Swipe Files - 📂 Demystifying the logo process

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Today's newsletter is written by my Conversion Factory cofounder, Zach Stevens.

He's the best designer I know and has deep experience with SaaS.

Logo design is not a magic act

I’m all for moments of striking inspiration that seem to come from nowhere but divine providence, but that’s seldom good practice for any professional.

Especially in something as subjective an emotionally tolling as logo design.

In part, the design community is to blame for the shroud of mystery surrounding logo design because most designers choose to work in mystery themselves.

No process, no steps, no methods for assuring success.

Let’s fix that. Here is a three step process for designing a kickass logo for your SaaS startup.

Btw, this is assuming you have already nailed a creative direction. If you haven’t done that, peep this newsletter for assistance.​

Step 1: Reframe logos as a tool, not an art piece

Logos serve one function: to help users easily identify your your brand.

They are the equivalent of a flag on the mast of ship, easily recognizable whether you are close, far away, or in a sea of other vessels.

This reframes the logo as a tool with clear objectives instead of relying solely on preference, “I like this,” vs. “I don’t like this.”

Stolen from Sagi Haviv of Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv (the studio behind the Chase Bank, Nat Geo, Animal Planet, US Open, and Showtime logos), there are three core principles that a logo must adhere to:

Simplicity

Complicated, highly illustrative logos fail to uphold their utility across mediums (print, digital) or sizes/applications (favicons, app icon, large scale advertising, etc).

Having studied thousands of logos over the course of my career, I believe the most effective marks are flat and can work in single color if needed. This restraint allows them to flex across applications and change to suit the creative needs of the application.

Apple’s use of their mark in their new campaigns is a great example of a simple, flat mark flexing it’s creative juices.

Distinction

The whole point of a logo is to stand out. Concepts that look too similar to the competition or major brands will fail. Research of the immediate competitive market and knowledge of well-known logos is essential in crafting a standout logo.

What I’m taking note of when looking at competitor logos:

Color: is there a color that is being consistently used? Why and how might we break away from the trope?

Typefaces: is there a typeface category that is consistently used? Why and how might we break away from the trope?

Symbols: is there a common symbol or image that is consistently used? Why and how might we break away from the trope?

Clearly, black, a mixed of serif typography, and generic sans serifs were things to avoid

Appropriateness

Can you picture ABBA sporting a logo that looked like Metallica’s? Well, here’s what it would look like in case you were wondering

Gimme gimme gimme a different logo

It doesn’t work because the message of ABBA’s songs, the instrumentation, the album artwork, the outfits, and the theatrics all point in a completely different direction than the above logo.

When you have accurately defined the emotions you want your branding to illicit, you must stick with them. Deviations from the core emotions fracture brand equity and your logo is the flag at the front of the charge.

Step 2: Prove concepts in sketches

Apart from the fact that you can generate ideas in sketch form 10x faster than on the computer, sketching logo concepts forces you to examine the concept in it’s ugliest form.

In short, if the ugly version can’t stand on its own, neither will the pixel perfect, fully manifested, vector version.

Logo sketches for my podcast, the Design Dive

It’s easy to get paralyzed when staring a blank canvas, that’s what the three columns are for. I usually start by simply writing the name of the brand and seeing how the letterforms interact. From there, I can experiment with typographic marks and see what lands.

When I’ve exhausted the typographic options, I’ll move into abstract and pictorial marks and see what imagery I can pair with the name.

The entire process takes about an 90 minutes. Once I’ve got a solid amount of concepts, a nice stroll around the neighborhood recalibrates my mind so I can review the concepts with fresh eyes. If necessary, I’ll refine some ideas and then “star” the concepts that have the most potential.

When working with a client, I’ll walk them through the sketches, discuss the pros and cons of each choice and get consensus on the chosen concept.

Step 3: Create the logo

Finally, we’re ready to make the logo.

It is imperative to start in black and white first. This restraint assures that the logo concept can stand on its own without the aid of color and that it will be an easily recognized shape.

Additionally, it helps work out the kinks of showing the logo in reverse. For example, if you simply switch the colors of the Mailchimp logo, it ruins the mark. A special rendition is needed to show the logo in white.

Once the black and white versions of a logo are established, you can apply the colors from your creative direction and test it on a broad range of relevant mockups.

Look for different sizes, mediums, etc. The point is to see how the logo and assets from the creative direction gel together in tangible, real applications.

Shopify logo concept from yours truly

Step 4 (optional): Get user feedback

I’ll start this with a caveat: be wary, user feedback logos is mostly shit.

They’re not privy to the business decisions surrounding the new identity, don’t know what makes a good logo from a technical standpoint, and are fickle, emotional beings.

With that in mind, keep the feedback objective and focus on elements that you can actually improve apart from appeasement.

Some examples:

Is this legible?

Simple question. Can they read the logotype, can they describe the symbol, and can they do it after looking at a small version of the logo? If not, refine the mark for clarity.

Does it remind you of anything else?

Also a simple question, just ask and listen. It is 100% ok if the mark reminds them of another logo, so long as:

• It isn’t too similar. You don’t want to get sued or look like a ripoff. Use your judgement here and be honest about how close is too close.
• It doesn’t remind them of a direct competitor. I.e. if your software logo reminds them of Baskin-Robbins’ I wouldn’t worry about it. Ask them “why” and be grateful your logo stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a renowned brand.

Lastly, try the draw test

Can they draw the logo after looking at it for 30 seconds? Obviously, it won’t be perfect, but if they get close you’ve done created a memorable mark that is simple enough to be replicated by hand.

And that’s awesome.

Remember, the logo is not an art piece, it is a tool used to help identify your company from others.

If you can also generate something beautiful, more power to you.

What did you think?

—Corey

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