Last updated: February 26th, 2020
If there’s anything that can be called as the face of your business, it has to be your logo. Thus, it is the first thing that anyone notices about your business from your customers to competitors. This small element is huge in impact as it is the identification of your brand and business. So, it needs to be picture perfect. Designing a cool logo can prove to be a time-consuming task. Nonetheless, there is one thing that you can do to cut down some time and give your more for designing. You already know what business or startup you are going for. So, you already have an idea what is the core idea behind that service or product you are providing. Next step is planning and this is where you can save some time. Do your homework and set a day for planning and brainstorm the whole design before its execution.
Listed below are some tips to help you plan a logo in few hours.
Brainstorming for a logo is similar to the brainstorming that you use for outlining an article. There are some simple rules of brainstorming that you should keep in mind when planning a logo.
Share any idea that you have with others. Even if it seems silly and ridiculous, share it. You never know where it may lead so it is better to have it on the thinking board rather than keeping it to yourself.
Make up a list of all the ideas that you get in writing. No matter what the idea is, a brainstorming session means that everything that comes from the team is written in a list to be perused and pondered upon later. Even if an idea seems to be the winner of the supposedly “worst idea ever”, even then include it in your written list. It can always lead to discussions that can result in the most brilliant solutions.
Choose a time when you and your team are most active. It can be an hour in the morning or maybe the hour right after lunch. Or you can simply ask everyone to write down their ideas prior to the meeting at their own convenience. Everyone can make their own list of ideas for a logo design at their own creative peak and present it during the meeting. They key is to stay focused and alert when doing some thinking regarding the logo design.
It is very important that you should focus on your brand story. A logo design would only be successful if it defines the story behind your brand. What does your brand actually do and what are your goals and mission? If you are confused about this aspect, then here’s what you can do:
Making these lists will allow you to understand what you think about your brand, what you want others to perceive and the emotions you want to invoke in your targeted audience.
During your brainstorming and planning sessions, keep the end in mind. It will help you stay focused and you will be able to plan more quickly. Think where exactly do you want to use your custom logo. Write down every place and thing where you would like to place your logo in a list. Starting with your website, the list can include your brand’s merchandise, and marketing materials. Assess if your logo design will suit every medium or some limited options.
Being aware of where your logo will go will ease up the designing process as well. For instance, it should be distinguishable whether it is on a bunch of pencils or a set of mugs. The main thing is that it should be discernable even if it is on a small sized item.
There is nothing wrong in taking inspiration from the competitors. Conduct a survey and research which brands are ruling the market. What is it about those brands, that is making them so popular? Study their logo and try to understand why is it so appealing to the audience? Also find out what is not working?
Then, you can analyze what you are going to do about your brand. What is going to work for you? Whether you are going to choose pastel colors or go for the bold ones. You can also decide to settle upon a symbol that is unique to your brand and in the long run will become your brand’s identity. Whatever it is, you can simply take some inspiration from your competitors to save time and energy both.
Once all the planning is done from your end, it is important to get your professional logo designer in the loop. You will need to put all your trust in your designer. It is the designer who can actually give your a more critical and more professional insight about the ideas that you have brainstormed. With their expert eye for details, they can let you know what is going to work out for you or not.
A very good idea is to have 2 or more designers in your team come up with designs based on your planning and then you will have a more clear idea what is working for you or not. All you need to do is put your trust in the designers to design your custom logo as it is their job to skillfully translate your thoughts into an image.
With all these tips given above, it is possible to plan a logo in a few hours instead of dedicating a lot of days. Instead, the time you save in planning a logo can actually go into finalizing and designing the logo – something that is going to stick with the audience while presenting your company’s best face forward.
Waqas D. is the co-founder of the branding and website agency, FullStop™. He supercharge brands by crafting memorable logos, brand identities and engaging websites Besides thousands of startups and medium size businesses, FullStop clients have included Microsoft & L'Oréal. View our portfolio or get in touch.
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