When it comes to the process of designing a new logo, the design company and client both play equally important rolls in the outcome of the final design.
The graphic design company will take lead in bringing creativity, branding and marketing experience to the table so that they can effectively incorporate the personal taste and unique industry knowledge of the specific client.
The client will be responsible for providing a creative brief to the company as an initial guide towards the direction that they want to take. This includes aspects like products/services offered, and any personal design elements and colors that they would like to see in the design.
The design company then creates concepts based on the initial brief received to draw an initial reaction out of the client. This will help to even further refine the personal taste of the client which would in turn speed up the turn-around time and accuracy of the following designs.
Client directed logo designs
The client may give step by step instructions on what they want to change and the company will follow those instructions step by step. The design company will mention if something is not practical or if it may convey the wrong impression to the viewer, but the client may choose to consider or ignore this advice. This becomes a client directed design where the design company does not have a lot of input and this client-centric design input may result in a weak overall brand.
Graphic Design company directed logo designs
The client may not have a strong opinion about what they like or do not like and they will need extra guidance from the design company. The graphic design company could provide logo designs with strong conceptual reasoning as to why a specific design will work for that company and what higher, deeper meaning of that logo design is. The client will need to consider these designs and the ideas behind the concepts and will need to make a decision and commit sooner or later. They cannot afford to say ‘I do not know what I want, but this is not it’. Indecisive clients are generally the most difficult to deal with since they are waiting for a logo to ‘wow’ them, but they cannot say what wows them to the designers.
Shared logo design direction
The middle ground is where the client says initially what they like as part of creative brief, the graphic design company comes up with logo concepts, the client chooses one or two logos to explore and the company provides additional options based on those directions. The client then chooses a specific direction and the company creates logos up to the point where the client is happy or revision scope has been reached. After revision scope limit it might be up to company to extend it for free or charge and additional hourly rate. This is the balance that will create logos that are strong in design and that clients love. The client gives input, the graphic design company listens and gives their input.
Conclusion
The design lead on a project is a maximum of 100%, divided between client and company. One or the other party will have to take the lead to ensure a strong overall design. The best is a 50/50 split where clients steer the company into the right direction, similar to the Hotter/Colder game. The designers will then listen and respond with creative, practical designs.
