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Now the real fun begins.

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All the work up till now isn't just busy
work or running a timer to build a client.

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Each project is unique.

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But if you've done a little leg work
upfront and have

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some research and information to start
with, everything else becomes much easier.

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We like to deliver branding rounds on a

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weekly basis: deliver on a Friday, discuss
and

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edit on a Monday, spend the week designing

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on that feedback, and deliver again on
that Friday.

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One round is equal to one week.

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This process typically takes four or five
weeks of design after about

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a week or two of discovery and preparing
the brand strategy document.

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A final week or two is added to define and
create the brand guidelines document.

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You can see this process takes time.

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As a quick side note, I'll mention a case
study that

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highlights how important it is to do some
research and initial discovery.

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I once worked with a client that went
through a

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difficult and legal name change after
first week of design.

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Several weeks later, we were nearing the

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end of the project when our client
approached

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us with a logo that was far too similar to
another company in their same industry.

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This wasn't plagiarism, this was just a
truly unfortunate coincidence.

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We had to hit the drawing board and hit a
home run as fast as possible.

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Fortunately, our client was great and we
managed

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to get to the end without too much damage.

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The moral of the story is that we almost
went twice as long as we should have

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and all because there was not a sufficient

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amount of research before or during the
design process.

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No one wants to pay good money for you as
a designer to make mistakes like that.

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Due diligence and read up on competitors
and the industry, be aware.

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Before breaking down the steps, I'll
mention Matt Helm has

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two excellent courses on Tree House that I
highly recommend.

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One is Adobe Illustrator Basics, a great
way to dive

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into using a vector application for
developing logos and visual assets.

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The other is logo design basics.

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Some of what I'll say is redundant but

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Matt has some great advice and teaching in
there.

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Check them out.

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Now, let's talk about the process, the
actual steps that make the brand complete.

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First off, start with your discovery

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document, mood board, and creative brief
nearby.

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With that sort of information, you'll know
where to begin.

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Start sketching through ideas.

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No idea's bad and there's no limit to what
can be put on paper.

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Thoughts and concepts pertaining to the
project should be registered on paper.

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This will truly help refine ideas before
spending unnecessary time on the computer.

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To be honest, I spend most of my time

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exploring brand elements beyond the logo
or mark itself.

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When I can see a clear direction with
typography, color,

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patterns and icons, the mark will uncover
itself much easier.

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And this may not always apply to
typographic

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logos that require time and patience to
put together.

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The typography carries a lot of emotional
and psychological force.

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Typography is where most communication in
the brand will be.

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Try to think beyond Helvetica or free
fonts, choose typography intentionally.

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The more you can distinguish your client
from their competition,

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the better you can create a meaningful
experience with their consumers.

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This experience can also be found in color
as well.

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Color can convey a complete brand without
a mark or typography.

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Think about Coca-Cola, Tiffany's or
Flickr.

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Color isn't something to overlook or
choose last.

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Consider the application and the pairings
you'll provide.

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Be aware of what colors mean to different
audiences.

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Make sure the perfect orange you've chosen
isn't

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the exact same orange your client's
competitor is using.

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Icons can also work with typography as
simple, customizable, visual elements.

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Icons can be made specifically for your
clients industry or service offering.

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A good way to consider style of icons is

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to look at the typography you've chose for
the brand.

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Modernist, rounded corners or geometric
letter forms

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can help determine how the icons will
look.

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These little pieces can go a long way.

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Be aware of how you can make this entire
brand experience amazing.

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Paul Rand is infamous for showing only one
final iteration to his client.

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Take or leave, it pay me and this project
is finished was the mindset.

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When it comes to showing and presenting
your work to a

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client, I and your client am not sold on
this idea.

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Rand charged hundreds of thousands of
dollars and

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invested hundreds of hours into those
final logos.

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The same can't be said of URI.

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Show your client iterations and progress.

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Again this helps build trust.

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As a final note, be sure all of these

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items function and flow together as a
complete system.

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A great logo will not last if it doesn't
have supportive elements to live with.

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Don't over think it.

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Just make sure its one network of designed
pieces

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rather than a jumbled mess of typography
and color swatches.

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Remember, any media can seamlessly and
easily become part of a brand identity.

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Rand states very clearly, Thinking is
number one in the design process.