Being a branding designer, I’ve come to learn that the process is never the same twice for any client.  Some clients know exactly what they want, and the design is nailed in the very first round of initial concepts, like this client:

Other clients think they know exactly what they want, and go through the entire process before realizing it wasn’t really what they wanted in the first place.  I’ve actually had a few clients that have gotten completely through the process and received their final files only to email me a few weeks later wanting to start over from scratch.  It’s sort of like shopping for a wedding gown.  The boutique employees know the process well enough that they bring in gowns that perfectly fit the description a bride-to-be gave them, and them maybe a few others outside of that.  After all, you never really know until you see it on.  And a lot of times the perfect gown is the last one that the bride would have normally considered.

Case in point, Stephanie and I went through most of the process, and were in her last round of revisions when she emailed me after chewing on it for a week.  Try as she might, she just wasn’t in love.  So we stopped everything completely and went back to the drawing board.  New round of inspiration boards.  New (shorter version) questionnaire.  This was the logo we finalized initially:

This is Stephanie’s new final logo:

And her watermark:

Another example is Amanda Tung: she initially wanted to play off of her business name (Blueberry Photography) when she hit the brakes:

We’re now going in a completely different direction – less cute, and more formalized:

So I suppose the moral of this story is three-fold:

1.  Over-communicate.  The more information (visual and otherwise) you provide me, the better.  If, at any point in the process, you don’t love where things are heading, don’t be afraid to put on the brakes.  This is ultimately your business and your investment.  I’m strictly designing from your lead, while also trying to provide some options you might not have thought of.

2.  Have patience.  If you get your first round of concepts back, and it’s not immediate perfection, don’t worry.  You still have three rounds of revisions ahead of you, and a lot of magic can be done in that time.

3.  Expect the butterflies.  We won’t stop until you’re in love.  That might require some additional revisions and concepts that do cost some more money, but  it will all be worth it in the end.  I promise.

Happy Monday!