Successful logo development doesn’t just happen by accident. Imagic designers follow a systematic procedure that allows a brand logo to evolve through a series of stages. Following a process is the best way of ensuring the design will be successful and meet three key design objectives – timelessness, versatility, and memorability.

THE PROCESS:
1.  The brief – defining the problem and understanding the goal
A good brief ensures the client knows exactly what they want to achieve from the project and it acts as a point of reference for the designers, forming a platform for their work. A good place to start is a question and answer session with the client. Get the background to the project, find out why the logo is being developed, what kind of impression the client wants the logo to create and where will the logo be used.

2.  Research & brainstorming
Imagic designers and account managers review all the information provided by the client, research the company, its culture and history, the industry and the competition. We look for things that differentiate the company from its competition and study the various colours, fonts and design themes currently being used by the client’s company and the competition.3.  Sketching and concept development
Imagic designers start the concept stage by exploring a range of ideas on paper to get the creative juices flowing. Most options will probably be discarded along the way but the important thing is to explore lots of possible directions. Jumping straight onto the computer can hinder the process and force the team to focus on minor detail before a solid range of options has been developed.

4.  Design & conceptualise
Once our designers are done with sketching they start to narrow the design focus until they have one or two strong options for digitising and conceptualising on the computer. They use Adobe Illustrator to create the logo taking into consideration how the logo appears in black and white and how a one colour, two colour or reversed out option would appear. We also provide mock-ups of what the clients logo will look like on their existing website or stationery as this helps them see how the logo works as a collective, not just a stand alone object.

5.  Client feedback
All of our team (designers and account managers) work closely with our clients throughout the design process. This helps us to create a logo that represents them and their company. After initial client feedback our designers will often head back to the computer and make minor alterations or provide additional samples. This gives us a chance to further refine the designs and better understand the clients vision.6.  Final art and delivery
After both parties have come to an agreement over the design of the logo we create final web and print-ready versions and email these to our clients for use where needed. The logos we create are used for a wide variety of purposes — websites, corporate stationery, marketing collateral, film and print ads, to name a few. We will often also develop a style guide with brand guidelines for the client which they share internally so everyone in the company is aware of how the logo and brand should be always be represented.

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