My Logo Design Process
For over a decade Jon Mueller has been creating professional logos for startups and small businesses in Columbia, MO, and beyond.
Looking back, my love for logo design and branding started to take shape when I was in middle school. I was an athletic kid who loved sports, but basketball was easily at the top of my list. My obsession for the game was directly linked to Michael Jordan. I was a super fan. I filled my room with Jordan posters and spent most of my time outside playing ball with my friends trying to be like Mike. Each summer I mowed lawns in my neighborhood and scraped together just enough cash to buy a new pair of Jordans before each basketball season. The Jordan logo became a symbol of greatness and still to this day carries the same level of prestige. As you probably guessed my dreams of playing ball in the NBA didn’t come to fruition, but I have become a professional at something else — logo design.
I’ve created logos for businesses of all sizes. However, most of my logo design work has been for startup companies and small businesses right here in Columbia, MO. I love working with local startups and small businesses because they are passionate about their work but typically too small to have their own in-house graphic designers. They need help developing the creative aspects of their brand and don’t have the budget to pay ad agency prices. Most business owners understand the importance of a professional looking logo design and know the value that it can bring to their business over time. It’s an important investment well worth the cost. A good logo will clearly say who you are and what you do, it will visually differentiate you from your competitors, it will be memorable to your customers, and it will have the simplicity and versatility to work on any application. It’s easy to look at a logo design and assume because it looks simple it was probably easy to create. The truth is quite the opposite. Coming up with a simple logo that embodies the values of your business is often quite challenging and involves a great deal of research, creative exploration, and time.
Logos Created by Jon Mueller
Over the years I’ve developed a logo design process that is efficient, budget conscious, and delivers professional, high-quality results every time. Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of my logo design process.
Phase 1: Discovery
Before I begin working on a clients’ logo it’s important to first gain a solid understanding of their business. What makes your business unique and sets it apart? Who are your business competitors? What are the values and vision of your business? What personal preferences do you have for your logo design? These are a few of the questions I will ask to develop a better understanding of your business. This knowledge is crucial to make sure the logo design aligns properly and sets the stage for the conceptual work that lies ahead.
Phase 2: Logo Design Concepts
Once the research and business discovery are complete, I’m ready to begin developing the logo concepts. I usually begin by sketching out ideas with pencil and paper. By putting all my rough ideas onto paper, I can begin to see which ideas have potential and are worth developing further. Once I have a few solid logo concepts on paper I’ll begin developing them on my computer using Adobe Illustrator. It’s very important to create your logo in a software program like Adobe Illustrator so that the final logo is in vector format. The reason that this is so crucial is so that your logo can be scaled to any size without losing quality. After I have developed several logo concepts that meet my standard of excellence, I will email the client a logo presentation with all the options for consideration.
Phase 3: Client Revisions
After the client has had adequate time to review the logo options, they decide which concept direction they like best. This is also the opportunity to provide feedback and make revisions to the logo. Typical changes might include color adjustments, a look at other font options, or changes to the brandmark. After the logo revisions are complete an updated logo presentation will be sent back to the client for approval.
Phase 4: Approval and Delivery
At this point we’ve got one happy client. They are thrilled with their new logo design and ready to put it on everything! The last and final step for me is to save the logo files in all the various file formats you need. This will include vector (eps, pdf, ai) and raster (jpeg, png, tiff) file formats. In most cases you’ll get both a horizontal and vertical format for your logo design. In addition, I also provide a logo guidelines document which includes the approved logo file formats, brand color guide, and fonts used to create your logo. Once everything is ready to go, I’ll email you a Dropbox link so you can conveniently download all of your files.
A typical logo design project will take about one month from start to finish. If you are interested in hiring me for your logo design project, please use the contact form to get in touch.
