Seattle Logo Design Questionnaire. Why should you have one?

You might be a small Seattle shop like me, loving your business as if it was your only child, or you might be a large company (like Allstate, a client of AUA Design), or a high profile client (like City of Seattle a client of AUA Design), if you are a business or an organization of any kind you probably have a logo, an identity. And hopefully it is a great one, but if not, you might want to consider updating it or just starting over entirely.

If you come to AUA Design for your Seattle logo design needs, you will get a logo questioner. This questioner will help you get clear on what it is you are really looking for in a logo. Most people come to a designer with no idea of what it is they need. A less experienced designer might go with “I like this”, “I don’t like that” approach, but this is a very time consuming process that ends up being very costly to the client, you. And even if you end up with a logo design you like, how do you know if it really works when you do not know what you want it to do?

So this is where our questioner comes to play. It will help you think about your clients and what they might like, after all our logo designs are not really for us they are for our clients. Our questioner will help you think of your business and your logo in a more creative and abstract way which surprisingly produces better results.

How is this logo going to be used?

This one is often overlooked.Some businesses are web based only, and might want a logo with all kind of digital effects like shades and glows and animation. This kind of logo will never be printed on paper and that means no print restrictions need to apply. But if you are a company with diverse marketing platform you will need a logo design that looks good on a business card and looks good on a billboard, and looks good in a tv ad and on a billboard. So let the designer know.

Will this logo be used city wide, state wide, county wide or worldwide?

Again, there is a deferens between a logo that is used Seattle city wide and worldwide. Cultural sensitivities have to be researched and taken into close consideration when a local Seattle based logo design goes global.

Now we get to questions that will make you sweat a little, take some time and really think about them.

In a few words, what is your business or service offering?

For example, if you were to ask me this question I could say that my business offers graphic design services or I could say that I create lasting positive first impressions for the business I work with (which one is more powerful?) Creating positive first impressions is what a good designer really does. When you hand your business card to a potential client you better hope you are making a positive first impression, because most of the time all we have is one chance to get it right.

Who is your target audience and who is your ideal customer?  

Really think about it, review who you do business with and who you want to do business with. The logo design should be appealing to them.

What is the personality of your company/brand?

Are you fun loving tree hugging silk screen shop? Let your personality be known.

What is your company NOT? What is NOT your personality? 

If you are not “fun loving tree hugging silk screen shop” your logo design should not be making you appear as such.

When I describe my company to a stranger I say…

This one in one of my favorites, often when we describe our company in a non-business environment we are a lot more articulate and honest about it. So what would you say to a friend about your business?

Ideally people define my company by saying…

This is good one too. Done in conjunction with the one above it you can get really specific on where you are now and where you want to be.

There are a lot more questions in a full Seattle logo design questioner and if you are interested in reading the rest of them, please, feel free to download a Logo Design Questionnaire PDF from this link.

Hope this helps you get a little clearer on logo design. No matter where you are located, Seattle or deferent part of the world entirely, if you need logo design or branding done for your company, please, give me a call and lets find out what I can do for you.