Logo Design - How To Prepare A Creative Brief

An effective creative brief for a logo design project has to be comprehensive in many different ways. The creative brief is what each professional in your organization that is involved in the logo design process will use to do their jobs, so your brief has to tell exactly what the client wants and what the client expects. A professional brief is done in steps, and it is important to pay close attention to each step as you put the brief together.

Step 1 - The Summary Statement

The summary statement is sometimes referred to as the problem statement, and it is just a short introduction to the problem the project will solve. If the customer needs a new logo to replace an existing logo, then the problem statement will explain why. If this is a new company that does not have a logo, then the summary statement will explain in a couple of sentences what the company wants to see out of its logo and how the logo will be used.

Step 2: Client Biography and Profile

The client biography and profile is one part history, and one part objectives. It is important to gather all of the pertinent data that relates to why the company was started, who started it, and how the process of creating the company came about.

When it comes to the company profile, this is as much your observations as it is what the client tells you. The client may say that they just cannot pinpoint what kind of theme they want for the logo, but the bevy of sports-related pictures in the client's office tells a different story.

Step 3: Project Objectives

With the objectives section, you want to try and develop a single statement that outlines what the customer expects, and then back that statement up with specific information. For example, your objective statement may be "the customer wants a logo that appeals to a younger audience," and then you would finish the project objectives section by outlining the specifics of the audience, and the kind of effect the client wants their logo to have.

Step 4: Project Format

The project format section is a straightforward list of exactly what the client expects in terms of deliverables. Does the client want the final logo printed out as well as delivered in a digital format? What type of digital format does the client want? Does the client have any special requests when it comes to the type of paper to be used on the printed product? Be very specific in the project format section to avoid frustrating your customer.

Step 5: Budget and Timeline

If the budget for the project is broken down into sections, then include that information in the budget and timeline section. It is always good to have milestones in your timeline so that you can have deadlines that help you stay on track.

The budget and timeline section should be dynamic and constantly be updated. As each milestone is reached, you need to make sure that the project is still on schedule and within budget. If this section of your brief starts to change at all, it may be necessary to alter your approach so that you can make the customer happy without losing money.

5 Things To Look Out For When Hiring A Graphic Designer

A graphic designer is someone you will turn to when you want the images for your online presence and your offline marketing created professionally. These days, there are thousands of graphic designers all over the world, and the Internet allows you to access all of them for your needs. It is important to remember that hiring a graphic designer is not something your company will do as a one-time thing. Your company will continually require the services of a good graphic artist, so be sure to pick one that you know you can work with.

Experience

For a lot of people, the idea of hiring a graphic designer with experience is very subjective. Some people find it exciting to work with someone new to the industry, while others want a designer who has a few years under their belt. That means that there is no rule written in stone for what type of experience your graphic designer should have, but it is important for you to give some thought as to how much experience you will want to see before you hire a designer.

Industry Knowledge

If the graphic designer you hire does not understand your industry, then you are giving away a lot in terms of great ideas that would involve industry insider knowledge. There may be universal symbols or types of equipment that would make great graphics for your company that only an insider would know or understand. To get the most out of your graphic designer's abilities, it helps to hire one who is familiar with what you do.

Diverse Portfolio

You might be talking to a designer and they present you with what you think is a great idea. The problem is that the designer has a style that they use to make every customer graphic look the same. Instead of creating something unique for your company, the designer has made you look like every other company they have worked for. Always ask to see a portfolio of a designer's work, and look for diversity that will help you to get unique results.

Working Environment

When you talk to a designer, pay attention to how much input the designer asks of you when putting your ideas together. You want a designer that creates a collaborative working environment where your ideas are important to the creation of the final product.

Referrals

It can be dicey when you ask a graphic designer for referrals because you will probably get a list of customers who are pleased with the designer's work. It can be difficult to get a good idea of what a designer can do when all you are talking to is happy customers. You can still use referrals to get an idea as to the process the designer uses, and whether or not they offer a variety of solutions. When you talk to a referral, that person has no idea what is important to you when it comes to the way the designer does business. You can use this to get the information you need to make your final decision.

Hiring a graphic designer is an extremely important marketing decision. It is a decision that should take you time to make, and it is also a decision that will cause you to have to talk to a lot of professionals to find the one that will do the job right for your company.

WTF is Brand Recognition?

As we read through these blog posts we do our best to address as many important issues as possible because it is our job to keep you guys informed. One thing we noticed is that we spend a lot of time talking about improving your company's brand name recognition, but we have spent almost no time explaining what brand name recognition is. Let's change that right now.

What Is Brand Name Recognition?

Have you ever noticed that almost none of GEICO's advertising mentions insurance? While other companies put together elaborate commercials that explain various risk situations and how they cover your losses for you, GEICO has a little talking lizard telling jokes on a boat outside of Seattle. Who's insurance are you more likely to buy? You are more likely to buy GEICO's because of the strong brand name recognition.

Brand name recognition is the instant notoriety of your logo or company name by people who see it. The more you spend to market your company name and logo, the stronger your brand name recognition. We are experts in creating brand name recognition through our online and offline marketing programs and we know how to get your company the attention it deserves.

Does Brand Name Recognition Replace Quality?

We have to assume that GEICO offers quality insurance services because the company has been around for decade. People buy their athletic footwear based solely on which sneakers have the Nike swoosh on them, but those Nike sneakers also happen to be very high quality products as well.

We can build up your brand name recognition in your marketplace to the point where people are buying your products because they are familiar with your company name, but you need to provide quality products and services if you want to keep those sales coming in. Brand name recognition and quality product and service offerings work hand in hand to make your company an industry leader.

Why Should I Care About Brand Name Recognition?

What is your favorite soda pop? When you go to the store to buy soda pop, you are given choices but you always choose your favorite brand. Over the course of many years, you become fiercely loyal to that brand and would never even think of changing brands.

Brand name recognition helps to start the process of brand loyalty by giving consumers a good reason to buy products without actually knowing the quality of those products. A consumer may see your product and see your competition side by side, but your strong brand name recognition means that the customer buys your product. When the customer is satisfied with the quality of your product, then that establishes the loyalty which creates another repeat customer.

When you have such strong brand name recognition that you sell products to new customers based solely on your name, then you enhance the value of your marketing and give professional marketing experts like us a lot to work with. It significantly increases the return on your marketing investment and makes breaking into new markets much easier.

Our marketing professionals are ready to talk to you about a brand name recognition program that we can put together using our services. We will get your name into your target audience and make you a household name in your industry. Then we will show you how we build on that brand name recognition to turn your company into an industry leader.