Before spending a lot of money in a fancy logo ask yourself what is your motivation.
“I want to sell A to B and get cash”
“I want to be the next Amazon”
“I need it for my business card”
In this case… creating a Brand Identity Kit may be not required. My advice is you hire an affordable designer that creates a basic logo.
If one year later your business is still up and running … congrats!!! You are among the chosen 10%
And along the way you got some interesting insights: you probably got a bunch of good and bad experiences, nice and really bad clients, good and bad providers or partners… you now your business, your goals, your strong and weak points, your competitors, how you are being perceived by your customers and how you would like to be perceived… you have an IDENTITY!
Somebody is ready to bring it on.
But first let me point out a very important issue:
Your logo is not your brand… nor your company name, your product nor your employees… they are just a medium to communicate – ideally- your own and unique vision of the world to the rest of the society. The logo is just a small part of your Brand Identity and it should correlate with this vision… every single choice you make regarding your business should correlate with it.
So hiring a logo designer without filling a Briefing about your business is like creating a tailor-made suit without showing up by the tailor shop, it may fit but you could find yourself eating a bunch of junk food to fill it.
So please, offer as much info as possible and constructive feedback, get involved!!
Rupert Murdoch
During the last 12 years I developed a step-by-step design process with unlimited corrections, on the one hand the client has full control over the design progress; on other hand I save time and effort. It’s a win-win situation.
After some research I provide a mockup based on the client's briefing.
I make unlimited corrections (within reason) based on client's feedback.
Once the client is pleased with the sketch, I finalize the design refining details and adding colors.
A Brand Identity Kit must be be versatile, it must cover al possible usage scenarios: different mediums, color restrictions, different sizes and layouts. My basic kit includes: mascot design, logo design and integration of both.
Is nice having a full color logo design plenty of gradients but for certain uses you will have color restrictions, your logo design should work in just 1 color, over light and dark background.
As important as a versatile and technically correct logo design is its usage. Once I finish a brand I offer some mockups to visualize the brand in context, with no printing expenses.
– Diego Martinez – Manager at Maflo Internacional