Have a logo redesign or rebranding looming? Obviously, there will be tons of working parts that will influence your approach in a big creative undertaking like this one. But if you're looking for a few high-level recommendations to help get you centered, read on.
Align around a style
Use visual references and spoken adjectives to get a feel for broad sensibilities. Moodboards are a great way to gain a foundational understanding of preferences and can kickstart ideation. If you struggle to narrow in on a single direction, start exploring lo-fi sketching to "make it real" and provide context for your brand ambassadors. Remember at this stage, things don’t need to be perfect. You're just looking to find what conceptually is right for you.
Note: Aggressive timelines don't have to stymie creativity, but they do make this alignment phase exceedingly important.
Don't over invest too early
First rule of thumb while visually rebranding, don't pursue perfection from the jump. Often designers will make the mistake of pushing 'for delivery' refinement during preliminary concept development. This time is better applied toward more diverse unrefined ideation. Once your team has selected a specific design direction, then you can tighten it up. This loose 'lo-to-hi-fidelity' approach also creates a space for greater in-use contextual representation. Seeing a proposed mark laid out across different digital and analog mediums is more powerful than a perfectly executed vector mark.
Communicate and emphasize key decision points
Sometimes clients' can immediately identify subtle differences between design concept lines. Other times, these attributes can be quite nuanced. Don't be afraid to overstate precise differences between concepts, regardless of the audience. Sometimes great creative outputs are killed by poor communication or misrepresentation.
And remember in delivery, speak clearly, communicate reasoning to validate, and ask direct questions. Don't forget to address risks, concerns, and para signals along the way to avoid brand launch delays or other unintended outcomes.
Note: Don't be afraid to show your lo-fi work. Sketch-level ideation can disarm collaborators and facilitate more candid and direct feedback.
Confirm your clients' needs
Before and while producing the final rebranding design files, ensure your client has articulated their specific file-based needs. This includes image types, formats, color ways, and what other working native files necessary for a successful brand launch. Simple enough, right? Show of hands from the designers who HAVEN'T had that 8-months-later "Can I get the AI file as a ____" request from a client? Try to nip this in the bud as much as possible.
Keep it simple & clean
When it comes to final execution, ensure that the mark doesn’t have stray vector points or unnecessary pieces. Outline everything and combine it via the pathfinder - this step is especially crucial when you have a client (say, like Banker) that its going to be cutting the mark into various materials.
Lastly, organize the final delivery folder in an easy-to-traverse structure so that your client can quickly access everything they need for handoff. And while we're on that topic, make sure your naming conventions, layer management, and asset groupings are on the up and up. Nobody likes a Photoshop file with 1000 unnamed layers, even those understanding of us right-brained folks.
