Zen and The Art of Logo Approval

John Holland
Sep 4, 2018 · 4 min read

When redesigning your company’s logo you might discover that coming up with the design is the easy part, the hard part is getting it approved by your company’s stakeholders, managers, product designers and anyone else who is part of the “design committee”. With so many passionate people in a company everyone has an opinion and the approval process can a great source of anxiety for any designer. Below are some of the little things I did to help me during this process:

Everyone has an opinion
When it comes to revealing your shiny new logo be sure to compartmentalise feedback sessions. By this I mean establish who the most valuable stakeholders are and present to them in small groups of no more than 2 or 3 people. This way you can control the conversation in calm and considered manner whilst making sure the right questions are asked… and answered. When we reveal new designs in a large group, particularly with people who don’t have a design background, we can be struck with a “herd mentality” as everyone barks out random bits of feedback on a whim… Lucy from finance does’t like red (because her son hates Spiderman) and Jacob from customer services says the font reminds him of the Burger King logo… oh and the CEO hates Burger King and your design is shot down immediately. You get where I’m going with this. In this situation you can easily lose control of the conversation and as mentioned earlier you need to be driving the conversation — steering it in-line your vision and helping people understand your design process and how you ended up where you did. Once the primary stakeholders are on board with your design (even if they may have a few changes/suggestions) things will be a lot easier once released to the “herd”.

Say YES often and always
When it comes down to it people just want their ideas heard. If the CEO has feedback that you don’t agree with say yes anyway. “Yes we can look into that”, “yes we can give it a go”, “yes poo brown wasn’t my first choice but we can see if it will work”… don’t immediately say no, as that will make them feel as if they’re not being listened to or more importantly, understood. Often managers feel the need to give input even if they don’t have anything meaningful to contribute, but rather because they feel its their duty as managers. Saying yes and showing that you are genuinely listening to them can really help you get to where you want to go. It quells any knee-jerk disputes and who knows… you may even learn something about your design being forced to think of ideas you would normally never consider. Plus when the next iteration is revisited you can both take comfort in the fact that you “tried” their ideas (but as you probably expected) they didn’t work.

Its one piece of a very large branding puzzle
Always show the logo as part of the big picture. Set the stage for how it will be used along with the the overall branding elements to tell the story. Its never just about a logo. People can often get caught up in the semantics of a logo without seeing its full potential in the overall branding strategy. Tell the whole story, help them love the story and as a result they will be more likely to accept the change of this small piece of the puzzle. Show it can work in all situations.

Get your team behind you.
Primarily you should get feedback from the colleagues you admire and trust. They are the ones with the design expertise who‘s approval means the most at this early stage. I work with some of the most talented designers in my industry and having their approval is a huge confidence boost and similarly if they have reservations I know I can trust their judgement. When they are happy, then I know its ready to show Lucy from finance.

No surprises— show your ideas when the stakes are low.
I like to call over stakeholders to sit around my screen on a Friday afternoon when we’re having some beers and ask them what they think of certain concepts. Thus the stakes are low, everyone is relaxed and open to talking about ideas instead of being forced to say something on the spot about some design work they wouldn’t normally comment on in a “official” unveiling. During this relaxed talk I have my agenda for the direction and idea I am selling and its in this relaxed and casual environment your ideas can come across easily and people are more likely to be open to them. Then when its formerly presented the following week in the board room they will already feel invested from the start and more likely to be on-board.

Finally only present ideas you are 100% confident in and then you will be better prepared to defend them from all angles, especially if its something you truly believe in.

Once it’s launched in the way you intended it without (too much) compromise you will realise that it was all worth it in the end.

John Holland

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Senior designer and all round creative monkey. EEP! Find me on http://www.dribbble.com/johnholland