Create your design brief in 4 simple steps.

Business logos and slogans are undoubtedly two of the most important elements in any company's marketing mix. They define the visual style and "attitude" of an organisation and will be responsible for creating the all-important "first impression" for a large percentage of potential customers.

This article will explain the steps involved in creating an effective "brief" (or description) of your new business logo and slogan. By creating a brief at the beginning, you will find the process of finding the right designer, and communicating the project to your designer, much easier. You will be far more likely to end up with a business logo and slogan that works!

Step 1. Pricing

One of the most important jobs for your new logo is to let people know how much they should expect to pay for your service or product. There is no point in looking like a BMW dealership if you are selling Toyotas. (And vice versa). Your potential customers (or prospects) will usually have an idea of how much they want to pay for the product or service that you are offering them.

This step is simply a matter of choosing from one of the options below;

"Cheap and cheerful"

High quality, value for money.

Exclusive and expensive.

Step 2. Unique Selling Point

The next part of your brief should be a description of your USP, (Unique Selling Proposition). This is the feature that sets you apart from your competition. It might be a speedy turn around, or a pick up and delivery service that your competition does not offer. Whatever it is it will help your designer visualise the uniqueness of your company.

Here are a few examples.

"We are the cheapest"
"We deliver on time, every time"
"Our products have a 10 year guarantee"
"Our staff are always friendly"

Step 3. Establish a mood

This step is about creating a mood for your logo. Remember that you want your logo to communicate a message to your potential customers. That message might be that you are a "State of the art technology company on the cutting edge of the information era!" or it might be that you are "A traditional farmer, doing things the old-fashioned way."

To help you with this step, we have again created a list for you to choose from. By selecting some of the words or phrases here, (or writing your own) you can help your designer get a feel for the style of logo you will need and the types of graphics that will be suitable. Try to choose two or three.

Young and funky

Mature and stable

New and innovative

Established and reliable

Latest technology

Traditional

Small Business

Big Business

Progressive

Bold

Corporate

Friendly

High-tech

Cheap!

Exclusive

Expensive

Fun

Sexy

Step 4. Describe your perfect customer

This step is probably the most difficult because it involves admitting that not everyone will want to become your customer.

Nine times out of ten, when I ask a client who their target market is, they say, "everyone!". Even if it was possible that everyone in the world would like your product or service, there will still be people that will want more of it, or use it more often. These are the people that you need to focus on. It is important to give your designer an idea of the type of person that they are designing for so try to imagine the perfect customer. Not only the person most likely to want to do business with you, but the type of person that you want to do business with.

Below are some example questions that may or may not be relevant to your particular industry, but will give you an idea of the sort of information that your designer will find useful when they visualise the target.

How old are they?

Are they male or female?

Where do they work? (Office, outdoors, tradesperson etc.)

What type of car do you think they drive?

Do they have children?

Are they self-employed or on a salary?

Do they eat out or cook a lot?

What do they do in their spare time?

Step 5. Write the brief

Now that you have completed the 4 steps above, you are ready to discuss the project with your logo designer. Email or fax the written brief to him or her, and then organise a time to either meet in person or on the phone to discuss the project further.

With a well prepared brief, you have given yourself and your business the best chance of success.

Tristan Boyd - Owner of Boyd Design, a Sydney website design company focused on low cost, small business products and solutions.

Business logos and slogans.