How to create a new logo for your website, blog or product idea

So, I've been a little busy these past few weeks. Busy acting on a few ideas . . .

I've been working on a number of projects including my job search blog and website called Tim's Strategy™. If you remember, Tim's Strategy was one of the first ideas that came from Quixoting (to the extent that it operates as a bit of an incubator).

Also on the "to do" list has been the job of creating a logo and design template for Quixoting - it's been terribly painful staring at the basic templates available from TypePad. Not bad, mind you. Just not very inspiring.

So, step 1 is now complete. Do you want to see the new logo?

Well, let me tell you about my process first . . . in case some of you would like to create a visual image of your own brand, product or company. First, I wrote a creative brief (this one covered work for both Quixoting and Tim's Strategy). If you have not written one before, I attached mine below for your reference.

Download Q Brief

Basically the brief outlines your objectives for the creative work. It provides a history of your work to date, a sense of who you are trying to reach with your content (target consumer), the personality of your brand (fun, serious, introspective) and the environment in which you sell or market (channels, competitors). Send lots of samples of competitive content so that your designer can see what they will be designing against.

You write the brief for yourself first (it should take at least a few hours) but the real consumer of your brief is your designer. I recommend writing the brief and then sharing it with friends or family to make sure your concept comes across clearly to others.

Next step, find a great designer. You may even want to provide a mini brief to a few designers first and ask them to talk to you about their process (how they work). Depending on the project's scope, how available you are and, importantly, how well you know what you are looking for, the project can take anywhere from 6-12 weeks. Don't be in a rush - especially in the first 2-4 weeks when the more big picture thought process happens. Once you love your brief, present it to your designer either over the phone or, ideally, in person.

I found a GREAT designer. Actually, I re-found her. She did some work for me at another company a few years back.

What makes a great designer and how do you know you found a good one?

Well, for me it has to do with their engagement and excitement. I want someone who clearly is interested in what I am doing and actively works to help bring the creative brief to life. They ask a lot of questions. They also push you outside of the comfort zone with early design options that stretch your vision a bit. For me, this stretching is not only fun but also makes me re-think my original vision.

The first round of designs I received included 15 logos (black and white, simple and all clearly a fit with the strategy outlined in my brief). This doesn't always happen. There's a reason why big companies force ad agencies and designers to re-read the entire strategy before presenting new or revised creative! Don't be afraid to push back - this first round is crucially important.

From that first group, I chose three logo directions. This is important because you have to make some early decisions to limit the work or your budget will go haywire. It can be hard to make these decisions as you often get many interesting ideas that you won't be able to pursue. My advice? Follow your gut. Which ones fit best and make your heart beat a little faster? Also, try to imagine a version of each logo at the top of your page or on a business card.

Next should come additional iterations on each of the three directions you chose. Perhaps you now add color and some tweaking of the font (the shape of the letters) and some differentiating visual images that nudge the feel of the overall brand.

Once you've chosen a single direction, there is still more to do. More work with color, font, size, relationship between words and images, etc. This is where final little tweaks happen. But don't spend too much time here. Why? What you create and put on your blog, website or product on day 1 does not need to be static. It can change over time (and it should) to reflect the changes in your content or design.

The last step is to take the new logo and drop it into a background or throw some design elements around it. You can also just put it on a white background. Simple and easy.

My designer's name is Lani Merlina. She owns Merlina Design here in Southern California. I would recommend her highly to anyone. She is fantastic! If you send me an e-mail, I will get you in touch with her.

OK. Here's the new logo:

Four points about the new logo and then I will let you tell me what you think.

The font represents the fun and whimsical side of the concept.

The orange color felt rustic and historical - indicative of the days when our lead man was running around the countryside.

The tag-line "a quest for new ideas" is important because it instantly tells people the purpose of the concept while providing an alliteration tying the search for new ideas (Quest) to the story of Don Quixote.

The last element is the image of Don Quixote himself. I tried the logo without him but a number of people didn't quite get it. Adding him helped cement the connection for a lot of people. Don't be surprised if he moves around a bit vs. staying where he is all of the time. Why does he start in a position in front of the logo? He is there to symbolize the interruptive nature of ideas. You can't always control when they come and when you'll be ready to launch them.

So, what do you think? Don't be shy.