Every business needs to be instantly recognized. The only way to make this happen is to nurture a recognizable brand identity. And, a major part of brand identity is the brand logo. The logo of your business is the symbol of who you are and what you do. That's why you need to establish great communication with your logo designer.
Luckily, you get the chance to write a logo design brief. This is a written document that will help you communicate your needs to your designer. But, you need to know how to properly write it, if you want it to be efficient.
So, don't worry we've got your back. Here are 6 important tips to know about writing a logo design brief.
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Define Your Industry & Product
First things first, your designer needs to learn about your business. He needs to learn about the essence of your company to make sure he can transport it to the logo design.
This is why your logo design brief needs to contain information about:
- your industry
- the type of product or service you're offering
- background information
This step is important for painting a whole picture to your designer. Don't skip it and give them the information they need for a deep understanding of who you are.
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Specify Your Target Audience
The next thing your designer needs to understand is who is your business aimed at.
After doing proper research and targeting, you need to have a specific audience in mind. This is something you need to share with your designer.
They too need to understand who the logo is for and what type of people is it supposed to attract.
Therefore, describe your audience by the following characteristics:
- age
- sex
- social status
- online behavior
- level of education
- location
Think of any specific information you can share and help your designer understand your audience. This will be of immense help and will contribute to the quality of the design.
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Explain Brand Personality
Your brand needs to be consistent when it comes to the way you advertise it and communicate with your audience. This means that you need to develop brand personality and stick to it.
For example, M&M's have a very playful and silly brand personality. On the other hand, Tesla has a more serious and formal one.
Decide where you want to go with your brand:
- Is it silly or serious?
- Is it luxurious or cost-effective?
- Is it formal or informal?
Put all of the pieces of this puzzle together and share it with your designer. He'll be able to understand your brand better and make a better visual representation of it.
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Provide Design Preferences
Although you should let professionals do their job, you can still provide some preferences about the design of your logo.
It's what's (hopefully) going to be the symbol of your business for years to come. So, it's only natural that you want to have a say in it.
This is why, you should think about the different segments of your logo and put them in your logo design brief:
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colors
Do you have preferences when it comes to colors? If you already have brand colors, tell your designer. Color is important and is also highly symbolical. What color do you think of when you hear "Coca Cola"?
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fonts
Are there any font styles you prefer? Tell your designer about it and he'll consider your ideas.
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style
Are you a fan of minimalism or you like it when there's a lot of details? Specify what you like more and how you'd like it to be.
“Once you give these guidelines to your designer, he'll be able to work towards a certain direction that you might like the most. Still, keep in mind you're not supposed to design the whole thing so don't be too pushy about your ideas”, says Marie Fincher, Head of Content at TrustMyPaper and Studicus.
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Talk Money
Although talking about money is considered awkward by some people, it's an inevitable part of negotiating and doing business.
This means that you need to bring this up to your designer before you make a deal.
So, think about and specify aspects of your deal such as:
- your budget
- their price
- is it fixed or per hour
- what happens if the logo needs to be revised or fixed up
Don't hesitate in talking about these details. If you don't it might get the best of you both.
It's better to ensure you're on the same page than to risk sealing a deal that's bound to fail.
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Give a Deadline
Finally, you have to specify one last thing in your logo design brief. You need to see when can the work be done.
Of course, there's no reason for you to rush your designer into finishing your logo. After all, you want them to have the time for a quality creation process.
But, if you leave things without a defined timing, you're risking that your designer will procrastinate too much.
So, try to do the following:
- suggest a reasonable deadline
- ask if it suits the designer
- if not, come up with a different deadline
- clarify that you want them to respect the deadline
This way, you both got what you wanted and you're both protected. The designer has enough time on their hands and you have a guarantee he'll finish in time.
It's a win-win situation.
Final Thoughts
As you can see a logo design brief is supposed to communicate all the right information between you and your logo designer. It gives the designer insight into your business. He learns about your industry, customers, and products. He also understands your brand identity.
Use the advice above to write a logo design brief that will ensure you and your designer understand each other. This way, you'll have no reason to worry about the results and your logo.
