Diamond Rings

diamond rings

The story of process and mining creative briefs
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Below is the breakdown of my best-practices* for mining gems from a creative brief, specifically for logo development.

process

Becoming my own prospector
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With a strong process, I give myself the tools to trail-blaze projects and better ensure a quality product that inspire results.

Creative briefs come in all shapes and sizes. So mastering process allows me to be confidently flexible and empathetic to every project/client's unique needs.

The sharper the tools in the tool belt, the more freedom there is to dig deeper into ideas and take projects to places that might not be expected or obvious.

As the Dalia Lama says...
Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

before sketching

Identify the mining grounds
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The goal is a sample dig to spot potential starting points for thought generation and creative paths to explore.

Points of interest - I highlight what stands out as having the most creative potential and strongest connection to audience
Thought generation - Create a dump of words, ideas and questions - Never holding back and documenting everything
Commonalities - Find commonalities to helps identify the most efficient caves to mine backed by documented objectives

sketching

Dig deep into those ideas
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This is the time for shape and letter exploration inspired by the nuggets of interest identified earlier.

I'll be honest, sketching isn't always my favorite, but I am often grateful for the results.

It breads happy accidents
Is a way to explore ideas unedited or unchecked by digital limitations or habitual processes
And is a way to act on instincts, avoid overthinking or feed into the desire to perfect early on

going digital

Time to start polishing a few rocks
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Once I get into Adobe Illustrator, my goal is to document every minor iterations and variations. To try and push ideas too far, forcing me to go back, identify the best middle ground and/or push previous iterations further. Here is an example of what that can look like.

This allows me to move forward with confidence that I have explored all potential tunnels as well as work past any idea-love I might have.

paring with type

Where plans really take shape
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At this point, it's crucial to view everything at a high level and stay out of the weeds.

Balance - While a balanced design isn't the absolute rule, our minds naturally crave balance and therefore is the safest approach. Type weight, size and case choice help shape balance.

Connection - Soliciting a response means having an emotional connection to the target audience. Even the subtlest of type features can help set a tone and reinforce objectives.

presentation

Picking the perfect ring setting
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Presenting my and/or my team's ideas is where the magic happens. It is the best place to recap objectives and expectations. It also becomes a potential medium for documentation. Everything to help keep projects efficient, accountable and hopefully memorable :)

Logo presentation decks usually include:
Objective review, Competitive analysis, Color study, Logo options, Rationale, Application mockup, Recap/overview

in the end

Staying inspired by the creative brief is priceless
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So keeping process fueled requires constant pampering of:

Intrinsic motivation**
Empowerment
The desire for personal growth

And at the heart of every successful logo, is the target audience. There wouldn't be a problem to solve for if there wasn't someone with a need. So getting intimate with the audience is a necessity.***

Key
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* EXCLAIMER: There are several ways to create efficient, productive processes that yields results - this page is an example of one

** DEFINITION: Intrinsic motivation - Internally driven motivation where the reward is not defined by someone other then yourself

*** BOOK RECOMMENDATION: 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, by Susan Weinschenk