What should you ask for when designing a logo?

Let's say you've just received the agreement for a logo design project from your client, you've received your down payment and your client is ready to start the project. Now what? First of all you need information. A logo design project means expressing graphically the essence of what your client's company is all about. Before you start designing, what type of information should you ask for? Here is a list of data you should never start you logo design project without.

Information about the company

Regarding the company's history, first you need to cover the basics and ask about who owns the company, who initiated it (individual, group of people) and the origin of the company (place, culture). Find out about their market positioning, their mission and purpose and why they do what they do beyond the economic reasons. Ask information about your client's culture and personality and the way they approach and do things. These pieces of information are specific for each individual company and forms the core of their identity.

Have them look towards the future after that and ask about their goals, where they want to be and what they want to achieve. You need to find  out if your logo is needed just for a while or if it needs to stand the test of time.

Information about their audience

Who they are, where do they live and why do they use the company's products or services. When designing a company's logo you need to know to whom it is addressed. A great logo has no value unless its audience gets it.

Information about their competition

Who is your client direct competition, what are their strong and weak points and how is you client positioned against their competition. This information will help you narrow your research and identify the things that could better differentiate your client's company.

Information about the person in charge

Your client's person in charge of the logo development will always want to leave his/her mark on the project. Find out how that person envisions the logo. Ask about color scheme preferences, type of design (clean, classic, modern) or design directions (text only, icon only, combination of text and icon). Now, of course, you are the expert. You should suggest this type of things to your clients. But sometimes, when you're dealing with strong willed clients, this type of information could make your life easier.