Our Logo Design Process: From Brief to Final Mark

A logo is not designed in 2 hours. A good logo is the result of a 30-80 hour work process, distributed over 4-6 weeks, including research, sketching, iterations, testing, and delivery of a complete system. Logos made in 2 hours look like logos made in 2 hours.

This article is about the real process we go through at DCL for every logo, with phases, decisions, time invested at each step, and real costs per complexity level. No hype, just practical reality.

Before starting: setting expectations

Logo is not the brand. It's an element of the brand. The most visible, yes, but not the most important. Brand includes typography, color palette, graphic system, tone of voice, applications, and, most important, firm behavior. Logo without system is an illusion of identity.

This means for a serious project, the logo comes with at least defined typography, color palette, and usage guide. Logo delivered alone, without context, is improvisation.

Phase 1: discovery (5-15 hours, 1-2 weeks)

Initial brief with client

2-3 hour conversation with founder or main decision-maker. Unskippable questions:

• What does the firm do exactly? (in concrete terms, not marketing speak)
• For whom? (target persona)
• What's the unique value proposition?
• Who do they compete with directly?
• What does someone need to remember about the brand in 5 years?
• What are 3 words describing brand personality?
• Are there constraints (forbidden colors, religious symbols to avoid, legacy associations)?
• What's the realistic budget (share expectations) and timeline?

Independent research

After brief, designer works 5-10 hours alone:

• Audit of 10-15 competitors (logos, palette, typography)
• Audit of 5-10 inspiration brands from other industries
• Historical research (old logos in industry, cultural meanings)
• List of semantic keywords (what could be visually expressed)
• Mood board with 30-50 relevant images

Final brief document

Document 5-8 pages codifying fundamental decisions:

• Brand personality in 5-8 attributes
• Visual tone (warm/cool, formal/casual, traditional/modern, vibrant/neutral)
• Excluded directions ("We DON'T want anything looking like firm X")
• Explored directions (3-5 visual territory suggestions)

Phase 2: sketching (5-10 hours, 1 week)

Paper sketches

Yes, on paper. The difference between professional and amateur designer is the first sketches dozens of variants on paper before opening Figma or Illustrator. Paper forces rapid iterative thinking, without the temptation to polish too early.

Typical volume: 80-150 sketches in first 4-6 hour session. Yes, that many. Most are bad, that's the purpose, to quickly eliminate weak directions.

Selection of first 15-20 directions

From initial sketches, you select 15-20 worth pursuing. You redraw them more carefully, in larger format. You start thinking proportions, weight, details.

Filtering to 5-7 final concepts

You apply brutal filters:

• Works at 16px (favicon)?
• Works in monochrome?
• Is memorable after 3 seconds?
• Says something about brand (not just looks cute)?
• Is original (doesn't resemble a major existing brand)?

5-7 concepts remain to be digitized.

Phase 3: digitization and presentation 1 (10-15 hours, 1-2 weeks)

Vectorization in Illustrator/Figma

Each of the 5-7 concepts is rigorously built vectorially. Grids, mathematical proportions, optical adjustments (letters "O" and "A" require optical adjustment to appear equal to "N" and "M").

Presentation preparation

For each concept, you present:

• Primary logo on white and black background
• Separate monogram / mark
• Applied to 3-4 mockups (business card, site screenshot, signage, social profile)
• In context with suggested typography
• Concise explanation (1-2 paragraphs): what it represents, why it works

Client presentation

Live (preferable) or recorded video. 30-60 minutes. You present 3-5 of the 5-7 (reserving the others as backup if client rejects entire presented set). Discussion on each. Structured feedback ("what you feel, not just if you like").

Direction decision

Client chooses a direction (or asks for combination/iteration on 2 directions). Direction lock formal. Radical changes after this point = restart with additional cost.

Phase 4: refinement (10-20 hours, 2-3 weeks)

Iterations on chosen direction

2-3 rounds of iteration on details: proportions, weight, spacing, subtle details. Each iteration sent with explanations for each modification made.

Adaptations and variants

• Horizontal logo (default desktop)
• Vertical logo (compact for social profile)
• Monogram (favicon, watermark, small signage)
• Monochrome version (black on white, white on black)
• Simplified version (for very small dimensions)

Testing in context

• Application on minimum 10 real mockups (signage, packaging, vehicle, social, brochure, site, email signature, t-shirt, etc.)
• Test at extreme dimensions (10px and 5m)
• Test on diverse background colors
• Print test (real proof, not just on screen)

Phase 5: deliverables (5-10 hours, 1 week)

File package

• Master files (AI, Figma, SVG)
• Raster versions (transparent PNG in 5 sizes: 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096px)
• Print versions (vector PDF, EPS)
• Specific social media versions (profile pic Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, each with safe area)
• Favicon version (.ico and PNG at 32px)
• Embroidery versions (for t-shirts, caps, simplified, 6 colors max)

Compact brand guidelines

PDF 10-15 pages codifying logo use:

• Variants and when each is used
• Clear space (minimum space around logo)
• Minimum sizes per medium
• Approved combinations on colored background
• Forbidden combinations (with do/don't examples)
• Color specifications (Pantone, CMYK, RGB, HEX)
• Approved typography pair

Realistic cost for professional logo in Romania

Level 1: micro (3-7 hours, beginner freelancer)

500-1500 RON. You get a logo, no system, no brand guidelines, minimal deliverables. Good for side-project or test market. Risk: generic design, recognizable as "logo made on fiverr".

Level 2: small business (15-25 hours, experienced freelancer or small studio)

1500-4500 RON. Short discovery, 3-5 concepts, 1-2 iterations, core deliverables (3-4 formats), minimal guidelines. Acceptable for serious small firm.

Level 3: professional (40-60 hours, professional studio)

4500-12000 RON. Complete process described in this article. Serious discovery, sketches, 5-7 concepts, 2-3 iterations, full deliverables, compact brand guidelines. Recommended for any firm with serious objectives.

Level 4: complete brand identity (80-150 hours)

12000-40000 RON. Includes logo plus complete system (palette, typography, graphic system, applications, extended brand guidelines). Standard for medium firms or brands launching with ambition.

Level 5: enterprise (200+ hours)

40000-200000+ RON. For large companies, product launches, rebrands for firms over 100 employees. Includes strategic workshops, customer research, test markets.

Common mistakes I see at clients

1. Logo created before strategy, changing the brand after the logo is "final" is disaster.
2. Request for "more variants", designer already made 80-150 sketches; request for 20 more variants = lack of trust in process.
3. Involvement of too many decision-makers, design by committee = mediocre compromise. Maximum 2 final decision-makers.
4. Focus on "nice" vs "strategic", logo doesn't have to mandatorily please you, it must work for your audience.
5. Ignoring brand guidelines, without guide, in 6 months employees will stretch the logo, change colors, mix fonts, destroying consistency.
6. Logo "solves" marketing problems, a new logo doesn't save a weak product or wrong go-to-market.

Conclusion

A professional logo is the result of a disciplined 40-150 hour process, not a creative weekend sprint. Realistic cost 4500-12000 RON for serious small firm, 12000-40000 RON for complete brand system. Below these thresholds, you either compromise quality, or work with someone who hasn't calculated their own time correctly.

At DCL we deliver logos and brand identities as integrated part of web design project. Advantage: logo is thought from start for digital applications (favicon, social, retina display) plus print, not adapted retroactively. If you need a professional logo or serious rebrand, contact us for consultation.