A process for logo design

1   Sketch some ideas by hand

It's faster, and makes you more creative.   Try all sorts of things, even mad idea that don't work..  Basically brainstorming.  You might come up with one really strong idea - or lots of weaker ones, which lead you to generate stronger ones.   At this stage, don't worry about how you will technically achieve the look - just play with ideas.

2   Choose a sketch to work with

Choose the one that you think will most likely meet your client's needs.
Keep the rest of the ideas around, in case the first choice doesn't work, but focus on one at a time.

(If the option you choose really isn't working at a later stage, return to this stage and start again.)

3   Create a working space for the square format logo

In a design tool, create a square shape - make it large enough to work on detail, but not full screen (eg 15 x 15 cm).

4  Lay the foundation

 Insert a basic shape (square, circle, triangle etc) to form the back of the logo - whatever is suggested by the sketch.
This might be reduced to white or transparent later, but it gives the artwork a starting point.

5   Build up the rest of the idea by adding / combining other shapes.  

At this stage, just use black and white - so you can focus on the underlying shapes without being distracted by colour issues. 

6   Make it into one shape

Once your artwork has the right combination of shapes to build the overall look, combine them (group, pathfinder, etc - it depends on teh tool). 

Also turn the black to 70% to give an idea of how it will look in a gentler format.

Note:   keep a copy of the file from just before you do this, in case you need to go back to it in step 9.

7   Add text

For some designs, text-items may have been part of the shape.   But for many they are added later, to turn your generic icon into a specific one.

8   Apply font(s) for the text

Usually you'd only use one font in a logo, unless there the sketch calls for two very different looks put together.

8   Final adjustments to the shape

Consider how the logo looks at a very large and very small size (zoom in and out, look at your screen from the other side of the room).
Print it out and consider the paper in different lights / distances..
Look at its weight and balance:   is it lop-sided, do some parts look unnecessarily bigger or smaller.
Is the font legible?    An artistic font that works for initials or a very short word won't work well for a longer one.

Make any final changes to the shapes and text, based on what you see.

9   Add colour

Choose the colour palate that is to be used for this project.  Apply colours and effects eg shadows, gradients, to elements in the logo.
Repeat the checks from step 8, this time focusing on the effect of the colour.   Tweak as necessary.

10   Final review

You may have done client reviews at various previous steps.   But it is most important to review it again, now that all the components are in place.  Review the design with the client or with trusted advisers if you're creating for yourself.

10    Create alternative sizes

For a logo, your or your client may need:

• A black and white only version
• A negative version
• A page-header formatted version   (this may have additional content - or just be a rectangle with the square icon design within it).    You may need several of these, one for letterhead (8 inches wide), one for Facebook, one for Twitter, etc.
• A favicon version    (This is the very small website-tab icon, 32x32 pixels.)    It may be a simplified version of your icon, if there's too much detail for it to draw well.

It's far easier to make all these now, while the design is fresh in your mind, than to have to go back and do it later when they're needed.

11  Create output files

For each alternative size, you probably need to create both:

• A vector format file (eg eps, pdf, svg)
• A graphic format file (eg png or jpg)