When someone sees the finished logo, they see the result of a process that almost never gets shown. Illustrator only opens at the very end — before that come questions, discarded ideas, and a lot of decisions that have nothing to do with "what looks nice," but with what actually communicates what the business needs.
Here's how I think, step by step, when I start building a brand's identity — not the technical part in Illustrator, but what happens before I even open the program.
1. Before designing, I understand the business
I don't start by asking "what color do you want your logo?" I start by asking what the business does, who its ideal client is, what makes it different from the competition, and where it wants to grow. A pretty logo that doesn't answer these questions is just decoration — it isn't doing its job.
2. I research before sketching
I look at what direct competitors are doing, what the industry looks like overall, and what visual references the client likes (and doesn't). This isn't about copying — it's about knowing exactly what visual space is open, the place where the brand can genuinely stand out.
3. I think in systems, not single pieces
A standalone logo is easy. The real challenge is thinking through how that logo will look on an invoice, on a t-shirt, on an Instagram post, in black and white, tiny as a favicon. If the concept only works in the big, colorful presentation version, it's not a system — it's just a pretty illustration.
4. Still sketching by hand before the screen
Illustrator is precise, but it also tempts you to stay stuck on the first path you took because "it already looks clean." Paper is faster for ruling out ideas — I can run through ten different directions in the time it would take to vectorize just one. Most of those sketches get discarded, and that's fine — that's the work.
5. I ask "why" to every decision
Why that color and not another? Why does that typeface communicate what the business needs to communicate? If I don't have a clear reason beyond "I like how it looks," I go back to the sketch. Personal taste matters, but professional judgment means being able to defend every choice with a reason that isn't purely aesthetic.
6. I let the design sit before presenting it
Almost every time, if I finish a concept and review it the next day with fresh eyes, I catch things that fatigue kept me from seeing the night before. That gap of time is part of the process, not wasted time.
In the end, the goal isn't "looking pretty"
It's that the person seeing that brand for the first time understands, within seconds, what the business is about and whether it's for them. Everything else — the color, the typography, the shape — is in service of that clarity.
If you're about to embark on building your brand's identity, I'd be glad to walk through that process with you.
