Logos & Branding

An organization’s brand is not just the logo, but all collateral materials (web site, social media outlets, any printed brochures or fliers, etc.) and the organization’s voice (how and when the organization publishes content via email, web, social media, printed materials, etc.). Having a shared understanding of the brand identity, and being consistent in its implementation, is critical to potential and current constituents understanding, identifying with, and utilizing the services of the organization.

Branding Deliverables

Logo projects generally take anywhere from four weeks to three months.

Default deliverables in a logo project are:

Logo

in several variants and formats (optimized for web and print)

Brand Standards

A single-page brand-standards reference guide

Branding Process Details

Process described here is for illustration purposes.
It is based on my work on scores of projects, but every project is unique and terms will be determined during contracting and scoping process specific to the needs of each individual project and client.

Step 1

Initial project scoping and analysis

This help defines the organization’s current identity and branding goals, and includes:

Discovery around organization’s values and goals
Client providing guidelines around visual goals/likes/dislikes

Step 2

Logo mark development

4-8 initial logo/colorway options presented

Fonts:
Using the examples you provide as a guide, I will select fonts that I think best match what you are drawn to.

Colors:
It’s best if we can reduce visual clutter for the first round and pick a mark without getting distracted by the additional layer of trying to select a color scheme at the same time. So for R1 we generally work in greyscale and work on the colors in a future round.

Step 3

Iterating

Generally 3-5 rounds of logo refining are standard.*

From Round 1, we have basically three paths:

One of the options provided is exactly or very close to something you like, and we proceed to the next step of refining and finalizing.
2-3 of the options here are on the track track, in which case we narrow down to those options are start refining to get them closer to something you like.
Nothing in the set of options in R1 really speaks to you, and we go back to square 1.

multiple rounds of edits or delays beyond the 3-5 scoped here may increase project timeline and/or budget above what was provided in your original estimate

Step 4

Finalize the logo and brand identity

This includes a logo mark in several layouts (generally horizontal, vertical and square/social media), formats suitable for digital and print applications, and a brand standards manual to guide in consistent application of the brand across applications

Step 5

Produce any additional collateral

Deliverables can include:

Business cards
Invoice and proposal templates
Fact sheets and trifolds
Social media banners and post templates
PowerPoint and report templates

Collateral management options:

1. Collateral can be built in MS Office Suite or Canva.
This allows client to access and edit their own materials ongoing, but may limit the layout options and may lead to less-professional-looking pieces out of the gate. In addition, designs may degrade over time if best-practices aren’t followed.

2. Collateral can built in professional design software.
We can establish an ongoing contract for Designer to update and build-out branded materials as-needed. This allows for more sophisticated/professional-grade materials to be produced and high-quality brand-standards to be maintaned over time, but may be more expensive and limit client’s access to make edits on their own due to software access/tools limitations.