Are you searching Grand Island Logo Design on Google? Then you’ve come to the right place. A a small business owner, you know better than anyone else the importance of being noticed and…remembered. A great logo and branding will go a long way towards making that happen. A logo and brand refresh can help turbocharge your bottom line!
Every logo design agency has a different approach. But, most professional log designers would agree on the basic steps in the logo design process. If you’re a small business owner in Grand Island, Nebraska then we need you to keep reading!
In this article, we will show you my step-by-step logo design process.
The 6 steps that we go through when designing a new logo for businesses in Grand Island.
Starting with the discovery phase, then conducting our research, brainstorming, then sketching logos on old school paper or digitally, designing those logo concepts with our software, and then presenting two-three versions to the client. Our goal on the initial round, if we’ve done our discovery and research phases correctly is to hit 70% of the client expectations. Once the initial concepts are presented, we make final revisions and prepare the final logo files & style guide for our clients.
We’re sharing with you our logo design process so that hopefully you can better understand the time it takes to create a recognizable and impactful logo for your business.
Logo Design Process: 6 Steps
- Discover—Get to know the client’s business inside and out.
- Research—Learn about the industry & your competitors.
- Brainstorm—Develop initial concepts & decide on next steps.
- Sketch—Create logo concepts based on strategy. What are we trying to achieve?
- Design—Select the best logo concepts & execute them digitally.
- Present—Show initial logos concepts & get the client’s approval for final revisions.
Introduction
In this article, we will walk you through the 6-step logo design process we’ve used with hundreds of our clients in Grand Island and across the country. Before we take a deep dive, it’s important to consider what makes a great business logo in the first place.
What Makes a Good Business Logo
Every designer in Grand Island will give you a slightly different definition of what makes a great logo, but basically, you can boil it down to the three fundamental logo design principles.
- Is it appropriate?
- Is it simple?
- Is it memorable?
Appropriate Logos
Is the current or future logo appropriate for the business? Appropriate means that the logo is relevant in form and concept to the client and its industry. If you’re the owner of a fashion boutique, then the logo needs to be fashion-forward and elegant. But if you own a sports company, then the logo design should be dynamic and bold.
For example: If you’re designing for a fashion brand, then the logo needs to be elegant, but if you’re designing for a sports brand, then the logo probably needs to be bold and dynamic.
Is it simple?
Is your logo simple enough to be in all sizes? Your logo needs to be focused on a single story and that isn’t often the case. Logos today are all too often complicated in form. A logo for your business should be flexible in a wide range of sizes. It should look as good on a business card as it does on an outdoor billboard.
Is it Memorable?
Memorable means that while the form must be simple, it must also be distinctive enough to be easily remembered when seeing an ad or driving by your store. Simple and distinctive is never easy and always a challenge for our logo designers.
STEP 1 – Discover—Get To Know Your Business
The discovery phase is an absolute must for logo designers. It’s not a step that can be skipped. This phase lays the foundation for the next five steps. Skip it and you’ll pay the price down the road.
Our team of logo designers will get to know your business, its history, your targeted demographics, and your competition. Designing a logo for your business should not be an emotional experience. We need our clients to stay objective in the design process. We remind our clients that a logo is the centerpiece of all brand communication moving forward. We don’t want to redesign a business logo in the near future, so we spend the time necessary to give us the best possible chance of designing a logo that will stand the test of time. This design phase will include a discovery call or meeting and a branding questionnaire. Your answers to these questions will help us build the brand strategy framework in the coming days and weeks. Trust us, it won’t be long before your logo is the talk of the Grand Island business community!
Step 2 – Research Your Competition & Industry!
Research for your logo is all about analyzing your industry and competition in greater detail. This research gives our logo design team in Grand Island a better sense of the environment the logo is going to live in. It’s not uncommon for our research team to uncover important information that our clients find valuable. It’s critical our logo designers step into your customer’s shoes. And researching our competitors ensures we don’t accidentally design a logo that is too similar to one of your competitors.
STEP 3 – Brainstorm
Brainstorming is one of the most exciting and challenging phases. Brainstorming is about carefully considering all possible logo design directions. Although our designers are eager to seek out a look that could convey your brand’s persona, we don’t want to get too far off the beaten path. Our team uses brand personality and tone of voice exercises to help brainstorm ideas. It’s not uncommon for us to create moodboards for clients just like you!
Our designers start searching for a visual representation of the most important keywords we’ve learned in the first two steps of our logo design process. It is also during the brainstorming phase that we start searching for fonts, colors, styles, etc. We consider all aspects of the visual language that would embody the brand strategy of your business in Grand Island!
Next, we discuss possible solutions for your business and we start making decisions on what directions to proceed with. Often, we are ruling out as much as we are ruling in.
By narrowing our focus we try to stay objective so that we can begin sketching two to three logo concepts in the next phase.
STEP 4 – Sketch a Logo Based on Strategy
Sketching business logos is at the heart of it all. This is where your business logo comes alive on paper. This is where real creativity comes into play. Since we’ve carefully conducted a discovery phase and completed our research, we can compare our concept sketches to clearly defined criteria.
What is the goal of sketching a logo you ask? It’s pretty simple, really. It is to find a connection between the idea and the creation of the logo. Most of the designers at 316 Strategy Group use an old-school sketchbook before starting on the digital designs.
STEP 5 – Digitally Design
Once we’ve sketched several logo concepts, we execute them digitally. Translating these sketches of your business logo will further validate the viability of each logo concept. We will go back and forth between sketching and designing until we have two-three solid logo concepts for your business.
This design stage can be time-consuming before we execute our ideas in a way that is aesthetically pleasing, is appropriate, is simple, is memorable, and is the perfect fit for your small business in Grand Island!
Our logo designers will carefully tweak the colors, spacing, alignment, and fonts. It’s during this phase the logo concept becomes stronger and a more viable option for your business.
The number one golden rule is to never rush this phase!
STEP 6 – Present The Logo Concept
Once the initial design phase is finished, we will schedule a meeting with you. Preferably, face to face in Grand Island. But, in this COVID age, we are mindful of safety and happy to present via Zoom or Google Meet. We will show you our strongest two-three logo design concepts.
Each of these concepts is the culmination of the first 5 phases. Discovery, research, brainstorming, sketching, and design. While each of the concepts we present is different, they all revolve around the mission of your business.
Our goal is to hit the 70% mark in this phase. After reviewing the two-three logo design concepts, we will put together a list of revisions and make sure the final logo is on brand, on mission, and will help turbocharge your bottom line for years to come.
Once the revisions are approved, our logo designers will neatly package your brand identity package with your logo design files and style guide.
Not By Accident
Great logos do not happen by accident—they are the result of strategic thinking, exploring, failing, and designing again.
Each aspect of your logo, whether it is the shape, font, or colors—can help you influence people’s perception of your brand in Grand Island. You have to be very intentional when it comes to design choices.
316 Strategy Group is an award-winning logo design and branding agency in Grand Island, Nebraska. Our team of designers, marketers, SEO experts and business strategists are here to help take your business to new heights.
Tracy Gardner lives and breathes business strategy and marketing. She lives and works in the Grand Island community and is here to help your business create a new logo or refresh an existing brand. Contact Tracy now to discuss your next logo design project.
[Call Tracy Now in Grand Island: 308-390-7689]
