Logo design is all about understanding the brand and the business the logo will promote. Ultimately the entire ethos of the brand will be conveyed through one symbol; so it has to be aligned with the brand’s core values, look good and be functional. Even the very best designers will be struggle to come up with the perfect logo design for a company if they know nothing about. It’s not enough to simply read over the company’s literature and have a quick look at their website – a good designer will always sit down with their client and ask a series of questions in order to understand what ideas, philosophy and business model the logo should be conveying before they even start experimenting with ideas and with concepts. A logo design brief can be as in-depth as you see fit but in it’s very basic form it should include these 5 simple questions:
Logo Design Question 1: What does the company do?
Pretty obvious but the purpose of the company is the reason for its existence, so this is a fundamental question. This should cover the company values, target market, their mission and their desired perception – all of which will be taken into consideration in the logo design process.
Logo Design Question 2: Why was the name chosen?
In a previous post we wrote about how important it is to choose a solid name for your brand. A company’s name plays a significant part of its branding, so a logo designer will usually try to understand the reason why the name was chosen. If the name has any special significance, that will need to come across in the logo design.
Logo Design Question 3: What’s your business story?
A great logo design should be able to accommodate both the present and future activities of the company. This is why a good designer will ask the client for a detailed account of the company’s history and background, as well as their short-term goals and long-term plans.
Logo Design Question 4: What makes your company different?
In order to survive you should always seek to differentiate your business, your logo is your first opportunity to do this. Almost every market is saturated, hundreds of new businesses are launched each and every day in the UK alone. With that in mind, it’s important for a designer to ask about the brand’s competitors so they know what they’re up against and can ensure their client’s logo design differentiates rather than imitates.
Logo Design Question 5: What’s the brand’s personality?
Every brand should have a personality. If you truly know your business then you should be able to describe this in just 5 adjectives. This provides the designer with a concise point of reference and ensures that the final logo design will appeal to your target audience.
Often a logo designer will present the client with a worksheet asking the client questions like these. Of course it is also helpful to include more in depth discussion into aspects such as colour, typeface and form but these 5 questions should provide the basis of any good design brief.
At Gorilla we help companies with their logo design & branding needs on a daily basis, if you would like to-find out more or to speak to our design team then simple get in touch here.
You probably only work with big clients.
I totally agree with the “basic 5”, but in real life I’ve seen more than one client (small-size companies) giving me the empty-look when I asked these questions. Usually, people just expect you to come-up with suggestions out of the blue, no matter how you try to point out that it’s all about THEIR message and image.
Hi Melinda,
We work with businesses of all sizes- It is true that less experienced companies sometimes require more explanation initially. We always point out that the more information they give to us, the better the end results. What you could do is include ‘example’ answers for each question to guide the client- this normally works well for us.
All the best, Joe 🙂