How To Approach A Logo Update With A Client

Designing a logo isn't a case of just dashing off a quick sketch and hoping the client likes it. A professional logo designer will first get to know the company, its strategies, ambitions and goals.

Crucially, the all-time designers will take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to this task. Simply asking for a brief isn't enough. You lot need to employ all your skills and experience to uncover what lies beneath the company or brand.

To help you out, we've put together a handy listing of questions to answer your customer. Run through all of these, and y'all'll presently have a much better idea of what they're all about… and frequently, they will too! It volition give you the crucial knowledge and understanding you need to bring their vision to life in a living, animate blueprint that will exist scalable, adaptable, and future-proof.

Department 1: Questions nigh the company

First things first. You need to assemble basic data almost the business, such as when it started and why, how many employees it has, who its competitors are, etc. While some of this may exist bachelor online, it's always preferable to gather these details from the horse's oral cavity.

That'south partly because information on the internet is frequently unreliable, so this fashion you can exist sure of getting accurate answers. Simply likewise because the interpretation of even the simplest queries tin can be controversial, and this in itself be very revealing.

For example, even the founding engagement of a company tin can exist a source of contend, particularly if the organisation had multiple names and guises in the past or emerged due to multiple mergers. In such a instance, what's ultimately deemed the "correct" answer isn't actually the important matter. It's getting your clients to open upward and talk about the business organisation in a way that doesn't audio like dry marketing speak simply is grounded in real-globe honesty and emotional attachment.

one. What is your company/organization/product/service proper name?
two. Tin you lot depict your business?
3. What services or products do y'all provide?
4. How big is your company? (number of employees? revenue?)
5. How long has your company been established?
six. Why was your company started in the outset place, and what was the motivation?
7. Who are your principal competitors?
8. How exercise your competitors market themselves?
9. What sets your company apart from the contest?
10. What are the strengths of your visitor?
11. What are your weaknesses?
12. What are the long-term goals of the company? Where do you lot see your visitor in v years? Ten years? 30 years?
thirteen. If yous had to depict your concern in one word, what would it be and why?
fourteen. What are your visitor's values and/or mission statement?

Department 2: Questions most the branding

In most cases, a logo design will actually be a logo redesign or a more minimal logo refresh. Yous won't be starting from scratch but building on and evolving the existing logo design, or at least taking a couple of cues from it. So it'southward important to ask a lot of questions near how the customer feels about the current logo, besides equally the wider visual identity and make purpose as a whole. In fact, even if yous're ripping everything upwardly and starting again, you demand to ask these questions lest you lot end up repeating things about the old branding they didn't similar!

fifteen. What is the current logo?
16. Do you have a strapline or slogan that goes forth with your logo?
17. Why are you looking to change the logo?
18. What words describe how you feel when looking at your current logo and branding?
19. What do you like and dislike about the current logo?
20. What practice you lot desire the new logo to accomplish?
21. What three attributes would you like your target audience to think of when looking at your new branding?
22. Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Traditional or modernistic?
23. Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Friendly or corporate?
24. Which of these words is a better fit for your brand? Loftier end or cost-effective?
25. Which of these words is a amend fit for your brand? Consumer or Trade? Why does your electric current branding use those colours, fonts, etc.?

Section iii: Questions about the target audience

When designing a logo, you need to know who you're designing it for. And that's not necessarily the existing audience if the company wants to move abroad from that audience and target a different bunch of people. Indeed, a logo modify is typically part of a wider strategy to movement the appeal of a brand, for instance, from a centre-aged to a younger demographic. Only your customer knows where they desire to become with the brand, and then information technology'due south vital to ask a comprehensive series of questions like the ones below.

26. Who is the primary target audition?
27. What is the target audience's age group?
28. Are they mainly male person or female?
29. Where do most of your audition live?
30. What is the average household income of your target audience?
31. How practise near of your customers observe out most your company?
32. How exercise you programme to communicate with your target audience?
33. If your customers had to depict your visitor in one word, what would it be and why?
34. Are at that place any new markets you'd similar to break into? If and then, what would they exist and why?

Only your client knows where they want to get with the brand, so it'due south vital to enquire a comprehensive series of questions.

Section four: Blueprint preferences

You'll find that, so far, we haven't actually talked about what the client wants the new logo to look like. And that's not accidental. Because until yous understand the broader purpose of the logo design, diving into specifics similar preferred colours will only get everybody off-track and muddied the waters.

Nonetheless, permit's presume that you now have a thorough understanding of the visitor, what information technology stands for, and what it'south trying to achieve. It's time to get-go talking virtually the blueprint itself. At the aforementioned time, though, yous still need to continue discussions grounded in the overall business purpose of the logo. It shouldn't be near people's personal preferences ("I really like this shade of green"), but how, for example, a specific colour palette tin can help the logo achieve its business organization purpose. These questions can aid you lot steer the word in that detail direction.

35. What colours or colour palettes does the visitor typically employ, and why?
36. Where will the logo be mainly used? Print, web, etc.?
37. Are there any elements from the existing logo you'd like to proceed, and why?
38. Are at that place any restrictions to consider when designing the new logo?
39. Is there anything that must be included, like existing make elements, words or icons?
40. Looking at your rivals' branding, what logos do yous remember work, and why?
41. Are at that place any logos you don't think piece of work, and why?
42. In your opinion, what defines a successful logo?

Budget, timescales & management

In meetings with clients, you can brainstorm all the ideas in the world for creating a keen new logo. Just in practice, making them really happen takes a lot of organization, planning and grooming. And then as well as all that "blue-sky thinking", it's good to ground your discussions early on by asking the following questions.

43. Do you lot accept a upkeep in mind for the new logo?
44. Do you take a deadline that needs to exist considered?
45. Who will be the internal decision-makers on this project? Giving feedback and approvals? (Stress to the client that the fewer decision-makers, the amend!)
46. Volition in that location be anyone else involved in this project? Whatever third party sub-contractors or other agencies/freelancers?
47. How frequently would you like to encounter? Weekly? Monthly?
48. How many revisions or concepts would yous like to see? (consider how many you tin offering – this varies from designer to designer)
49. What form would yous like the final work to take? What materials would you similar to meet due to this new logo? Would you similar a 'brand guidelines' pack for time to come reference?
50. Is there anything else y'all'd like to add that nosotros haven't already covered?

Conclusion

Getting solid and thought-out answers to all these questions will help propel you lot on your way to a successful logo blueprint project for two reasons. Firstly the information y'all assemble will exist invaluable in helping yous nail the cursory. And secondly, the very act of answering them will help go your clients in the right frame of mind for co-operating on the project.

Nigh importantly, if they're inexperienced in working with designers, it will help them empathise that what they're paying for is not just a quick design in Photoshop just a thorough and comprehensive procedure of evaluating the company and its brand and developing new designs that are well-thought through and fit for purpose.

Of course, that doesn't always mean everything will go smoothly. Clients tin can alter their minds along the way, and business strategies tin can modify in an instant due to external factors (merely await at the pandemic for an obvious example of that). And so you need to be prepared for the project spec to modify and have a robust contract that specifies what happens if extra piece of work is needed. The sooner you get that in identify, the sooner you'll be able to relax and savour a logo design project that's fruitful, productive and, dare we say, hopefully, a lot of fun.