The very 1st step when we start the logo design process and any graphic design process really, is the design brief. The brief is our window into your thoughts, your tastes and ideas about what you want to see, what to hope to see in your design. It is so important to get this right, as the draft designs will reflect what you put into the brief.
You wouldn’t believe the amount of times we hear things like “but you didn’t include….in the designs!”, and we reply, “but you didn’t put….into your brief, and we are not mind readers.” Here are some tips on writing the perfect brief, one that a graphic designer should be able to use to achieve your perfect logo.
1: Be clear on exactly what you want and don’t want to see in your logo. If your company is called octopus, the designer will assume you are going to want an octopus in the design, if you don’t want that, make sure you are clear about this.
2: Make sure your company name is your final choice. We have had it before where, for example, their name is Kangaroo, we design an entire set of logo’s around that name, only for the client to change their mind and call it crocodile, and expect 5 new ideas for free, it doesn’t work like that, new designs for a new logo will cost you extra.
3: Colors. Color effects the look and feel of a logo greatly. If you have ideas on the colors, please show them, its no good saying “Californian beach yellow” there are thousand of possibilities on what that yellow could be, if you have seen a yellow you like, show it.
4: Fonts. Fonts are usually the choice of the designer based on the feel of the logo, but if you have specific tastes in fonts, either show your designer the font you want, or specify whether you want serif or sanserif fonts.
5: Explain what you have in your head. Sometime a client may have a very specific idea in their head. That’s great, but you need to explain exactly what you are thinking so the designer can get it right.
So there we have just a couple of tips to help you write a great design brief for your designer. You don’t have to stick to this format, or any, but the biggest tip is, be clear in describing what you want in your logo. Here at logoglo, we actually provide a logo planner form to our clients asking them very specific questions regarding their logo, this helps enormously, so if you are scared about writing a bad brief, ask your designer for a guide. Let us know of any tips you have based on your experience (good or bad).