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20 Questions To Ask Clients Prior To Designing A Logo
- Thread starter Andy D
- Start date
Anyway, ya got balls......................... if nothin' else.
Eh.. Thanks, but it's a slow Friday & I have to do something to amuse myself... I'm expecting this thread to get yanked anytime now.
Gino
Premium Subscriber
Hmmmm..... why would it get yanked ??
Lotsa good information on what to say or not to say and many reasons behind the one side. I happen to agree, most of those questions, whether or not for a $500 or $50,000 logo, are pretty much useless.
Other than..... do you have some colors you like or dislike or do you have a budget in mind, what do just about every one of those other questions have to do with you coming up with a usable logo ?? Sounds to me like the person who wrote the article, doesn't know how to approach people and get the proper information like..... what's your company name, do you already have a tag line, do you want one or would you like a jingle for radio ads or what's your favorite topping on pizza...... that one's just to see if they're paying attention. I'm not advocating you do some things for free or just toss ideas out, but you need to set it up like a real business transaction. Here are my prices. Here are my requirements. here is my turnaround and here are some of my past projects.
The approach from that other guy sounds like....... I'd like to buy a car. Ah, well, you've come to the right place. What do you want in a car ?? Tires, gas or floating devises ?? What do your neighbors drive ?? What have you driven before ?? Where are you going to use this car ?? Do you have ample insurance ?? Do you have any needs like sporting people back and forth to the airport or the nursing home ?? Will you use it in snow, rain or sleet ?? Oooooo..... then we might need to look into your bank account. How long do you need this car to last ?? How will you be different with your car vs. what your neighbors are ?? What feelings best describe how you'll take care of this car ??
Most of all, do any other vehicles from boats to planes to tanks or skateboards appeal to you more than others ??
Lotsa good information on what to say or not to say and many reasons behind the one side. I happen to agree, most of those questions, whether or not for a $500 or $50,000 logo, are pretty much useless.
Other than..... do you have some colors you like or dislike or do you have a budget in mind, what do just about every one of those other questions have to do with you coming up with a usable logo ?? Sounds to me like the person who wrote the article, doesn't know how to approach people and get the proper information like..... what's your company name, do you already have a tag line, do you want one or would you like a jingle for radio ads or what's your favorite topping on pizza...... that one's just to see if they're paying attention. I'm not advocating you do some things for free or just toss ideas out, but you need to set it up like a real business transaction. Here are my prices. Here are my requirements. here is my turnaround and here are some of my past projects.
The approach from that other guy sounds like....... I'd like to buy a car. Ah, well, you've come to the right place. What do you want in a car ?? Tires, gas or floating devises ?? What do your neighbors drive ?? What have you driven before ?? Where are you going to use this car ?? Do you have ample insurance ?? Do you have any needs like sporting people back and forth to the airport or the nursing home ?? Will you use it in snow, rain or sleet ?? Oooooo..... then we might need to look into your bank account. How long do you need this car to last ?? How will you be different with your car vs. what your neighbors are ?? What feelings best describe how you'll take care of this car ??
Most of all, do any other vehicles from boats to planes to tanks or skateboards appeal to you more than others ??
I'm not disagreeing Gino, just thought it was a interesting article and had some good points to pick and choose from.
To pick the first few, and try and guess the reasoning behind them......
1- How would you describe your services and/or products
To see how they perceive their company to get insights that may not be obvious.
2- What are the long term goals of your company?
If, for example, they plan to expand into other states they may not want to have a localized symbolism.
3- Why do you want a new logo?
To find out what reasons , if any, they don't like their logo, or maybe they like their logo but want to modernize it.
4- Who are your main competitors?
To make sure the logo you design doesn't look similar to their competitors.
To pick the first few, and try and guess the reasoning behind them......
1- How would you describe your services and/or products
To see how they perceive their company to get insights that may not be obvious.
2- What are the long term goals of your company?
If, for example, they plan to expand into other states they may not want to have a localized symbolism.
3- Why do you want a new logo?
To find out what reasons , if any, they don't like their logo, or maybe they like their logo but want to modernize it.
4- Who are your main competitors?
To make sure the logo you design doesn't look similar to their competitors.
Rick
Certified Enneadecagon Designer
Gino's car story is a good example of commodity thinking... most people buying a car know exactly what they want, they are just looking for the best deal... logos/branding/marketing? not so much. Quite a few sign shops are commodity designers (shelf full of clip art, hard drive full of fonts) they serve the purpose of designing to commodity clients.
This article is saying what most larger marketing companies and graphic designers ask in a creative brief.
My creative brief has close to the same questions, why? I would like a target to aim for... I also use this brief to keep a client on track, once the client goes away from the brief, I'm free to charge more. The design brief is part of my contact. I also have one for architectural signage, wraps, and brochures though most of it is not a formal form to fill out.
We just got an answer to one of our creative brief questions that asks "What would be the best outcome for your new logo" - he wrote "To make 6 figures again... " Were designers, not the tooth fairy.... if I could make 6 figures for my business from a logo, I would have designed it for myself.
Since when is too much information a bad thing? Especially when trying to design something unique. We were just at a meeting where they wanted us to look at competing apartments, told us their vision, who they were trying to attract... basic stuff really. But important in the process if you are actually designing something.
...Of course you can get your Clip art CD and rummage through your fonts too...
This article is saying what most larger marketing companies and graphic designers ask in a creative brief.
My creative brief has close to the same questions, why? I would like a target to aim for... I also use this brief to keep a client on track, once the client goes away from the brief, I'm free to charge more. The design brief is part of my contact. I also have one for architectural signage, wraps, and brochures though most of it is not a formal form to fill out.
We just got an answer to one of our creative brief questions that asks "What would be the best outcome for your new logo" - he wrote "To make 6 figures again... " Were designers, not the tooth fairy.... if I could make 6 figures for my business from a logo, I would have designed it for myself.
Since when is too much information a bad thing? Especially when trying to design something unique. We were just at a meeting where they wanted us to look at competing apartments, told us their vision, who they were trying to attract... basic stuff really. But important in the process if you are actually designing something.
...Of course you can get your Clip art CD and rummage through your fonts too...