By the time I sit down to design a logo, I’ve already met with my client. I have a good sense of who they are and what they are trying to sell or communicate. We have most likely had our free consultation, and I’ve done my research to find out who their main competitors are.
By the time the logo design actually starts happening, there has been several steps leading up to it. So, make sure you have a complete picture of the problem you are going to solve when you finally sit down at your computer (we use imacs and generally work in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop)
I always start out one of two ways. I either start hand-sketching ideas on paper, or I start looking for font styles that communicate my clients brand personality.
There are a couple of basic rules I abide my in all my logo designing endeavors. Author, Jason N Mark, co-founder of Gravity Switch states these rules real well in his article: http://bit.ly/ZF1Ep0
Most importantly
1. Make sure your logo works in black and white
2. Make sure your logo is expandable; it works both horizontally and vertically
3. Design elements you can extract to create a logo “stamp” for social media.
Notice in Joe Adami’s logo, we created a social media “stamp” for him to use on all his platforms as his signature, yet it looks like it goes with his “parent” logo design.
Your logo tells people who you are when you’re not around,
so it is important to make some good decisions in the initial design phase. Get a solid logo design, and it will work as a strong foundation as you build your brand.
Logo design with it’s coordinating logo “stamp” for social media