been blogging for so long, and that I am suppose to be a graphic designer, I really shouldn't be explaining the process of designing a logo, but I haven't had to design a logo for an actual company in a few years, and I am still a young designer, so I would like to touch up my knowledge and work through the process. Also, since I just started my graphic design class, and my first step is to design a logo for an already existing company, I really want to make sure I do this as best I can, to really reinforce everything I had learned over a year or so ago.

Even for the best designers, coming up with a great logo takes time and they usually go through the same process to create their logos. In a usual designers process, they would start with consulting the customer about what they are looking for in their design, what they want their company to portray. Designers make logos for the company, therefore if they have any preferences for colors or something they definitely want in the design. After you get the opinions and ideas from the client themselves, you move onto researching the company. The logo is the identity and brand of the company, a pretty logo that says nothing about the company doesn't complete its job, though it may be memorable, it doesn't give any indication to the type of company or what the company is about. An effective logo should show the personality of the company through its design while being simple enough to not confuse the viewers.

Research is a very important part of the process, you have to understand the name behind the company and the reasons for it, therefore you have to have background knowledge of the company. After the research of the company, you need to look into the design trends and logos that work well for different companies in that particular market. Demographics is a big part, a logo created for a law company is going to look vastly different than a logo for a teenagers clothing boutique. Looking at other logos from similar companies and competition that are popular and well known can give an indication of what that targeted audience responds well to, and you can start to think of how to create a logo that is even better than the competition and will draw even more attention.

After all your research has been conducted on both the company and demographic, you can start sketching out your ideas for the logo. You want to know your concept and angle your going to use in your logo, not every detail of it needs to be figured out yet, just the general idea of how its going to look, what elements are included and the style of the logo. As you design and delve deeper into your design, you need to take a few breaks, step away and really look at your design so that you can think of ways to improve it. Getting feedback from others can really help because as inexperienced designers sometimes know what most people would generally like or find maybe too confusing.

Next is working with the client about your idea and design, see what they think, get their ideas on the design for what works and what they might want changed, though you are the designer, they have to like the design as well and you have to be able to work with them sometimes. That's usually the process, working with the client can sometimes be the hardest part, especially when they want you to do something to your design that in your opinion is a horrible idea, but if that's what they want, sometimes you just have to make it as they want it. Either way, this is about the process most designers use to create all the amazing logos and designs they do.