The Ins and Outs of Logo Design
It’s never just a logo… it’s also about user experience
Imagine you wanted to buy a product, but there were so many similar ones to choose from. Options are great, but it becomes harder when we have to deal with so many identical products nowadays. A logo helps to clarify that decision; they create an image of the brand that their users can identify with.
Designing a logo from scratch and making sure it fits the brand can be a little overwhelming at first. Even though we have many standard practices, choosing the right one can be tricky. But luckily, our team has an approach to help us check if we are on the right track or not.
We worked with a client to redesign their project logo
During the pandemic, we had the opportunity to work with SpudnikLab, a digital media consultancy bridging the digital divide—on their platform, Kobi—by designing their platform’s logo. Kobi reviews apps designed for users with KaiOS phones, phones used in areas with limited connectivity.
Kobi helps their users find the apps they need by giving a thorough analysis of an app that suits their specific needs. Therefore, the unique challenge was to make sure that the logo we created would convey their mission and emote the right experience for their users.
1. Solidifying the scope
We started off by understanding what SpudnikLab wanted in terms of expectations. The initial details they provided, such as the expected timeline, brand description, and references for the kinds of designs they liked came in handy.
Tip: Even with initial references, it is always a good practice to ask more questions and clarify details personally to help the design process.
We met with them to further discuss the suitability of the name and the brand story, to make sure our visualisations were aligned. Though a logo might seem like just a piece of visual to identify a product/service, the colors, texture, and font choice actually have deep roots in the brand’s personality and play a big part in creating a cohesive story for users.
2. Focusing on the logotype
After more conversations with the client, we gained deeper understanding why they wanted a leatherback turtle. It was conceived as a helpful turtle guide, swimming across the space of the universe to find useful information to benefit users’ lives. And this turtle would be helpful, cheerful, and friendly. That helped us determine how we could go about our research.
Having to stylise a real turtle into a graphical element, we had to dig deeper into how the real creature behaved as well as match the values and characteristics it had to represent. Kobi is a mascot type of logo, which means it represents figures, faces, or characters, and acts as the brand ambassador. The focus on its expressions mattered. This was where the brand personality spectrum helped to shape how the logo could be personified.
3. Figuring out its personality
Every brand has a persona and knowing that persona helps build on the styles and colors that represent that personality.
Kobi is a personable and friendly leatherback sea turtle who guides users. As the solution helps users navigate apps more easily, it needs to present warmth as a welcoming character. Using characteristics of the product and SpudnikLab’s input, we placed the characteristics on a brand personality framework (shown above) to figure out the brand positioning and direction Kobi should take. Just like how humans have different traits that make up a unique personality, brands do too.
After further research, we created a mood board, which is a collection or collage of references from other brands, designs, products, and ideas to help visualize how something might look.
Tip: Having a mood board helps communicate ideas clearly and easily. It also provides a reference to fall back on during the design process.
We used the mood board to convey our ideas with the client. Once everyone was internally aligned with the direction of the design, we went on to the next phase, brainstorming.
4. From concept to refinement
Brainstorming a concept from an idea takes days because there are many factors that are involved in creating a concept. Whilst an idea is a generalised mental construct, a concept is a more solidified idea that has gone through the process of fine-tuning and is tangible enough to take action on; in this case, the concept helps create sketches with a look and feel.
Tip: It is crucial that the design is cohesive and embodies the core values of the product, while simultaneously taking into account the product’s competitors.
We spent a few days brainstorming different ways Kobi could be represented using a brain dump, pouring out as many concepts as we could. After a few internal group reviews, we went from many concepts to a final few suitable ones which were gesture, expression, and navigation.
Once we finalized our concepts, we moved on to sketching out the concepts.
Tip: The goal is to create as many sketches as you can and decide on the final concept. It is always helpful to find and incorporate these references while you are pushing out those raw sketches to more detailed and grounded versions.
We researched and incorporated various turtle positions and visualizations to design more realistic sketches. We also made sure to focus on 55 Minutes’ five principles when designing the logos: scalability, simplicity, relevance, harmony, and versatility.
These principles help ensure that the designs are more usable. For example, by using scalability, we were able to ensure that the line thickness of the logo was visible enough on both KaiOS phones and the website.
By using these principles, we narrowed down the final, detailed concept to show our client.
5. The feedback loop
Internal and external reviews are a valuable phase in a logo design process. Feedback mainly consisted of the looks of the concepts and how they felt about it.
As the feedback was qualitative, we:
- dug deeper by asking more specific questions to make the feedback more actionable
- went through several rounds of feedback to make sure the logo represented what SpudnikLab wanted
Tip: Though it takes some time, the feedback loop helps slowly navigate towards a finished product or logo.
6. Final Validation
During user interviews, we asked users what they thought of the logo and what was conveyed to them to check if the logo represented helpfulness, cheerfulness, and friendliness. This is what our users had to say:
Participant B — Cheerful, because the turtle is cute/because of the turtle’s smile
Participant E — Friendly, because the mascot looks like it can be a friend.
It was a win that the users’ feedback validated what Kobi was meant to convey. Having the right people, processes, and frameworks can help create logos that represent the brand and connect their product to their users, leaving everyone, including the clients satisfied.
Designing a logo is an intricate process involving the right people and steps to create something that truly conveys the brand’s identity and mission. If you are interested in our services or are even just curious about our process, check us out at https://www.55mins.com/.
Pradnya is a UIUX designer for 55mins. In her free time, she enjoys reading and learning about whatever she is curious about at that moment, as well as traveling and working out.
