The Design Process
Stage 1: Gathering
Every project begins with a chat. From here we decide if we’ll work together, and we walk through your project, define a brief and talk about your budget. I also may offer a simple questionnaire to help you figure out how you want your brand to feel, and where you want it to take you.
The next steps are collating and gathering inspiration for the project. I encourage us both to draw from a variety of sources, and we begin to compile moodboards. This give us a creative direction, and provides inspiration for my initial sketches.
Stage 2: Creating
Depending on budget and our first conversation, we work up between one to three initial concepts based on the moodboards and routes that evolved from the gathering session. These are usually simple sketches, and give a hint to where the brand could go with more development – staying open and curious.
Intuitive feedback is really important at this point. I will always encourage honest discussions about what you do like, and what you don’t, to help guide the brand in the right direction.
Stage 3: Defining
A route is chosen from the concepts (or a combination of elements) and we began to work up the project into a more defined place. Here we introduce typography, colour palettes, along with tone of voice and photography or illustration guidance if required – bringing a rounder sense to the brand.
This part usually allows for a couple of rounds of refining and sculpting to get the feel just right.
Stage 4: Applying
Once we feel the brand beginning to take a life of its own, we start to apply the design onto simple examples of printed materials, a website or social media channels. This helps to envisage how the brand will look and feel once it is finished, and can also begin the process of exploration for further designs if that is part of the project scope.
This is often where it starts to feel exciting…
Stage 5: Finishing
The final touches are made to the logo and it is supplied ready for use in whatever formats and options are needed – usually in colour and black/white and for use on print and online.
A simple brand guidelines is also supplied to show how to best use your new brand, along with references for colours, fonts, and any supporting images or illustrations.
And this marks the end of the branding process!
