Dramatic logo design for new business in Springfield, MO - Branding and Graphic Design Service Springfield, MO

One of the first things an aspiring business owner needs is a brand name that communicates the concept in a clear and memorable manner. A brand logo is simply a visual expression of that communication effort.

I recently went through the creative process of designing a logo for a startup business.

The Graphic Design Process

The client and I had several conversations, by text messaging, phone calls, and email. To express his expectations, he presented several logos from similar businesses across the country. This helped set the tone and style for the new design.

I developed a series of “rough draft” concepts and emailed them to the client with descriptive notes.

The initial designs were all black with a basic font, to allow the viewer to focus on the overall shape and not get distracted by color or font details. But I did include one color version (even though the company didn’t have a color pallet yet), so the client could imagine how color might be used if desired.

I also included an array of fonts, to gauge his feelings about typography. He responded with feedback that helped further hone the direction of the design.

Focus Group

After further discussion with the client, I narrowed the concept to two variations of one design. With the client’s permission, I placed the two images on several social-media outlets and asked people to vote on their favorite design. One design received considerably more votes, but people also left insightful comments that added in the final draft.

Final Draft

The final version of the logo benefited from the entire design process.

Square metallic

As always, I delivered multiple versions of the design, to meet different needs. The square version is the main logo, on social media and signage. The alternate, horizontal version is for situations with limited height and an abundance of width, like banner ads or bumper stickers.

Black, grey, and white versions allow logo placement on any background. For example, a dark-colored logo would be hard to see on a black t-shirt, so in that situation, the grey or white versions would be used instead.

A metalic-looking version adds drama to the image and sets a cultural tone.