Getting to create a logo is not only a rewarding experiment, but serves as one of the most important elements of a brand. It is just a small, sometimes very simple design, but it is an icon that represents the whole company.
Thousands, in some occasion, millions and billions of dollars are represented by just that one small combs of shape and color. Even the simplest of logos may elapse many revisions as various ideas are considered in the development process before the logo is finalized. Here are some thoughts on that development process.
1. Sketch-storming
Grab that graph paper and start throwing ideas down on it. Scribble down thoughts, shapes, and everything else you can bring to mind. Keeping it small helps. Avoid sketches that are too big since this step in the development process is just about generating and sparking ideas. Experiment with some custom lettering and play around with different combinations of basic shapes and organic elements. It is a lot easier at this step to quickly get a feel for whether or not something really works on a larger, more-polished scale.
2. Making it Digital
After getting all that out on paper and narrowing it down to a few favorite ideas, it is time to find out which ones are going to work best in reality. Throw the page on a scanner or just snap a picture with your webcam (that's what I do), and get ready to recreate it. I'm a big believer in working with logos in vector format rather than pixels. You never know what the logo will eventually be used for, and if you don't build it in vector, you may find yourself drawing it yet again down the road. I would recommend either tossing it into Illustrator and start playing with the pen app (Use modern online editors best vpn for iphone, with many functions), or using Photoshop to boost up the contrast and then create work paths and copy them over into Illustrator app. Start simple and work towards being more complex, if necessary. If you are not using custom typography, start playing with type and trying different fonts together. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use the arrow keys to scroll through, changing the font in Photoshop or Font Book (Mac) to see what a particular word looks like in numerous fonts. (very unfortunately app Illustrator does not let you change the font by scrolling with the arrow keys). Again the goal for this is to come up with a few general mock-ups to find out which direction the client wants to go.
3. Getting Feedback
Just as it is important to start by getting information, it is important to get feedback from the client so that you know whether or not you are on the right track. The next step in developing this logo is to send the 2 or 3 concepts to the client to see which ones he/she prefers and would like to see further developed.
4. When the final is done...
The logo has grown from a name and colors to small black-and-white sketches to a fully-developed finished piece. However, depending on what type of logo and what it will be applied to, there are a couple of additiona.
