How to Redesign a Logo: The Detailed Process for a Design Project.
As a designer, being creative is a must but not enough.
Creativity was a major topic in my Innovation management studies. Instead of using a scientific definition from scholars, I will keep it simple: creativity is about finding or creating new, meaningful, and problem-solving things.
Designers also care about functionality, not just aesthetics. So, being creative alone is not enough to define a designer. They need to follow a process, stay focused, and have communication skills to find the best solution for the problem within the context.
I will use the new Logo of Vibentec IT as a case study to illustrate this statement. I will explain all the steps that led me to the final result. This article is mainly for me as a documentation of my work. Maybe in the future, I will change my process. It would be interesting to see how I evolve from now on.
About the case study
Vibentec IT is a new IT startup that creates cloud-based and web applications. Duc Vi and I started Vibentec IT in 2020 with a message to inspire other young people to pursue their big dreams. Vibentec IT’s mission is to show the advantages of cutting-edge technology with the vision of becoming the top IT partner in Europe.
I acknowledge that a logo is only one aspect of branding. However, this logo has created several issues in the past three years:
- Unbalanced: The logomark is particularly problematic, as it does not adhere to any design principles and results in an unbalanced appearance.
- Meaning miscommunication: The brand mark confuses communication. Many people interpret it as V3 or I3, which are irrelevant to us.
- This logo is not scalable. The line is too thin, which makes it look poor in the laser printing version, especially when we reduce its size. And it lacks many variants for the different scenarios we need.
These problems urged us to redesign the logo as soon as possible. I will demonstrate my process in the following. I have an educational background in innovation management, where we apply design thinking frameworks to solve problems.
Following the process
Research and define
Research is a good first step. I did various kinds of research. One of them was to see how the logos of other IT or start-up companies in Germany look like. I noticed that those logos are very simple and minimalist. They reflect the company values very well.
Logo design is a fascinating topic. If we examine the history of logo evolution, we can see that logos gradually become simpler and more minimalist. In the 1970s, logos were colorful and funky with sans-serif fonts. In the 1980s, logos had more vivid colors and fonts with hidden meanings. In the 90s, logos became more iconic and related to their business. In the 2000s, logos adopted more dimensional graphics. Trends change quickly; therefore, predicting the next trends is hard. What remains in the end is the meaning and emotion that human beings associate with the business or the people behind it. As a minimalist, I value functionality more.
Based on the current issues of the old logo I described earlier and the research I have done, I want a logo that has 3 qualities: simplicity and minimalism, significance, and emotional appeal.
Ideate — From Quantitative to Qualitative
I will not go into much detail about how I come up with and gather my ideas. But in short, ideas do not appear out of thin air. To capture them, I have to apply some creativity techniques such as mood boards, brainstorming, and interviewing.
I showed 30 different images to Mr. Vi (The Vibentec IT owner) and asked him to pick 5 of them that he preferred. His choices could be summarized by three words: blue, cat, and futuristic.
During the ideation process, I always tell myself that every idea is worth considering. I also talked to other designers, and actually, they gave me a ton of new ideas that sounded, in the beginning, crazy but were really priceless.
Sketches of the concept — Stay focused
When I began to draw the ideas, I knew I had to concentrate. I had to remember the data I collected from research and hold on to the ideas I generated during ideation. And I knew this was the moment I could see if the idea could be realized visually.
I made a digital draft for each sketch to improve its appearance. Then I showed them to Mr. Vi and kindly asked for his opinions.
Be patient!
My advice here is to be patient! If we do thorough and mindful research and ideation, this process will not be repeated over and over.
Design digital version
The moment I started designing the digital version, I knew the project was moving forward. Happily!
I showed the digital version to Mr. Vi again after completing it. He gave me some feedbacks and I made some changes accordingly. I was glad that I kept in touch with him throughout the project. His input was very helpful.
Testing in different use cases and refining the logo
The design is not finished yet. After testing it in different situations, I have to adjust and refine the design. Additionally, adhering to logo design principles is important to keep the logo balanced.
It is important to remember that creating a digital version of the logo is not just about using a tool like Illustrator or Procreate to draw the sketches again. I paid attention to the rules, logo use cases, shading, shaping, spacing, and other essential design elements.
How I showcase my logo design to the client
When presenting the logo to Mr.Vi, I didn’t simply show him a picture of the logo that I had created digitally.
To showcase my logo, I prepared a presentation, which included information following this structure: about the brand (introduction, mission, vision), competitors’ logos, and the problems with the current logo. Then, I showed my design with explanations of how it solves the problem and how it compares to other competitors.
In this presentation, I also showed different variants and use cases. By following this flow, I want to avoid the situation where the client makes judgments about my design too fast.
Final File and Documentation
I want to emphasize the importance of paying attention to the final file in design projects. It’s frustrating when designers neglect this step, as it can result in poor documentation and negatively reflect on the designer’s professionalism.
I’ve encountered many people who claim to be designers, but when they provide the final logo, they only include a single PNG and one file with SVG format. In my opinion, this is not indicative of a high-quality designer.
Personally, I have OCD and believe in taking a comprehensive approach to any project. This means providing a complete package, including vertical and horizontal logos, brand marks, and wordmarks in various formats (AI, editable PDF, EPS, SVG, JPEG, PNG, and WEBP) for both digital and print purposes. Additionally, all files should be well-organized.
How I name my design files
One more small detail is how I name my file. It may depend on the situation and how you work. However, I usually follow this structure:
company-logovariation-colorspace-colorvariation (all low-cap)
For example:
vibentecit-horizontal-logo-rgb-dark.png
vibentecit-icon-rgb-orange.svg
vibentecit-wordmark-cmyk-blue.png
Moreover, I include a pdf file about logo guidance inside this package.
Conclusion
As you may have noticed, when it comes to functionality, it all boils down to the process. It’s during this process that we witness progress.
One of the frameworks that I frequently use in my projects is design thinking. It has proven to be helpful for problem-solving.
To ensure that I don’t waste any time misunderstanding the problems, I always make sure to stay focused.
Furthermore, having good communication skills is vital for a designer. Communication doesn’t just involve talking and convincing clients. It also requires understanding their feelings and desires and then translating those into the final solution.
You can check the final logo version on my Behance profile:
https://www.behance.net/gallery/190915813/Vibentec-IT-Brand-Identity-Guidelines
