FROM THE DESK OF JO GOVEK
creating a logo is a magical process
June 18, 2020 | JO-LIN GOVEK
Whether you call it a logo, a mark, an identity, or a brand, it is essential that it is designed well. In most cases, your logo is the first thing your audience sees, so it’s imperative that it makes the right first impression. A great logo is memorable, grabs attention, sets you apart from your competition, builds brand recognition and conveys what your organization is all about. It will tell a story and help establish a connection with your target audience and foster brand loyalty. Much thought, research and consideration goes into creating a professional logo. It can feel like magic when you receive the perfect logo that does all of the above and is unique to your company.
As an example and to share our process, I will showcase the Celtic Aer Gift Shop logo we created. Celtic Aer is a specialty, Irish-import gift shop located in Shrub Oak, NY. We created a friendly, whimsical logo with an “Aery” feel. We put the emphasis on “Aer” (Irish for air), which also happens to be the owner’s initials. Then, growing from the “Aer” is a shamrock made up of three hearts (the Celts believe that everything important in the world comes in threes).
Logos are small but mighty. They are the most valuable brand asset and a vital part to building a successful business.
Listen and Research
Our creative process starts by interviewing and listening to you, our client. It is important we understand what it is you do, what your goals are and what you want to accomplish. We take that information and begin to research your industry, see what the competition is doing, what’s working and what isn’t, determine what sets you apart and learn your target audience. Then we submerge ourselves into developing a logo that will communicate and engage. When done properly, a logo depicts your company’s personality and introduces your message and your voice to your audience.
Brainstorm and Sketch
Once we have done all of our research, we start thinking, brainstorming and begin sketching. This process takes time as not all ideas come to us when we’re sketching (some of my best ideas come to me when I’m not actively thinking about them). Not everything that gets sketched is a good idea, but sometimes a not-so-strong idea will lead to a great one. So we sketch everything that comes to mind and see what they evolve into. (Partial sketches shown here.)
Once we have done all of our research, we start thinking, brainstorming and begin sketching. This process takes time as not all ideas come to us when we’re sketching (some of my best ideas come to me when I’m not actively thinking about them). Not everything that gets sketched is a good idea, but sometimes a not-so-strong idea will lead to a great one. So we sketch everything that comes to mind and see what they evolve into. (Partial sketches shown here.)
Create and Develop
We select the best sketches and translate them into digital artwork. This is where the idea really begins to come to life and transforms into a strong, creative mark. To start, we build our logos in black and white. This ensures they will work in all applications, large and small, across all platforms. If you love a logo in black and white, wait until you see it in color.
We select the best sketches and translate them into digital artwork. This is where the idea really begins to come to life and transforms into a strong, creative mark. To start, we build our logos in black and white. This ensures they will work in all applications, large and small, across all platforms. If you love a logo in black and white, wait until you see it in color.
Present and Deliver
When all concepts have been explored, we take our favorite logos and get them ready for our client presentation. We review each of the logos with our client and explain our process, reasoning and rationale. Once the winning logo has been selected, we work together to polish and fine-tune the logo, explore color and finalize. After approval, we supply a comprehensive logo package inclusive of the logo in black and white, full color and reversed out (white) in all of the industry-standard file formats. Creating your logo is just the beginning to your “Brand” adventure. Your perfect logo is complete, now it’s time to show it off to the world.
Having a professional logo is an integral part of making your brand a successful one. Once we’ve created your logo, it all becomes about how you use it. We can help with that too!
