tiny details :: logo design process

Last week when I was working on a logo design for a client, I posted this blurry image to Instagram after I sent the initial logo drafts to my client. I didn't feel comfortable posting the designs to the world before my client had picked through them, but the image got a lot of response and I received emails from people wanting to know more.

So, since my client has since picked their logo and we are down the road in the process, I decided to share more about that blurry image.

I feel like every logo design project is very different, and for each project my process and method changes to suit that particular situation. For this logo, the client had given me some clear direction as to where she wanted to take her logo. This logo is for her doll clothing and accessory business which includes dollhouse furniture and accessories (hence, the tiny in Tiny Details). The antique doll business is actually an off-shoot of her main antiquing business that she has operated for many years (Porcelain Affair).

She was inspired by vintage doll tags and she sent me over several photos of some great antique doll tags. I knew immediately that this project would be fun because the vintage-style really spoke to me and I instantly had several ideas.

I started by doing some research on vintage dolls and vintage tag design. Then, I created a pin board with some inspiration - the images my client had sent me as well as some vintage-inspired logos and some typefaces that I thought might be a good fit.

Next up came some sketching ... for some projects I do a lot of sketching before moving things digital. In other cases, I do a little sketching and hop right into Illustrator quite quickly. This project was an instance of the latter. And after getting all my ideas down in what becomes a mess of a computer screen, I ended up with these concepts to present to my client:

I keep these initial designs black and white (we talk color later).  Although I typically have favorites by this point, I bite my tongue and wait to see where my client ends up. The hope here is always that they see something they love ... even though there is still more refining to come; if a client has a good positive reaction to one or more of the designs now, I feel on top of the world.

Luckily, my client found a logo among these that she loves so we are on to the next steps.

The next steps are to refine the design and add color (unless she decides to stick to black and white). Then, I prep all the final logo files in various formats for my client, as well as prepare a logo guideline document, if they require one. In this case we will also be moving forward to design some tags and business cards.

So, that is a little, simplified glimpse into my journey with a logo, or at least this one.

Which concept here is your favorite? Later down the road, I will share the final logo the client selected.