Botanica
01 / the meeting
I ask my customers for their ideas, visions, goals, and requirements. I must clearly understand the target audience, brand personality, values, and competitors. ​​
I like to meet in person, when it is impossible, online. In this case, it was online, as the company is from Mexico. This customer is particular about what he wants and what he dislikes. Sometimes it is helpful, others it is challenging.
02 / research
Once I know my client briefing, I do my research. It includes gathering information about the company, target audience, and competitors and determining what the logo must communicate. It is essential to set timelines and a budget at this point.
For this project, I was hired three months before the restaurant opened. I had enough time to look for inspiration. The project is a restaurant inspired by nature. The customer provided renders made by the architect company he was working with, and from there, I used different fonts to capture the essence of the whole concept.
03 / trends
I reviewed similar companies globally. This helps me to identify trends in colour and, most importantly in this case, fonts. It is also a good idea to create a mood board, which the customer provided in this case.
I did some digital drafting; this logo required only typography, not an icon-based logo. From here, I experimented with typography and custom-made shapes added to an existing font. I use Adobe Creative Suite as my main software—illustrator for logos. At the end, the customer asked for an icon based on the original font.
04 / results
I give my customers three options based on what we agreed to previously. I also explain the pros and cons of every logo presented in some cases (cons when they have an idea that sometimes in real life it doesn't work). In most cases, they pick one at the first meeting. When that is not the case, I work on the one that they like the most and present three new options.
When the customer is happy with the logo, I ensure the logo is fully scalable and the colour palette is correct (Pantone, CMYK and RGB). A basic brand guideline is provided to my customer. In this document, I state the logotype and icon when there is one, clearance area, colour in RGB, CMYK and Pantone palettes, font and alternative font (when applied) and minimum sizes.