I thought I’d share an example of a design process for a corporate logo I did a few years ago for Amritt Ventures. I began with a sit-down meeting (over a yummy Indian lunch) with the head of the company, Gunjan Bagla, who was just launching his business at the time. In between dowsing the chillies I was eating with ice water I asked basic things like:
1. Do you want company name, initials or symbolism?
2. Do you have a palette yet for your branding?
3. If not, are there certain colors you prefer? Since the company operates in an intercultural environment, are there specific colors to avoid or embrace? This is especially important for international companies, much as it having a name that doesn’t mean something that might backfire (like the Chevy Nova back in the 70s — who in a Spanish speaking country would want a car named “No Va” –”doesn’t go”? Ha!)
4. There may also be shapes or symbols with special cultural significance.
I also often like to play a word-association game with a client to get a feel of the emotional side of their business, ie, without thinking, to tell me the words that come to mind when I ask “what do you feel about your company that you want others to feel when they see your logo/website/brochure?” That feeling is what branding is about — not a logo itself.
I jot down everything, no matter how odd or redundant, usually filling a legal pad page. This is really valuable later on when I start work. It doesn’t matter if it’s words like “air” or “meaty” — I jot them down.
Of course everyone will say “stability, honesty, reliability, experience,” but beyond that some will say “innovation, edgy, fun, fresh” and others might stress “responsive, connectivity, communication.” In this case Gunjan definitely wanted conservative and stable, since his target market in America would be corporate, and in India, culturally conservative, but also reflect global partnership.
I went home and started scribbling on paper, to get some rough drafts of a design concept or general direction.
I’m no great illustrator so I put the rough concepts into digital form –– the good, the bad, and the hackneyed (not more globes with grids! oh yes.)––to get a sense of what would resonate for the client. They all contained the name or “AV” initials, some very stylized.
Bingo! He picked the last one (the one I too felt was the winner) and so I did some variations in different palettes and typography.
The 2 triangles represent A and V for Amritt Ventures, as well as a partnering of 2 companies or countries. The result is stable, “square” even, but modern (and hopefully recognizable and memorable.) I personally preferred the warm orange at top for a blast of edginess with the somber cool grey but he went for the money-green (green was tweaked, below) with warm grey.
Which would you have picked?
What are some of your techniques to get a sense of a client’s logo needs?
