Your Logo, Your Brand: How to Communicate Your Vision to a Designer

Learn to speak visually

Your logo needs to be clear, distinctive, memorable and a symbol for your entire brand. You’ll probably use a professional designer to help you create yours, but unless you have a background in art, you may find it hard to explain to them exactly what you want. This guide will provide five tips for working with a designer to create the perfect logo.

5 tips for working with designers

1. Know everything about your brand

Before you can communicate your brand to anyone, you need to understand it. The more completely you know your brand, the easier it will be to explain it to someone else. Start by defining your business’s core values and mission. What are you trying to achieve, and how are you going to achieve it? Answering these questions will give you language you can use to talk to your designer.

Next, identify your target audience. Where do they live? What do they do for work? What other traits do they have in common? If you haven’t got this information, now is a good time to collect it. Customer research will come in handy throughout your business’s lifecycle, but it will also be valuable information for your designer, as they’ll want to create a logo that appeals to your specific customers.

For more on building your brand, read Creating a Strong Brand Identity: 7 Tips for Small Business Owners.

2. Collect reference images

When you’re trying to create something visual, words can only take you so far. To supplement your written notes, you’ll need visual references. Whenever you see an image that’s inspiring to you, save it. These images can be other logos, but they don’t have to be. Text, photos and illustrations can all be useful reference points for colors, textures and styles. It can be as specific as liking the way the letter G looks on a sign, or as vague as certain colors reminding you of vacations you took as a kid. Different colors also suggest different aspects of your business—green could mean eco-friendly or financial, while steely gray and black might be a good fit for a high-tech brand.

Whatever you choose, take a minute to identify what exactly you like about it, because that information will be helpful for your designer. Collect your inspiring images and save them as a mood board. The more reference points you collect, the easier it will be for your designer to get a sense for what you’re looking for, and the better a starting point they’ll have.

3. Find the right designer

There are lots of good designers in the world, but each has their own specialties and visual style. You might love a designer’s work, but if it’s wildly different from your brand, they may struggle to give you what you want.

Designers usually have portfolios of their previous work—and if they don’t, you probably don’t want to waste time interviewing them. If the work in their portfolios is similar to the style you’re going for, they’ll likely have an easier time bringing your vision to life.

For more on attracting great talent, read The New Office Normal: Attracting Talent in a Post-COVID World.

4. Create a complete brief

The brief is the document that explains, in detail, what you’re looking for. The more detailed your brief, the easier it is for the designer to get started. It’s okay if you don’t know everything yet, but you should at least include the following elements:

• Basic business information: It can help your designer to know things such as where you’re based, the industry you work in and what kind of work you do.

• Target audience: Describe the customer you’re trying to reach. Be as specific as possible—examples might be young moms, small business owners, accounting professionals and so forth. 

• Defining characteristics of your business: What about your product, process or service makes you unique? What are your most deeply held values? If tradition is a value, you might not want a logo that feels futuristic, for example. 

• Brand personality: Describe the traits you want customers to associate with your business. Is it eco-friendly? Sophisticated? Affordable?

• Type of logo: Tell the designer what kind of logo you want, whether that’s wording, an abstract image, a mascot or something else entirely.

• Style guidance: If you’ve got the language to describe the style you want, make sure to include it in the brief. Use visual descriptors like minimalist, handmade or retro. It can be just as helpful to tell the designer to steer clear of certain colors or pictures.

Finally, make sure you spell out all your practical considerations. Make a timeline for first passes, revisions and final delivery. Put the rate you’re going to pay in writing, and include details about when you’ll transfer the funds. These details help keep everybody on the same page.

5. Count on revisions

Even if you hand your designer a perfect brief, they’re unlikely to nail your logo on the first try. Don’t let that discourage you. The first illustrations they hand you are just starting points. They give you something to react to, and your reactions will help both you and the designer figure out the right logo for your business. 

In the revision process, try to make your notes as specific as possible. Does the logo look too blocky? Too busy? Too cheap? Is it the right color? The designer needs to know what you don’t like so that they can get closer to the mark on the next pass. If you can’t quite put your finger on what you want changed, ask yourself how this version makes you feel or what it makes you think of when you see it. That can be valuable insight for your designer, too. 

Learn more with Walmart Business

Your logo is just one piece of the business puzzle. There’s always more to learn, and Walmart Business is here to help. Check out the content hub for more tips, guides and expert insights to help you run your business.

When you’re ready to put those tips into action, a free Walmart Business account can help you save money on supplies. Upgrade to a Walmart Business+ membership and those savings could total $500 a year.¹ Click here to learn more.

¹ Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business Rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).