Most people who hire a designer for the first time are buying something they can't picture.
They know roughly what they'll get at the end. They have no idea what the middle looks like, how much of their own time it will take, or what's expected of them. For people who are professionally trained to avoid ambiguity, that's a significant barrier, and it's the real reason a lot of firms put this off for years.
So here's the middle.
Stage one: questions, not design
The first phase is interrogation. Where the business came from, where it's going, who the best clients have been and why, who the worst ones were, what competitors are doing, what you want to be true in three years.
No design happens here. Clients sometimes find this uncomfortable, because it feels like paying a designer not to design. It isn't. Strategy is the foundation to the best design work.
Expect to spend a couple of hours in a session as we walk through these questions.
Stage two: aesthetic direction
The information we have gathered get’s translated into a mood board. Logos, brands, colours, typography, imagery style, etc.
Designed concepts are still not happening yet, but the creative process has started. We gather existing examples to create a high level look and feel of the brand we feel will best suit you, your business and your goals.
Expect about 1-2 hours to review and provide feedback.
Stage three: concepts, and fewer than you expect
You'll be shown a small number of designed concepts. Typically two, sometimes one.
This surprises people who expected a wall of options. But a designer presenting twelve logos is not being generous, they're being indecisive at your expense. Options are easy to produce and hard to choose between, and choosing between them is not your job. That's what you hired out.
Each direction comes with reasoning tied back to stages one and two.
Stage four: one direction, properly developed
You pick a direction and it gets fully built out. With typefaces, colour, logo variations, submarks, etc. already presented, this is your time to revise anything that isn’t quite working for you (if required).
Each project comes with 2 rounds of revisions built in. We trust the process and in the end you get a brand that supports your goals.
Stage five: the system and the handover
You end up with the assets, the rules for using them, and the templates your team will actually touch.
The guidelines matter more than people expect. They're what stops the brand degrading six months in, when someone needs to make something quickly and there's nobody to ask, you have a full “how to” guide.
What goes wrong, and it's rarely the design
Three things, in order of frequency.
Feedback by committee. Five people with five preferences produces an average, and averages are the definition of bland. Name one decision-maker at the start. Others can advise.
Feedback as preference, not criteria. "I don't like it" can't be acted on. "This doesn't feel like it speaks to the clients we agreed we want" can be. The written direction from stage one is what makes the second kind of feedback possible.
The partner who wasn't there. Someone senior who skipped the kickoff appears at stage four with fundamental objections. This single thing costs more projects more time than anything else. Get everyone in the room at the start or accept their absence as a decision.
Before you start
Have three things ready: one person who decides, a clear idea of why you're doing this now, and about two hours a week for the duration.
That's genuinely most of it.
