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7 Questions to Ask Before Designing a Logo
Questions to Ask Before Designing a
Logo
By Sharon Housley
Attempting to be creative when it won't
come to you naturally can be an excercise in futility.
Traditional means of conjuring those creative impulses,
like taking a walk in the park, can often spur creativity,
but getting a better idea of what a business needs can
be an even more effective way to divine logo inspiration.
When working with a business, it is important to gain
a sense of what the business is about and what role
the logo will play in the client's business and marketing
plans. To make this process simpler, we have compiled
7 questions to consider asking a client before commencing
logo design:
1. What does the business do?
Ask the client to explain the function of their business.
Having a clear understanding of a business's mission
allows you to gain a much clearer understanding of your
client's needs and narrow your focus in designing a
logo.
2. Who is the target audience?
Many elements of a logo are selected in order to appeal
to the appropriate audience; after all, a logo that
appeals to a young adult audience is very different
from a logo that appeals to a group of financial consultants.
Ask the client who the target audience is for their
product or service to acquire a clearer understanding
of the client's needs.
3. What competition does the business face?
In the face of competition, a business should be careful
to differentiate itself from its competitors. Ask the
client what competition they face so that you know how
to differentiate your marketing from that their competitors,
and on which areas you should focus in marketing their
product or service.
4. What three words could describe
the business?
Ask the client to use three adjectives to describe their
business. The three traits that the client chooses to
present the business as when prompted are likely elements
that should be present in the logo and aesthetic of
the business.
5. What is the role of the current
logo?
Ask the client what they feel the role of the existing
logo fonts or color schemes should be in the new logo
and future aesthetic of the brand. Oftentimes it is
wise to retain some elements of design from a business's
previous logo when designing a new one, as it saves
the business the need to change their aesthetic, and
allows them to establish their brand with consistent
imagery.
6. What is the goal?
Ask the client what goal they intend for their logo
to accomplish. Understanding exactly what effect the
client intends to evoke with their logo is crucial to
designing an effective logo that will satisfy the client's
needs.
7. What is the USP (unique selling
point)?
Ask the client to explain how they differentiate themselves
from other companies in unique and compelling ways.
Defining a business's unique selling point determines
on which major aspect of their product or service they
should focus their marketing, and therefore their logo
design.
Designing creative new logos can sometimes
be challenging, but the client is ultimately your best
resource when you are stuck. As long as you know which
questions to ask, languishing in a creative rut over
logo design will be a misfortune of the past.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
NotePage http://www.notepage.net
a wireless text messaging software company.
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copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
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