My Design Process

The approach for identity projects includes the four stages of research, idea development, design, and implementation. I’ll break them all down individually below.

Research

Each project has a different level of research. These detail from company history all the way through to market research and everything in between. Face to face meetings are the preferred method of engaging with clients where possible. These are great for discovering the relationship and passion the client has to their product or service, which is critical to developing future-proof design ideas.

Idea Development

This part of the process is divided into two parts - first, it’s about developing an initial plan so that it reflects the logic set out in the research phase. The outcome should be a creative brief that the client approves of before starting to develop any visual ideas. This is to enable myself as a designer to continually refer back to the brief to ensure that the design is constantly being interpreted correctly.

The second part of this process is about looking at the initial research and the completed brief and developing visual ideas on paper. This is typically the longest part of the whole design process. Hundreds of ideas can be laid out on paper with multiple iterations of each idea finding its way into the initial sketches.

Design

During this phase, typically no more than three or four ideas will make their way down to detailed refinements. I aim to present the client with three options, usually all in a different direction to show how versatile the brief can be, and to give the client options in different directions that will all suit the needs of the brief.

The work until now is then shown to the client in the form of a presentation that is usually crafted in PDF format using the Adobe Creative Suite. These will include refinement of the logo directions along with mock-ups and various other design items such as patterns and colour palettes. These allow the client to see each direction in proper context and in real word situations. Mock-ups could include letterheads, business cards, vehicle liveries, uniforms, signage, stationery and any other additional items that relate directly to the clients sector.

There will usually be two or three rounds of presentations, with refinements being made to each direction off the back of client feedback. Once a final direction is chosen, further rounds of revisions with the input of the client will take place, making sure that the brief is being referred to at all times. This ensures that the work is to the clients liking and that it meets the objectives and goals set out at the start of the project.

Implementation

Throughout the process, everything that is designed is done so to ensure that it can be implemented as effectively and as easy as possible. This is all dependant on the size of the client and scope of the project. Usually a large client will receive identity guidelines for use internally or for use by designers down the line. This is to make sure the identity remains consistent regardless of who is implementing them. Alternatively, small businesses may only need the basic logo files going forward and can use the past presentations as a guide until they require a full identity guide in the future.

Questions?

If for any reason any of this is confusing, you can either check out my post on frequently asked questions by clicking here, or get in touch and I’d be happy to answer any queries.