Collaborating with clients can be a challenge–if you know, you know. Explaining what you envision to someone familiar is hard enough, never mind a complete stranger whose money is in your pocket. The last thing any designer wants is an unhappy client after they spend hours, weeks, and sometimes months creating their logo.
Crafting a logo from scratch or in a rebrand is both difficult for clients and the designers who execute it. A simple way to fix this? Asking a whole lot of the right questions that’ll hopefully make all the difference. The key to asking the right questions is acknowledging where a client is, but uncovering where a better future lies.
The goal of this list is to create an identity that not only looks best for the company visually speaking but also that makes the most sense. The only way to do this is to ask questions that not only relate to the present but the future. Here are some of our favorites that have proven to work not only for our clients but our own brand.
The Basics
Many designers look at the visible surface, asking basic questions about product/service offerings or their current audience. Although covering the basics is the right place to start, there’s a whole lot more to branding than what meets the eye. Asking more in-depth questions can really help dig into their identity as a company first.
These questions will gather all the insight you need to get started:
- Does your brand have a unique story behind it?
Example: Designity’s signature circle represents community, stemming from the origin of its name, design + community.
- How would you describe your company to someone who hasn’t heard of it?
- If you were to be known for one thing and one thing only, what would it be?
- What are the unique selling points or benefits of your products/services?
- What do you like/dislike about your current brand? (If they’re rebranding)
- What three adjectives would you use to describe your company?
The Application
Although obvious, many designers and companies skip over the application of the logo they’re creating or re-designing. The whole point of crafting a logo is to use it, so it’s important to know where it’ll be used and how. Try to not get caught up in the company’s present audience or positioning in the market–you can always upgrade that.
Here are questions you can ask to create the best-fitting logo:
- Which of your direct competitors is your company most like?
- Who are you looking to target with your new branding?
- How do you plan to market/use your new logo? (Social media, email, etc.)
Tip: It’s important to consider what backgrounds, platforms, and materials the logo will be printed or created on. This could potentially change the colors or designs used.
- How do most of your current consumers find your company?
- Are there new markets you’d like to break into in the future?
The Vision
Basics and applications aside–the company and client you’re designing for likely has a vision it’s trying to accomplish. Part of branding is also allowing yourself to be creative, so it’s important to make room within the creative process. No one is a mind reader, but getting familiar with your client’s vision can help get a sneak peek into their mind.
These questions can help develop a mutual understanding of inspiration:
- What feelings do you want to trigger in people when they look at your new logo?
- What other brands inspire you and why?
- Which of these attributes best describes your ideal brand?
Feminine or Masculine
Traditional or Progressive
Approachable or Elite
Precise or Playful
Personable or Corporate
Loud or Subtle
Unconventional or Mainstream
Friendly or Authoritative
- What logo style are you looking for? (Wordmark, pictorial, monogram, etc.)
- Where do you see your company 5 years from now?
- Are there any visual elements that are important to your company’s identity?
Although not a magical crystal ball, when asked correctly, questions hold a lot of power. The goal (and challenge) of working with any client on any project is figuring out exactly how to make your vision compatible with both their vision and their brand. Luckily a Q&A session is perfect for solving this, making designing logos a bit easier.
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