Questions to Ask before starting Design
LOGO LOVE DESIGN #2

Tips before you start dealing with the client

• Always remember that you are being hired because you are the Expert.
• The client should not assume the role of telling you what to do.
• If you feel uneasy in any way about the relationship, you should definitely find a way to discuss it with the client.
• The more in depth your initial discussions, the more at ease you will make your clients.
• show them how smoothly the process can flow.
• You’re not a mind-reader, so a series of very specific questions and answers about your client’s needs and desires is vital.

Do a design brief

Design brief exists to provide both of you with concrete for making decisions throughout the design process.

Gathering preliminary information

You’ll want to note the following basic information before posing your more in-depth questions:

• The organization name
• Its location
• Number of years in business
• Number of employees
• The product or service sold
• The challenges faced
• Who the competitors are
• Who the decision-maker is, who has the final say over the company’s brand identity

Tough Questions for a Good Logo Concept

• What does your audience care about?
• How do people learn about your product, organization, or service?You will know how and where the new logo will be used, This enables you to deliver a cost-effective design that works on many levels.
  Ex: if the company promotes itself via leaflets then this multi-color rainbow effect will cost more to produce.
• Why does your audience need a new brand identity?
  Sometimes the company is reacting to their competitors, and wanna make a new logo, Better decision in this situation is to refine the current logo.
• What words do you want people to associate with your company?
  Ex: Creative, Traditional or Playful
• Generally, what logos do you think will appeal to your customers, and why?
  Keep the process aimed at the good of the company.
• How many people are responsible for use of the brand identity?
  You might offer to create a logo style guide to illustrate how to use the design.

Give your client time and space, Don’t rush the client to answer them.

What does the company want to play up? What is it truly selling? And how does the company want to present itself in the market?

“Logos that are pretty may win awards,
but they don’t always win market share.”

The next step of the information-gathering stage involves conducting your own field research.
Learn as much as you can about the company, its history, its current brand identity and the effect it has had on market perception.

And don’t forget to review any brand identities it has used in the past.
These additional insights are critical.
You also need to focus on how your client’s competitors have branded themselves, picking up on any weaknesses you perceive and using them to your advantage in your design. After all, if your client is to win, there needs to be a loser.

This is part 2 of a series to implement the most important points that David Airey’s great book “LOGO LOVE DESIGN” focused on!