Logo Design Process

See also Logo Design Do-It-Yourself or About.com's article on how to choose a designer

Research | Rough Drafts | Rounds of Revisions | First Round | Subsequent Rounds | Your logo is set in Stone | Logo is applied to materials

Having a logo for a business lends professionalism to your venture. Your logo is the first thing customers will see. It must stick in the mind not make you a stick in the mud. Eclectic Tech considers logo creation to be a deliberate process that should never be rushed, and charges a flat fee for this service on a per-project basis. In return, you get logo design services that are thorough and produce results. We have case studies featuring some of our identity design projects available on the site.

Here is what really goes into a logo:

Research Stage

1. Client is interviewed or fills out a creative brief. Both cover the same ideas -- what do you like, what don't you like. Who are you looking for, what is the company representing.
2. Eclectic Tech performs research on appropriate industry trends
   • check competition and other corporations in the same industry
   • determine whether there are particular desirable -- or undesirable -- tendencies in the logos of the industry in questiong**ensure that there are no issues to cause the design in question to be \"too similar\" to a competitor
3. Eclectic Tech explores concepts for the logo
   • sketches and consultation with peers
   • dreaming -- sometimes literally -- about your logo
   • inspiration
   • perspiration

Rough Drafts

1. Several first-draft (hand-sketched or written concepts) logos are designed. Usually about 5, and the best are chosen from there for further development as specified in the project agreement.
2. Comps (comprehensive rough drafts) of the best choices are sent to the client for commentary
3. Client chooses a single design as the basis for the final logo
   • Eclectic Tech may be consulted on whether you may mix and match aspects of the designs presented, normally not the best practice.

Rounds of Revisions

Every proposal specifies the number of rounds of revisions you get for your project fee. The first round may have somewhat drastic variations, but by the second round of revisions, you should only be polishing what will become the final design. Thus the first round of revisions may result in a range of several logos to select from, but the subsequent revisions will be narrowing the choices significantly.

Valid changes for first round of revisions

• Variations on the theme - not new designs, but minor alterations to explore a variant of the same overall logo design

Valid changes for subsequent revisions:

• Refinements (adjusting text, sizing, spacing, smoothing or roughening lines)
• different color combinations can be explored

Your logo is set in stone.

You may have a version with and without a tagline, a black & white version vs a color version. But once they are made public, they are DONE. It's a branding process, and your corporate image can't be changed like clothing.

• Flattened image files are delivered (jpg, gif, png, svg, eps, pdf -- and any other versions you want).

Design guide

In addition to the logo, if your contract warrants it, you will receive design guidelines. This is a document customized for your business that describes the correct way to use your logo, the colors that are correct to use for it, and the appropriate use of the logo in your documents. This step is optional for smaller businesses or individuals looking to save some money, but it's worth having a guide to send out to your printers and advertisers as a guideline. It ensures that everyone is doing the same thing with your logo, using the correct colors, and allowing ample space around your logo for it to properly stand out.

Logo is applied to materials

This is not included in the cost of logo design unless specified in the project agreement.

Your logo can be applied to:

• envelopes, letterhead, business cards
• brochures, sell sheets
• advertising, direct mail
• silkscreen and embroidery
• signage
• packaging
• website and web advertising