Team Devnergy 
This seven-step guide is not just a set of instructions but a tool designed to inspire and significantly improve the efficiency of your design process. Following these steps can transform your work style, making your designs more effective and impactful.
As Alina Wheeler aptly puts it, The logo design process is a journey that demands investigation, strategic thinking, and design excellence.
Before delving into the logo design process, it's crucial to understand the key elements that make an excellent logo.
What is required for a good logo?
Every designer has their perception of making a great logo, but at Devnergy, we summarize it into three easy basic principles.
As the famous logo designer Thomas Watson Jr. said,
"Good design is good business."
The three fundamentals of designing a suitable logo are,
- Is the logo appropriate for your business?
Being appropriate refers to relevance in its form and creativity and is related to the client and a particular industry.
For example, a women's clothing brand logo should be classy and elegant. Still, a logo for a car brand should signify boldness and energy.
- Is the logo simple enough to function in all sizes?
Simple means that it should not complicate the structure and be applicable in all forms. A simple logo signifies flexibility and easy application in various media frames and sizes. For example, your logo should be simple enough to be suitable for a small size on a business card and a considerable size, such as a symbol.
- Is the logo memorable?
It's essential to consider keeping the logo distinctive to be easily remembered while keeping it simple on the other end.
It is probable that the simpler any logo is, the less unique and more unimportant it becomes, but this is where it gets tricky, which is to keep it simple yet meaningful and memorable.
Now, let's jump onto the Devnergy's seven-step guide for designing a logo;
Discover - Get an insight into the client's business
Every logo designer has their approach and perceptions. However, reaching a consensus on operating a discovery routine and developing efficient strategies is crucial. This teamwork is necessary for a successful logo design process.
Logo design is not a simple art form that relies solely on creativity and imagination. It's a complex process that demands careful consideration. One cannot simply conjure up logo ideas out of thin air.
A logo is a visual representation of a brand and a design that should align with the business objective. Therefore, it's crucial to maintain objectivity throughout the design process to create something that is both suitable and likable.
A logo is a symbol that tells many things about a brand. Because it is everywhere, it should be powerful enough to withstand the test of time.
Nobody wants to do hard work twice, so obviously, nobody would like to redesign the logo in the future. Make sure your logo stands out and endures for the longest time.
Before you start and allow the animator to dodge around with color and shape, it's better to get a firsthand account of the client's liking for their logo.
From this point in the discovery phase, different designers will gain an insight into their complexity.
Some designers forward a branding questionnaire to their clients or have a casual call with them to gain insight.
Research - Have a great understanding of the industry and competitors
Analyzing the industry will give you a sense of thought and help you as a designer to idealize the type of environment your logo will adapt to.
Researching refers to clearly understanding the client's field to assure them that your solutions will be productive and applicable in their field.
Now, what is essential is that you need to know how it should work and how you will make the company uniquely different from its competitors.
This overview can only be generated if you see the company from a client's perspective.
It is crucial to walk a mile in your client's shoes to compete in an ever-evolving industry of logos.
This will assist you in making your creativity game strong and not designing anything familiar to your competitor, which leads to a rough end to your competition.
Conducting competitive research and analysis is part of our strategy session, during which we analyze along with our clients and conduct further research.
Our additional analysis includes surveying competitor websites, rating and reviewing their work and design, and noting all the strong and weak points so that they help us in the next step of the thinking process.
Think - Develop ideas and decide on the direction
This is the third part of our strategy framework session, during which we brainstormed to find a style or font that best suits our client's brand portrayal. We use what the brand generates, such as a tone of voice, whether soft or bold, to brainstorm and trace a vision board effectively.
We also use spider diagrams to craft and search for a suitable visual representation of the most critical keywords collected from the preceding steps. We then compile different vision boards that are lowkey visual representations with strategic insights.
After reviewing the strategy to extract some watchwords, we look at websites like Pinterest or Dribble to find a direction. We explore colors, styles, fonts, etc, to access all aspects of visual strategy that would shape the brand strategy.
Our pivotal focus is on creating objective vision boards, which allow us to establish a firm foundation for our sketches based on strategic understanding.
Sketch - Jot down logo concepts based on the strategy
Various designers skip the sketching part and prefer to begin working on the computer directly. Numerous professional designers prefer sketching logos by hand using pen and paper.
Sketching by hand is very useful as you can immediately express artistically where this logo will be.
It's also crucial to be clear about whether you are designing a symbol or just a wordmark.
Remember that sketching logos can be time-consuming, so take breaks so you have specific ideas and concepts for designing in your subconscious mind.
Taking breaks is always effective, as it helps your ideas mature and allows you to resume your project with a fresh look and energy, ensuring excellent execution.
Undeniably, it is true that the best and most creative ideas come into your mind when you least expect them. It is when your very conscious mind is packed with routine chaos such as car maintenance, driving, or working, so your subconscious mind activates and provides perfect ideas.
That is why we recommend that designers carry a sketchbook at all times. This sketching step will take you a few days, but it will all be worth it. We focus on quantity, so loads of logos need to be sketched.
We need tons of great ideas and concepts, so sketching is crucial. When we are digitally working on a computer, we can easily select a few unique and strong ideas.
Design - Choose the best logos and execute them flawlessly.
Once you've completed the crucial steps of sketching and visualizing concepts and strategies, the next vital stage is the selection process. Here, you'll need to choose the most suitable designs from various options carefully.
Stay calm, as this process can be hectic. Focus on the ones you think will portray the brand perfectly and satisfy the client.
After going through several steps in designing a logo, you should have a baseline for what should be added or excluded.
If you find yourself doubting the strength and appeal of your logo concepts and ideas, it's crucial to remember that confidence is key. You can always revisit the sketching and designing process until you're confident in your ability to produce unique and exciting logo concepts.
Once you're finally done with the sketching process and have really strong logo ideas, you can proceed to Adobe Illustrator to design vector graphics.
We prefer to design different variations of the same logo on a computer and then choose the best one from several options.
The designing step can take several weeks to months until you find your logo aesthetically pretty and eye-catching.
We recommend trying and testing your logo using different fonts, colors, and spacing. Always secure a copy of your logo so that you can always go back and review the previous version.
This stage is solely based on testing many different ways of designing your logo until you are satisfied with the aesthetics.
Your logo concepts and strategies will transform perfectly if you trust the process rather than rush to complete it.
Display - Present the logo concepts and get the client's feedback
While presenting your logo design and concept, be careful. Don't show them the designs you are doubtful about or have less confidence in. Only show them the concepts that you are confident will work efficaciously for them.
For example, we designed three subtle yet creative logos. While each logo's concept is unique, it shares the same strategy. So, to give the clients a flawless view of the logos, we took a bag, book cover, and business card and showed them how their logos would be displayed.
Designing a prototype is also essential. To create a sample, it is advised to have a list of key initiatives for marketing in your client's interests. The list will help you design three to five prototypes.
This step also requires gratification, so you must repeat the design and testing stages to find a perfect and suitable solution.
To see its application in real life, you only need to test the feasibility of every logo concept by originating great samples.
When you are displaying, your client can be uncertain about your logo concept at first, and this is just because all logos feel skeptical in the beginning.
Give your clients a gentle reminder that once a logo is adequately designed and adapted, it can be accepted and meaningful.
After finalizing, adjustments might still be needed, so consider compiling various concepts together and then smoothing your logo before the client approves it.
Delivery - Share logo files and create a style guide
Once you have the client's approval, it's crucial to understand their specific needs and the application strategy you've already learned. This ensures that the delivered files are exactly what they need.
Generally, a logo must include the primary varieties of color, such as monochrome and black and white, which induces simplicity.
It's also crucial to provide different logo files for print or digital use. This versatility ensures the logo can be effectively used across various platforms.
If the logo uses any commercial fonts, it's important to inform the client. This knowledge empowers them to use these fonts for future applications.
It's time for a style guide to be designed, which would contain all sorts of logo variations and a guide to using them, such as positioning on a dark background vs. a light background.
To make your style a helpful guide, you must illuminate other components of brand identity, such as color palette, photography style, illustrations, animations, and so on.
Considering clients' needs and budgets, you can switch from a one-page style framework to an all-inclusive brand guidepost.
While delivering, remember the two keywords: underpromise and overdeliver. This will help you execute a successful delivery and might enable you to provide your client with an extra logo design.
Conclusion
We don't hope logos are designed and polished accidentally; they are the result of powerful strategies, complex thinking, exploring, failing, and then coming out strong again.
Logos can be very communicative; its shape, color, and fonts can influence the audience and change their perception of your brand.
Consequently, it is all about creativity and effort, but it is also important to remain focused on your aim and adhere to your strategic understanding.
We strongly advise you not to consider the initial stages of design as less important, as they can be extremely helpful in the subsequent steps.
If you dive straight into the designing process, you will have more limpidity, less need for revising, and will stay dedicated.
If you apply Devnergy's guide for logo designing, you will definitely excel in designing. You will also go beyond your personal preferences and exceed your client's subjective reviews.
If you are a logo designer, this process will help you protect your work without being a deterrent.
If you own a business, you will feel relieved and confident about selecting your company's most suitable brand logo.
We'd like to conclude this with a quote from an American graphic designer, Saul Bass as he said;
"Logos are a graphic extension of the internal realities of a company."
