Creative Process

What to expect

You’ve made business critical decisions, and now you’re ready to go to market, or upgrade your look. You need an identity fast, but it was the last thing on your list.

The beginning.

The creative process is unlike any other. It relies on intuition and other intangibles and is difficult to quantify. Most artists can’t even tell you how it works universally, but they can tell you how it works for them. Most processes work on a schedule and graphic art is no different, except you never know when inspiration will strike. The hardest thing you must do is be patient. It is usually well worth it. Anyone can slap out a serviceable logo with little thought, and cheap to boot. There are many web sites out there that do this, many times using a collection of clip art they have developed.

If you are reading this, you are probably looking for something more. Try to allow two weeks for the creative process if possible. This gives the artist time to work, put it aside and look at the work fresh. It also allows for those “ah ha!” moments. All that said, if you REALLY must have it sooner, we can do that. It may cost you a little bit more.

The middle.

This stage is where vital communication must occur between you and the designer. A logo is a distillation of everything about your company in a graphic form. For product marks, it can be straightforward. For services, it gets more complicated. If you have samples of things you like, that can always help the designer. Any preconceived notions (positive or negative) about color, style, logotype vs. mark, can be very helpful. We may do 20 or more concepts and variations, but normally we present only the top three, with a recommendation. In most cases, the concepts will be presented in black and white. This assures you that a monochromatic version will work on any application you may have down the line, such as on a box, or napkin, or embroidery on a garment, etc. Additionally, we remove the possibility of color swaying the decision on the design. You may already have in mind whether you prefer a logotype, like the ExxonMobil logotype or more of a symbolic trademark like the Nike swoosh. Both are valid. In most cases we present both types. The presentation is most productive in person rather than over e-mail. After the first presentation, we either go to finished art or modify one of the concepts. Occasionally we start from scratch, but that is unusual if we establish parameters going in. The second round is usually where the logo is nailed down and then we go to finished art.

The end.

Once you have your new identity, what happens next?

You will be provided with files you can use at the very least. Some companies move on to application projects such as a brand book (or corporate identity manual), an identity summary, stationery, brochures, websites, etc. We can do those applications, but so can others. We do recommend at least an identity summary which lends guidance to anyone else down the road who might do application work.