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Now the real fun begins! All the work up until now isn’t just busy work or running a timer to bill the client. Each project is unique, but if you’ve done a little legwork up front and have some research and information to start with, everything else becomes much easier.
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Now the real fun begins.
0:00
All the work up till now isn't just busy
work or running a timer to build a client.
0:02
Each project is unique.
0:06
But if you've done a little leg work
upfront and have
0:08
some research and information to start
with, everything else becomes much easier.
0:10
We like to deliver branding rounds on a
0:16
weekly basis: deliver on a Friday, discuss
and
0:18
edit on a Monday, spend the week designing
0:21
on that feedback, and deliver again on
that Friday.
0:23
One round is equal to one week.
0:27
This process typically takes four or five
weeks of design after about
0:29
a week or two of discovery and preparing
the brand strategy document.
0:33
A final week or two is added to define and
create the brand guidelines document.
0:37
You can see this process takes time.
0:42
As a quick side note, I'll mention a case
study that
0:45
highlights how important it is to do some
research and initial discovery.
0:48
I once worked with a client that went
through a
0:52
difficult and legal name change after
first week of design.
0:53
Several weeks later, we were nearing the
0:58
end of the project when our client
approached
0:59
us with a logo that was far too similar to
another company in their same industry.
1:01
This wasn't plagiarism, this was just a
truly unfortunate coincidence.
1:06
We had to hit the drawing board and hit a
home run as fast as possible.
1:12
Fortunately, our client was great and we
managed
1:16
to get to the end without too much damage.
1:18
The moral of the story is that we almost
went twice as long as we should have
1:20
and all because there was not a sufficient
1:24
amount of research before or during the
design process.
1:25
No one wants to pay good money for you as
a designer to make mistakes like that.
1:30
Due diligence and read up on competitors
and the industry, be aware.
1:33
Before breaking down the steps, I'll
mention Matt Helm has
1:39
two excellent courses on Tree House that I
highly recommend.
1:42
One is Adobe Illustrator Basics, a great
way to dive
1:45
into using a vector application for
developing logos and visual assets.
1:48
The other is logo design basics.
1:53
Some of what I'll say is redundant but
1:55
Matt has some great advice and teaching in
there.
1:57
Check them out.
1:59
Now, let's talk about the process, the
actual steps that make the brand complete.
2:00
First off, start with your discovery
2:06
document, mood board, and creative brief
nearby.
2:08
With that sort of information, you'll know
where to begin.
2:11
Start sketching through ideas.
2:15
No idea's bad and there's no limit to what
can be put on paper.
2:17
Thoughts and concepts pertaining to the
project should be registered on paper.
2:23
This will truly help refine ideas before
spending unnecessary time on the computer.
2:27
To be honest, I spend most of my time
2:32
exploring brand elements beyond the logo
or mark itself.
2:34
When I can see a clear direction with
typography, color,
2:38
patterns and icons, the mark will uncover
itself much easier.
2:41
And this may not always apply to
typographic
2:46
logos that require time and patience to
put together.
2:47
The typography carries a lot of emotional
and psychological force.
2:51
Typography is where most communication in
the brand will be.
2:55
Try to think beyond Helvetica or free
fonts, choose typography intentionally.
2:59
The more you can distinguish your client
from their competition,
3:05
the better you can create a meaningful
experience with their consumers.
3:08
This experience can also be found in color
as well.
3:13
Color can convey a complete brand without
a mark or typography.
3:16
Think about Coca-Cola, Tiffany's or
Flickr.
3:19
Color isn't something to overlook or
choose last.
3:23
Consider the application and the pairings
you'll provide.
3:26
Be aware of what colors mean to different
audiences.
3:29
Make sure the perfect orange you've chosen
isn't
3:32
the exact same orange your client's
competitor is using.
3:34
Icons can also work with typography as
simple, customizable, visual elements.
3:39
Icons can be made specifically for your
clients industry or service offering.
3:44
A good way to consider style of icons is
3:49
to look at the typography you've chose for
the brand.
3:51
Modernist, rounded corners or geometric
letter forms
3:54
can help determine how the icons will
look.
3:57
These little pieces can go a long way.
4:00
Be aware of how you can make this entire
brand experience amazing.
4:03
Paul Rand is infamous for showing only one
final iteration to his client.
4:07
Take or leave, it pay me and this project
is finished was the mindset.
4:11
When it comes to showing and presenting
your work to a
4:16
client, I and your client am not sold on
this idea.
4:18
Rand charged hundreds of thousands of
dollars and
4:22
invested hundreds of hours into those
final logos.
4:25
The same can't be said of URI.
4:28
Show your client iterations and progress.
4:30
Again this helps build trust.
4:33
As a final note, be sure all of these
4:36
items function and flow together as a
complete system.
4:38
A great logo will not last if it doesn't
have supportive elements to live with.
4:42
Don't over think it.
4:47
Just make sure its one network of designed
pieces
4:48
rather than a jumbled mess of typography
and color swatches.
4:51
Remember, any media can seamlessly and
easily become part of a brand identity.
4:55
Rand states very clearly, Thinking is
number one in the design process.
4:59
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