What to send a designer before a logo project
Send a designer one page that gives the name exactly as it should appear, what you do and for whom, every place the logo will be used (including the smallest), what must stay from your current brand, a few likes and dislikes with reasons, and who makes the final decision. Before you send it, check the name against the trade mark register, and agree in writing which files you will receive and that the copyright passes to you.
Why one page is enough
A designer needs facts and constraints more than adjectives. A long questionnaire full of "describe your brand personality" can come back full of the same words every company uses. A page of specific answers is quicker to write and gives the designer something to design against, and it gives you something to judge the routes against when they arrive.
What goes in the brief
The name, exactly as written
Write the name as it should appear, with capital letters, spaces and punctuation. Say whether a descriptor goes with it ("Studio", "Coffee Roasters") and whether that is part of the logo or set separately. List any special characters: a Turkish ş or ğ, a German ü, an accented é. If the logo must also work in another script, say so now, because it affects the choice of lettering from the first sketch.
What you do and for whom
Two or three sentences: what you sell, who buys it and what makes you different. Plain facts are more useful than aspirations. "We roast coffee for independent cafés in Bristol and deliver weekly" tells a designer more than "We are passionate about coffee".
Where the logo will live
List every place, and mark the most important three. Include the hard ones:
- the smallest use: a browser tab icon, an app icon or a social profile picture cropped to a circle;
- the roughest use: embroidery on workwear, a rubber stamp, a laser-etched product;
- the largest use: a shop sign or vehicle livery;
- single-colour uses: a black-and-white invoice, a one-colour print run.
The hardest use often decides the design. A detailed mark that looks good on a homepage may turn into a smudge at 16 pixels.
What you already have
Say what exists and what must stay: an old logo customers recognise, a colour that is part of how people describe you, a typeface already on your signage. Say just as clearly what you want to leave behind, and why. If nothing has to stay, write that.
Likes and dislikes, with reasons
Send three to five logos or brands you like and two or three you don't, each with one line on why. "This one: the lettering looks drawn, not typed" is useful. A link on its own is not, because the designer cannot tell whether you liked the colour, the shape or the company.
Choose examples outside your own sector as well as inside it. That makes it less likely the result looks like a competitor's.
Who decides, and by when
Name the one person who approves the final route, and the date you need it. If a co-founder or investor will see it before sign-off, say so, so their comments arrive in the review rounds rather than after.
Two checks before you send it
Search the trade mark register for your name before anyone designs around it. In the UK, the government's search service lets you look up existing marks by keyword, phrase, owner or image. GOV.UK also suggests checking the trade marks journal for recently accepted applications that may not appear yet. For the EU, the TMview database covers national and EU registers. Most design projects, including ours, do not include trade mark searches. A professional search before you launch is worth it if the name matters to you.
Check that the matching domain and social handles are available, or that you can live with the variants you can get.
Agree the files and the rights
Ask for the logo in vector format (SVG, plus a PDF or EPS for print) and in PNG, each in colour, black and white. Ask for the colour values in HEX, RGB and CMYK, and the name and licence of any typeface used.
On rights, do not assume. Under UK law the designer, as the author, normally owns the copyright in work made by a freelancer or studio, and the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says an assignment of copyright "is not effective unless it is in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor". So make sure the agreement states that full rights pass to you, and when, for example on final payment.
One more point for later. Under WCAG, the accessibility standard, text that is part of a logo has no contrast requirement, but ordinary text needs a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, or 3:1 for large text. A pale brand colour that works in the logo may fail as a button or a heading on your website. Ask the designer to mark which colours are safe for text.
The brief template
Copy this into a doc. Keep it to one page.
LOGO PROJECT BRIEF
Name, exactly as written: [ ]
Descriptor (if any): [ ] part of logo? [yes/no]
Special characters/scripts: [ ]
WHAT WE DO
[2–3 sentences: what we sell, to whom, what is different]
WHERE THE LOGO WILL LIVE (mark the top 3 with *)
Smallest use: [favicon / app icon / profile circle]
Roughest use: [embroidery / stamp / etching]
Largest use: [sign / vehicle]
Single-colour uses: [ ]
Other: [ ]
WHAT WE HAVE
Must keep: [ ]
Want to leave behind, why: [ ]
Colours to keep / avoid: [ ]
LIKES (3–5, one line each on why)
1. [link] [why]
DISLIKES (2–3, one line each on why)
1. [link] [why]
CHECKS DONE
Trade mark search: [date, register, result]
Domain / handles: [ ]
FILES AND RIGHTS
Files: SVG + PDF/EPS + PNG; colour, black, white; colour values; typeface + licence
Rights: full copyright assigned in writing on [final payment / date]
DECISION
Approver: [one name]
Needed by: [date] Others who will comment: [ ]If you want the logo to arrive with the rest of a working identity, such as colours, type and guidelines, that is what our brand and website work is scoped around, starting from a brief like this one.
FAQ
How long should a logo brief be?
One page. It should hold facts and constraints: the exact name, where the logo will be used, what must stay, examples with reasons, and who decides.
Should I send examples of logos I like?
Yes, three to five, each with one line on what you like about it, plus two or three you dislike. Include examples from outside your sector so the result does not look like a competitor's.
Who owns the logo after the project?
In the UK, the designer owns the copyright at first unless it is assigned to you, and an assignment only takes effect in writing signed by or for the designer. Make sure your agreement says that full rights pass to you and when.
Do I need a trade mark search before the logo is designed?
It is wise to search before anyone designs around the name. The UK's free GOV.UK search shows existing marks; for real certainty before launch, use a trade mark professional.
Sources
- GOV.UK, "Search for a trade mark": https://www.gov.uk/search-for-trademark (search by number, owner, keyword, phrase or image; check the trade marks journal for recently accepted applications).
- TMview (EU trade mark search across national and EU registers): https://www.tmdn.org/tmview/
- Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 90(3): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/90 ("An assignment of copyright is not effective unless it is in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor.") Section 11 (first ownership by the author; employees' work belongs to the employer): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/11
- W3C, Understanding WCAG 2.2, Success Criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum): https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/contrast-minimum.html (4.5:1; 3:1 for large text; "Text that is part of a logo or brand name has no contrast requirement.").