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Preparing for the Logo Design Process.
by Kelly Dailey
The term Brainstorming has become a commonly used word in the English language as a generic term for creative thinking. The basis of brainstorming is a generating ideas in a group situation based on the principle of suspending judgment - a principle which scientific research has proved to be highly productive in individual effort as well as group effort. The generation phase is separate from the judgment phase of thinking.
Brainstorming is a process that works best with a group of people when you follow the following four rules.
1. Have a well-defined and clearly stated problem (your logo design)
2. Have someone assigned to write down all the ideas as they occur
3. Have the right number of people in the group.
4. Have someone in charge to help enforce the following guidelines:
* Suspend judgment
* Every idea is accepted and recorded
* Encourage people to build on the ideas of others
* Encourage way-out and odd ideas
Brainstorming as a traditional approach to do deliberate creative thinking with the consequence that people think creative thinking can only be done in groups. The whole idea of brainstorming is that other people's remarks would act to stimulate your own ideas in a sort of chain reaction of ideas.
Groups are not at all necessary for deliberate creative thinking. In a group you have to listen to others and you may spend time repeating your own ideas so they get sufficient attention. Thinking as a group using brainstorming can certainly produce ideas, but individual thinking should be employed.
We strongly believe that individuals can be just as good at generating ideas and fresh directions. Once the idea has been born, then a group may be better able to develop the idea and take it in more directions than can the originator.
Assemble a Logo Development Brainstorming Team.
Within every business there are key players who understand what the company's vision, products, services and goals are. These individuals should take part in a brainstorming session that will drive the logo design process. If available, suggested participants include leadership from Marketing, Human Resources and Operations.
This group should not be a democracy!
Everyone's input is critical to developing the final product, but only one decision-maker is required. Pick one (usually the CEO) and stick with his/her decision.
Brainstorm Ideas & Discuss.
Here are some topics to address in the brainstorming session:
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Name some adjectives or attributes that you would use, or like to use, to describe your business. Some answers might be: progressive, traditional, cutting-edge, global, fast, organized, reliable. Depending on your response, the style of your logo will vary. A finance company rooted in a strong history of tradition and stability might want to choose soothing colors, straight lines and subtle textures, while, a new Internet start-up poised for rapid growth and technological advancements, may go for bold colors, sharp contrasts and oval shapes.
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Talk about the vision for the company. You might ask, Are we moving into International markets? Are we adding new product lines? Will we need to use the logo in context with subsidiaries or partners?
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Discuss your target market. Who are our customers today? Who will be our customers tomorrow?
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Discuss the image your company projects and your employees. Who are our employees? What distinguishing features do we look for in new hires?entrepreneurial, reliable, educated, experienced, friendly?
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Pinpoint what makes your company different. What separates us from the competition?
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Identify how you want your company to be perceived, and how you want customers to feel. What emotions do we want to evoke from people who look at our logo? Do we want to make them feel curious, safe, excited, happy, uneasy, beautiful?
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Discuss how this logo fits into your overall branding strategy. Make sure the logo fits in with the other materials, communications and creative outlets you are using, and that it fits with the overall spirit of the company.
Record the Ideas.
Carefully record all the answers to these questions. Go back and highlight the items and comments that seem cohesive, complementary and repetitive throughout. After all these questions are answered, you should have a clearer idea of the creative direction you need to take with your logo design. This information will be vital to the success of your project, and should be shared with your designer. |
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