BRANDING
The work process of branding companies and branding services are inclusive and requires the involvement of the client's team.
The work process of branding companies and branding services are inclusive and requires the involvement of the client's team.
To return with unexpected results because there is no guarantee whether it will be a pleasant or unpleasant surprise for the client. We try to make our operations transparent about what we do at each stage, why we do it, and how the decisions will affect the following steps and the result.
We stick to the three fundamental principles for our approach:
- Make it inclusive. We consider ourselves part of a client's team, so we work as a team.
- Make it practical. It should be clear how each action during the development process informs the next and the observed value.
- From general to specific. Start with understanding, and end with execution.
The main stages of the visual brand identity design funnel:
1. Information gathering and warm-up exercises
We start with understanding a product and company. Then, sometimes we ask clients to do some homework exercises. That informs all the next steps.
2. Visual positioning
At this stage, we make brand consultancy and audit an existing product/company visual identity, analyze competitors' logo design, develop a hypothesis on the applicable brand archetype (when needed), and define an area of future visual positioning of a branding project. We use brand guidelines and social media marketing tools to make a consistent brand voice in the future. The outcome document is a north star for a decision-making process along the way.
3. Visual brand expression
This stage is about visual inspiration and conceptual things made by a branding firm to create an existing brand. It helps to align the emotional aspect and build a foundation for a future color palette, shapes, and dynamics.
4. Sketches
We explore concepts and general directions on how the logo could look at this stage. We follow Visual positioning and Brand expression findings and recommendations. This stage helps to examine a lot of concepts and shapes fast.
5. Draft shapes and uniqueness test
We refine the shape by defining a few (up to 3) sketches. We are not exploring colors at this stage - our focus is on the form and tonal contrast. Our team researches similar logos to avoid similarities with existing brands. However, it's not trademark research.
6. Wordmark
When it comes to a combination of a logo sign and a logo mark (which is a common situation for digital brands because they need icons, favicons, social network thumbnails, etc.), we start working on the wordmark when a logo sign draft shape is approved.
We explore typefaces, cases, and design lettering to find the best pair for a logo sign.
7. Color and application examples
Color matters. People mostly judge products based on color, which was proved by various experiments. Therefore, we spent time exploring proper color combinations to make the logo and brand identity with the best possible potential.