News
A look at logos.
Logos are windows to the soul of the brand.
Logos give us the first look, sneak peek and hint of the goodness to come. There are often three responses to a logo: yes, no and wow. Yes is good but, let’s be honest, wow is the goal.
There’s an immense amount of pressure to summarize an entire brand in one small element, and breaking the blank page is always the hardest part. So, we asked our designers how they approach branding and logo development. See what they said.
When approaching logo development, where do you start?
Bryan Padavano
“I like to start with the competition. Who are we up against? What do they look like, and how do we do something unique that aligns with our strategy?”
Lauren Cook
“For me, a good logo starts out with just learning more about the business I’m making it for. It’s always easy to just jump right into putting mood boards together and starting to sketch, but unless I’m really paying attention to what the business is about, I’m just going to wind up making a pretty mark and not a logo that helps communicate and build the company’s brand.”
Gina Tomilonus
“I try to embody the vibe of a brand, a feeling that it evokes, and then start exploring the world with that emotion in mind to find inspiration. Then I just start building something and seeing what sticks.”
Kevin Deval
“For me, logo development always starts with a marker and paper. Start writing out the brand name in different styles and see where there might be an opportunity to embellish the negative space or join elements together. Treat the brand name like a graphic element and see what shapes it embodies. This will lead you to type exploration and get the ball rolling on the final form.”
Kevin Sparrow
“Logo development for me starts by learning about the brand. Learning about the personality, the audience, the flavor of the brand.”
Jason Ludtke
“With a lot of coffee. Really though, the great briefs our teams and clients put together and knowledge they are able to share with me are the places I usually start. After that, it’s right to my sketchbook.”
Justin Hernandez
“I start with research to learn as much about the company as possible. Next, I grab a huge cup of coffee and look for inspiration. That inspiration can come from books, photography, film, music or even branding work done by other designers. Once I’ve run out of coffee, I’ll typically create a mood board with everything I found. Then I come back to it the next day with fresh eyes and start concepting the logo.”
Vince Kizior
“Logo development always starts in the sketchbook – scribbling down as many thoughts and ideas that I can. After my initial sketches, I take to the web to start getting inspiration and an idea of what’s been done already to see what is working and what’s not.”
