Step 1 - Finding the message
Lesson 5 from: Abstract Logo Design: Create Simple Logos That Tell A StoryScott Lancaster
Step 1 - Finding the message
Lesson 5 from: Abstract Logo Design: Create Simple Logos That Tell A StoryScott Lancaster
Lesson Info
5. Step 1 - Finding the message
Lessons
Welcome to the abstract logo design course
02:05 2What is abstract logo design?
02:01 3The secret to memorable logo design
02:21 4The neuroscience to why logos are remembered
02:25 5Step 1 - Finding the message
07:11 6Step 2 - Searching, Sketching & Selection
05:12 7Step 3 - Perfecting and digitizing
05:41 8Creating world-class mock ups
35:38Lesson Info
Step 1 - Finding the message
We're finally here the start of the abstract logo design process. But why do we begin in creating and developing a truly memorable logo? Well, it all starts with a message and by message, I don't mean slipping into someone's dms that as an art. I am yet to master what I actually mean by message is how do we want to be perceived by our target audience? And if you cast your mind back to a few lessons ago, you'll remember that the key to incredible abstract logo designs is storytelling. A great abstract logo should symbolize the important point or the key message behind the brand and the communication strategy that that particular company wants to execute. But how do you do that? Well, there are two main ways. The first way is you pay me a lot of money and I'll do it for you. And the second way is to follow our simple process that I'm going to lay out for you in this very course. Now the process has three simple steps. Firstly, we need to find out what makes the brand special. Next. We'll...
check to decide which of our ideas have the most potential. And lastly, we'll boil everything down to a store so that we have complete clarity. This will make it very easy to symbolize that message later on in the process. But the first step to developing a great abstract logo is to understand one message we want to communicate with the design. And I actually have a really simple exercise which I've used for the past decade and it pretty much works every time to help me find the T message super quickly. So just follow these really simple steps. Now, it may seem a little bit weird at first, but bear with me, it does work. Now take your fist and clench it really, really tight and you can use this for any type of creative endeavor, right? Whether it be design or strategy or anything, you know, as long as you're thinking creatively, this works really, really well, it always works. So clench your fist pretty tight, OK? And then point it away from you if possible, do it north. But it doesn't really matter to be honest, pull your forearm back and at the same time as pulling your former arm back, all you need to do is just pull out your hands like this. So your fingertips are pointing outwards. OK. Now, what you've achieved here is a very charming hand puppet. And what this does is if you ever lose hope or you know, need some support, emotional support throughout the creative process, you always have someone here to support you. So we have to ask ourselves a very simple question. What makes the brand that you're designing a logo for special and unique? Now, if you feel a little lost and confused right now, do not worry, I'm gonna go through the entire process with you from start to finish with a real life client so you can stay on track the entire process. The real company that we'll be developing an abstract logo for is called Sky Wells and they ultimately provide sustainable energy solutions to people through the likes of solar panels and other creative energy related products. So what type of positive impact could this company have on the world? Well, a couple of ideas could be sustainable, solar energy, sun powered homes, longevity, infinite power, cheaper electricity, saving money, renewable energy, a lower consumption. So with that single question, we've managed to come up with a list of incredible terms that link to how sky wells could positively impact the world, which leads us on to the next step, which is to actually develop these ideas further, which we can do really easily. But first, we have to check to make sure that none of these positioning strategies or terms or words are being used excessively by competitors. The reason for this is we don't want to be a copycat, so we don't want to basically copy what the competitor are doing if they were there first. Neurologically, if a brand is known for a certain position or a certain way of communicating, then it's best to stay away and let them pioneer that particular message. That means that we have to think differently and do something a little bit more unique and distinctive. For example, if you're a sports brand and you're thinking about leading with the message of just do it or do it now, for example, then you're instantly going to be linked to 90 who've been doing that for many, many years already choosing the exact same position in strategy and communications, a competitor that is already very much established is a little bit like going to a wedding and wearing the exact same dress as the bride. People may look at you, but they're probably gonna think you're a little bit weird and they're instantly going to turn their attention back to the original person who is supposed to be wearing that white dress. So remember this super important lesson, never wear a big white dress. So once we've removed any positioning strategies or terms that are already being accessibly used by competitors, the next step is to start to gain clarity as to which ideas want to move forward with. So we want to drill it down to just two or three ideas that we can really start to develop. Now, we need to see which ideas have the most potential and by potential, I simply mean, which have the most potential to connect with our target audience that we're trying to communicate with. So we need to start thinking from our target audience's perspective. And by doing this, we can start to highlight which two or three ideas from the list that we have left to basically see which are most likely to convert or motivate or encourage our customers to buy or try our product or service. For example, I think we can all agree that pretty much every single customer out there who's looking at sustainable energy or solar panels, for example, is going to be interested in saving money on their energy bills. So in this case, I would see that as a great potential direction in regards to the communication strategy and the positioning of the Sky Wales brand, I would likely merge renewable energy and saving money together, then maybe merge together energy with sun powered homes. And lastly, I would keep infinite power as it is because it suggests that the customer can have unlimited power without ever running out and that my friend is step two. Now, the great news is you've actually done most of the hard work. The next step is just polishing things up. So now we have to take each of the directions that we have and refine them. So there's no fluff and by fluff, what I basically mean is imagine each idea is a piece of cake. All we want is the beautifully sweet icing. So for example, renewable energy and saving money would become renewable energy, saves money. And that's the story that we're going to try to create with the logo design, cheaper energy with some powered homes could become cheaper, some power energy and then infinite power would become in. So the move for M and M uh it would just stay as infinite power, I guess. OK, perfect. So now we have the three stories ready to go. The next step is to start sketching our ideas and really getting the creative juices phone. So grab a pencil, grab some paper and I will see you in the next lesson, the pencil and paper for drawing, obviously.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials