My Logo Design Process, Start to Finish

Logo design processes get mythologized. You see the polished case study — the brief, some sketches, a beautiful presentation, the final mark — and it looks like a clean linear journey from problem to solution. My actual process is messier than that, more iterative, and grounded in practices I've developed through a lot of failed approaches.

Here's what I actually do.

Research Before Any Mark-Making

I spend at least a full day on research before I draw anything. This includes: reading everything the client has shared about their brand strategy, positioning, and competitive context; auditing the visual landscape of their category; identifying the marks of every direct competitor and documenting what they're doing visually; and building a reference set of marks I admire that are relevant to the brief.

This research shapes every decision that follows. I'm trying to understand what visual territory is occupied, what's available, and what the specific brand needs to claim.

Concept Definition Before Sketching

Before I start generating mark ideas, I write down three to five concepts — verbal descriptions of what the mark could represent and why. Each concept is a different answer to the question: what should this mark say, and how?

These concepts are strategic choices, not visual descriptions yet. They might be: "trust through geometric precision," "human warmth through organic form," "heritage through typographic tradition." I evaluate each concept against the brand strategy before deciding which to develop visually.

This step prevents me from generating random mark ideas and then retroactively inventing rationale. The concept drives the form.

Sketching: Volume and Speed

Once I have two or three concepts to explore, I sketch fast and in volume. I'm trying to generate the maximum number of formal possibilities in minimum time. These sketches are rough — shapes, proportions, directional ideas. They're not finished designs.

I typically produce fifty to one hundred sketches across two to three concept directions in a focused sketch session. Most are dead ends. A few will have something worth developing.

Digital Development of Promising Directions

I take the three to five sketches that have genuine potential into vector. I'm not refining yet — I'm testing whether the ideas hold up in precise form. Many sketches that seemed promising fall apart when translated to clean geometry. A few become stronger.

At this stage I'm developing multiple directions simultaneously, not committing to one. I want to understand what each direction can become before I decide which to invest in fully.

The Edit: Narrowing to Three

Before the first client presentation, I edit ruthlessly. I present three directions maximum — each representing a distinct conceptual and formal approach, each fully realized enough to evaluate genuinely. Presenting more than three dilutes the client's focus and often produces indecisive feedback.

Each direction gets a rationale — why this concept, why these formal choices, how it serves the brand strategy. The rationale isn't defensive justification; it's a framework for productive evaluation.

Refinement After Client Direction

Client feedback usually combines a direction preference with specific reactions — things they love, things they're uncertain about. I take this feedback seriously but I also push back when I think feedback is driven by personal preference rather than brand judgment.

The refinement stage is often longer than clients expect. Moving from a strong direction to a finished mark involves dozens of small decisions — spacing, weight refinements, proportion adjustments — that collectively determine whether the mark is good or great.

Delivery

Final delivery includes all required file formats, color specifications (Pantone, CMYK, RGB, hex), and a brief usage document. The mark isn't finished when it's approved — it's finished when the client has everything they need to use it correctly.