My logo design process from start to finish

There are a million things I love about my job, but logo design is near the top of the list.
Watch me carry out my logo design process with Beautiful Savior (Oakley), one of the WELS 100 in 10 missions.

I have permission from the pastor to share. 😉

Step 1: Understand the Client
During my Discovery Process, I gather a lot of information about goals for the project, the organization’s mission and location, and the demographics of the area.

Every decision I make is guided by the information I gather during Step 1. Very little about this process is decided based on “what looks cool,” but rather on what the organization and community needs.

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Step 2: Gather Inspiration
In this step, I gather inspiration from a ton of different sources:

Pinterest, local landmarks, components of the church or school’s physical building, the Noun Project, this word association tool, Pinterest again…

I screenshot anything that sparks a potential idea and keep it in a folder.

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Step 3: Sketchbook Time
In this step, I’ll get outside, leave my phone (and all of the inspiration from Step 2) at home and simply sit down with a coffee, my sketchbook, and a pencil.

Ninety-nine percent of what’s scribbled down is awful – truly. Unfortunately, those hundred ugly sketches are the price that must be paid in exchange for a singular ah-ha moment. But – that’s the creative process.

It’s always around the 2 hour mark when my foot is going numb from sitting cross-legged on a picnic blanket, the caffeine jitters are settling in, and I have no good ideas to speak of that I finally scribble down something workable.

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Step 4: Move into Illustrator
Most of my logo design projects include TWO options for a logo that the client can decide between. At this point, I’ll create a new Adobe Illustrator file for each idea I’m playing with. I’ll drag in the relevant inspiration, start to eyedrop colors, mess with fonts from Creative Market, and digitize my sketches. This step always takes the most time and mental energy.

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Step 5: Present to the Client & Decide
Step 3 is fun, Step 4 is painstaking, and Step 5 is nerve wracking! I’ll hop on Zoom with the client and remind them of our goals, walk through my inspiration, and present both ideas.

I encourage clients to go with their gut instinct and choose between the two while they’re on the call with me.

The secret, of course, is that I typically have a good idea of which option they’ll choose before going into the meeting. While both options are viable, there’s usually one that accomplishes their goals a bit better. Still, I present both concepts so they’re not left wondering what could have been.

This topic is hotly debated among graphic designers: how many options should you show your clients? If you’re interested, you can read more about the debate in this article.

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Step 6: Complete the Brand
After we choose a concept, I solidify colors, typefaces, and other assets like patterns or other motifs. I put all this together in a Style Guideline document.

Ta-da!

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The results of this process for Beautiful Savior (Oakley):

Click to see the presentation of both concepts
Click to see the chosen concept’s style guideline document
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Thank you for reading!