Logo Design Process: From Brief to Delivery, Step by Step

A good logo design process never starts by opening Illustrator and drawing shapes. It can't, because a logo isn't a picture; it's the most compressed form of a brand. A single mark has to represent that brand for years, across dozens of different surfaces. In this article I walk through the four core stages that take a logo from brief to delivery, using a real workflow: discovery, sketching, digitizing and delivery.

1. Discovery: Questions before design

Every project starts with a brief, but a brief alone is never enough. Turning the client's first paragraph into a conversation usually solves half the design. These are the questions I want answered at this stage:

• Who is the brand? What do they sell, to whom, and what sets them apart from competitors?
• Where will the logo appear? Only on a website, or also on invoices, business cards, packaging, shop signage and an app icon?
• What feelings should it evoke? Trustworthy, playful, luxurious, technical?
• What examples are loved and hated? Three liked and three disliked logos say more than most words.

The output of this stage is a moodboard: a color world, a typographic feel, references from inside and outside the industry. The moodboard works like a contract that prevents a later "this isn't what I expected."

2. Sketching: Pen and paper still win

I draw the first ideas on paper, not on screen. The reason is simple: a pen is fast and switches off perfectionism. In one hour you can sketch 40-50 tiny thumbnails on paper; the same hour barely buys 3-4 ideas in Illustrator. Producing plenty of bad ideas is the shortest route to a good one.

Principles I keep in mind while sketching:

• Simplicity: The strongest logos (Apple, Nike, Shell) reduce to a few lines. Detail disappears as things shrink.
• Concept: Does the shape carry an idea, or is it just decoration? A good mark has a story behind it.
• Memorability: If you show it to someone for five seconds, can they redraw it from memory?

From 40 sketches I usually pick 3-4 directions and refine them a little. Presenting a few mature directions, rather than 20 half-finished ideas, builds confidence.

3. Digitizing: Going vector

The chosen directions now move into a vector environment. The most critical decision here is to use vectors; a logo is never born as pixels (JPG/PNG). Because a vector is defined by mathematical curves, it scales from a business card to a building sign without ever losing quality. Figma, Illustrator, or on the open-source side Inkscape are used for this, and the output format is SVG.

What gets attention during digitizing:

• Grid and alignment: Curves and spacing are built on consistent ratios, not by eye.
• Typography: Is an off-the-shelf font enough, or do the letters need customizing? In a logotype, corrections of a few pixels make a big difference.
• Color: RGB/HEX for screen, CMYK and if needed Pantone for print. Colors must look consistent across surfaces.

For anyone on the web side, the beauty of SVG is that it embeds straight into a page and can be colored with CSS:

<svg viewBox="0 0 64 64" width="40" role="img" aria-label="Brand logo">
  <path d="M32 4 L60 60 H4 Z" fill="currentColor" />
</svg>

Thanks to fill="currentColor", the logo inherits the color of the surrounding text, so it adapts to dark/light theme switches with a single line of CSS.

4. Testing: Stress the logo

A logo looking great on a monitor doesn't mean the job is done. Before delivery I test every design in a few harsh scenarios:

• Very small: Is it still legible at a 16x16 pixel favicon size?
• Single color: Do all-black and all-white versions work? (Essential for fax, stamps and engraving.)
• Reversed background: Does it hold up on both dark and light backgrounds?
• Motion: Squint or look from across the room — is the silhouette still recognizable?

Details that fail these tests get simplified. More often than not, "less" is the right answer.

5. Delivery: Not one file, but a kit

Professional delivery isn't sending the client a single PNG. You prepare a logo package the brand can use for years without friction:

• Vector sources: Editable SVG and, if needed, .ai/.pdf.
• Raster exports: Sized PNG files for web (transparent background) and a favicon.
• Variations: Horizontal, vertical, icon-only and single-color versions.
• Mini guide: Color codes, clear space, minimum size and a list of what not to do.

This little brand guide stops another designer or a print shop from deforming the logo when they pick it up six months later. The real value of the logo design process lives in that sustainability.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a logo design take?

It depends on scope, but a typical logo process runs roughly 1-3 weeks from discovery to delivery. The number of revision rounds and how quickly the client gives feedback are the factors that affect this most.

Why design from scratch instead of a Canva template?

Templates risk looking identical to thousands of other brands and often don't provide proper vector sources. A from-scratch design produces an identity that is unique to the brand and usable on every surface.

Should I redesign my logo or just refresh it?

If your brand recognition is strong, a subtle refresh is usually enough rather than a full rebrand: fix the proportions, update the colors, clean up the vector source. If recognition is weak, starting from scratch can make more sense.

Need a lasting logo for your brand? Let's run the whole process together, from discovery to delivery, and turn the idea in your head into an identity that works everywhere. Get in touch with me.