It’s been a while since I’ve blogged – probably because I’ve been so busy lately with weddings and, my more recent expansion of my business into logo design. I’ve done logo design in the past – but I’ve started to make it a more prominent piece of my business because I absolutely love doing it. It’s the ultimate way to stretch my graphic design and art muscles, and it’s always so rewarding when I see my clients using their new logo.
I wanted to give a little insight into what I do behind the scenes in the process of designing a brand for a business, so I’m doing so with my most recent client – All About The Gown. Stefany & Judy are a mother-daughter bridal shop team in Lake Geneva, WI. They came to me after working together on a gorgeous styled shoot (to see it on Destination Wisconsin Wedding!), and had a general idea of what they needed in a logo & branding – something beautiful and elegant using neutral colors and a little pop of pink.
STEP ONE: STYLE EXAMPLES & RESEARCH
When working with a new client, I find it extremely helpful to see visual examples of the style they want to achieve with their logo. Sometimes, it’s hard to grasp exactly what someone wants without seeing something visual, rather than just a written explanation. Pinterest is the ultimate place to find examples, and I browse it as well to start my research before preliminary designs. I do some research on other businesses in the same industry, but mostly to see what is overdone so my logos can be uniquely theirs.
If it calls for it, I put together a color palette next. I like to include at least a darker color, a medium color, and a lighter color so it can be used in every situation. With All About The Gown, they wanted neutrals with a little pink – so I started with the pink and found a bunch of neutrals and other colors to go with it. I usually do this right in Illustrator, moving little shapes with colors around until I see a palette I really love come together. It isn’t an exact science – and it’s hard to teach, because it’s all visual aesthetics (which is one of my specialties).
Here is the color palette I came up with:
STEP TWO: PRELIMINARY DESIGNS
The preliminary designs is where the bulk of my work comes in. I like the designs to be distinctly different, some with calligraphy included, and some with just type faces. Because this is the initial step, there needs to be a wide variety so there is a higher chance of the client finding what they love in the first batch.
To be real, this process does make me nervous. Sending them off to the client, and the waiting period before they tell me their thoughts can make me a little anxious. Especially when I get the email that a client has filled out my questionnaire, I find myself nervous to click on the link. It’s totally okay to feel like this – it’s all about gaining the confidence in your design skills. Plus, if they aren’t in love with any, that’s what edits are for.
STEP THREE: EDITS
Using Stefany’s comments from the first one, I took her four favorites (#1, #2, #4, & #7) from the preliminary sketches and edited slightly. I changed a couple of the fonts, and the floral graphics, to fit better into what they were looking for.
This time, there was a clear winner: #3. They loved the new floral graphic and the updated calligraphy. Best part was, they loved it as is – no edits necessary! With my logo design packages, the full branding packages come with unlimited edits, but it feels amazing when a client doesn’t need to use them.
STEP FOUR: BRANDING BOARD BREAKDOWN
Throughout the whole design process, I’m thinking of possible additions to a branding board. A branding board is basically an overall look at the different elements of a single brand. For me, branding boards always have a main logo, color palette, secondary logo(s), submark(s), and fonts. Other elements that may be included are things like icons, headings, patterns, graphics, stationery, or more (depending on what an individual client needs).
At the top of the board, I put the main logo fairly large, as it is the most important part of a brand. Below it, I put the secondary logo. The secondary logo was one of the other options in my preliminary designs that they liked, but I changed it so it used the same font, calligraphy element, and a smaller version of the floral used in the main logo. I like the branding I create to be able to be used in different situations – longer logos work well for correspondence, ends of pages, etc.
The last logo version I created was a submark, which is something to be used as a smaller or shortened version. Because the name is slightly longer, I used this submark as a straight-forward, all type version to be used along side the other logos. It’s always best to have options! I also included the little floral detail as an “icon” of sorts, basically a part of their branding with no words at all.
Next, comes the color palette and fonts. The color palette I talked about above, but what I added to it in the branding board were hex codes for my client to use on their website, or if they want to continue the color palette elsewhere (I’m obsessed with everything matching, so this is important to me). I also include fonts in my branding board, the first font being the one I used in the logo, and I typically choose a second one to go with it. I almost always choose one serif font and one sans serif font when I do this, as they make the best pairings most of the time.
As an additional add-on for All About The Gown’s branding, I made some really cute patterns for them to use wherever, and some heading examples in case they wanted some for their website. The way their branding worked out, with the florals and the icon I chose, I was inspired to do something else that was graphically pretty – and I included a bunch of colors and options of the pattern when I sent over final files too. The headers are an additional add-on I offer, so I wanted to include that in my calligraphy too to show them what it might look like!
Last but very not least, I include a business card design with every custom logo or branding. I offer printing, or they can take it elsewhere to go print. Either way, when you have new branding, it’s fun to also have new marketing materials right away with the new logo and colors. All of the branding board came together for their stationery, and it is a good finishing piece to show how the elements can all go together.
If you’re interested in inquiring about my logo design services, please visit my branding page to learn more!
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Thank You for sharing! Very useful!