If you’re looking for a timeless business design logo that will stand the test of time, make sure you understand the creative process. As you evaluate your options for where to get a logo for your business, you might be wondering, “What goes into branding?” In this article, we’ll share more about our logo creation process and the creative process that goes with it.

Various logo options and approaches

There are many options for you to get a logo for your business. You can choose a full custom logo and brand design like our signature service, or a light strategy with semi-custom branding like our VIP Day option, or you can shop around with other agency or designer approaches or even go with a premade logo or logo template.

Sometimes, business owners go with a “quick fix” and later end up feeling a disconnect from their logo, which is why we have a whole article on the myth of cheap logos. Often, clients find us after they originally went with a cheaper option and have since then made significant investments in getting the brand out there. Our clients often tell us the quick process they went through resulted in something that didn’t last, resonate, or set them apart.

When making a plan for where you’ll get your business logo design, it’s important to not only look through examples of the end product or the brand designs themselves, but to take time to understand how those designs were arrived at and to make sure the process behind the logo is a good fit for what your business needs. In this article, we give you the inside scoop on what it’s like to go through our custom branding process to help you decide if it’s a good fit for you!

Our agency's approach to custom design

Our signature style is unique but timeless

We love to say that our signature style is called “You won’t have to change this in 5 years.” From bright and preppy brand designs to luxurious and classic designs, we love to capture your unique business vibe in a lasting way. We are not just here to make your brand “pretty.” Branding is an investment in your purpose and your profit for years to come.

Our hand-drawn logos

Our branding is custom sketched, hand-crafted, and strategic. Every logo we do starts in pencil. And, that’s on purpose. By brainstorming ideas on paper, we can bring in a certain look and style.

Often, our custom logos have multiple elements in them working together to convey a feeling or even represent very specific concepts. As you can see in our custom branding clients, we often love to weave in unique symbolism and capture the vibe of our clients. We think your brand should have meaning, from the logo to the color palette.

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Our milestone-driven experience

Although our process is very artistically based, it’s also very operations-focused and organized. With over 10 years in business, we are proud to have a 5 star rating on Google, an experienced team, intentional systems, and a very smooth-running process.

We are driven by milestones and clear communication so you know exactly what to expect and when. By combining our creativity with clarity for you, we consistently get you results. Let’s unpack exactly what that process is like for you.

Our creative process for custom branding

Brand strategy & design

Our 4-6 week creative process for our signature custom branding has three stages: research, design, and implementation.

01. Research: Understand what makes your business different

We start with research. This is where we take a collaborative role to understand your business. Before we dive into pretty colors, fonts, and anything design-related, we start with listening.

Our first job is to understand your business before we translate it into visuals. We make sure you feel seen and take the time to explore what makes your business different. Because this is the very thing we want to highlight at the design stage.

First, we need to fully “see” your business for ourselves so that later we can help it be “seen” by others — at its best angles!

Branding Workbook

You’ll receive our in-depth branding workbook before getting started. We recommend blocking off a day or even two to think through your business. It’s easy to get caught up in working “in” your business instead of “on” it. This will give you a reason to dig into your vision again. In this workbook, you’ll work through modules on business goals, mission, unique value proposition, ideal client, and brand personality to help us understand your brand strategy and positioning.

The branding workbook includes:

Business goals module
Mission module
Unique value proposition module
Ideal client module
Brand personality module
PLUS bonus, optional module on customer experience

Clients tell us all the time how much they loved these probing questions and how differently it made them think about their business. We often hear how invigorating our workbook was for clients and how much more confident they feel about where their business is headed after filling it out!

When we go through a branding process, we shift your business from looking outward at competitors/what’s been done before to looking inward at what their business uniquely has to give to your specific ideal clients. That’s the starting point. And that flows into every deliverable and recommendation our team gives along the way.

Branding Consultation

In this deep dive call, we review your workbook together, ask questions, and brainstorm what makes your business unique. This consultation gives both our team clarity on your business as well as helps you get even more clear on your business direction.

After the call, we get going right away on your first deliverable: the research brief!

Touchpoint 1: Branding Research Brief

Here, we distill down everything you’ve shared with us into a document to make sure we are clear on your business goals and where your brand is headed.

The research brief includes:

Refined mission statement and tagline
Curated mood board
Ideal client profile
Visual objectives
6 ideas to implement your brand offline
12 blog posts and social media prompts
5 goals for brand photoshoots and image curation

You’ll have the chance to review it and sign off on this document to make sure we have captured the essence of your business.

The research brief is a document you’ll be able to refer back to, time and time again, as you set business goals, onboard new team members, and work on your marketing and PR plan in the future.

This 15-page PDF acts as a compass to set the direction as we dive into our next phase: the design process.

02. Design: Get a custom-crafted brand

This is where we take a consulting approach to give you our full expertise and our best recommendations. Our priority here is to create something tailored to your business goals. We create unique visuals to speak directly to your ideal client.

Touchpoint 2: Design First Look

Before we create and share your custom brand design system, we like to send you a temperature check to make sure we’re headed in the right direction. While this isn’t a look at the logo just yet, it allows you to get a feel for the colors and fonts we’ve already started working with as a team for your unique brand. It allows you to weigh in with feedback and keeps you in the loop with our creative process. Clients love seeing a taste of what’s coming! It’s such an exciting and reassuring step in the process.

The design first look includes:

Top initial internal color palette options
Our team’s initial typography explorations

Touchpoint 3: Design Presentation

We don’t just design a logo or pick a few colors — we design a whole “brand world” for you, complete with online and offline examples of your new branding in use. During this step, we create custom visuals and present our top recommendations in context.

There is one key to why we create consistent results. (After all, in 2022 9 out of 10 of our custom logos were approved with ZERO changes on the FIRST round!!)

The secret? We narrow it down! You will only have 1 logo — not a dozen, so we look at the ideas in the context of the idea client, mood board, typography, color, and even the mockups we use to present the #1 design recommendation. All of these variables contribute to what we ultimately recommend to best meet your business goals. The brand presentation brings you all our careful, thoughtful design for every element you need in your system.

Looking for more information on how we ensure that the logo we present will be strong and lasting for your business? Check out our article on the 7 aspects of a strong logo – it even includes a fun quiz!

The brand presentation includes:

Design presentation video explaining our recommendations
Design presentation PDF showing the brand in action
Brand board that includes your logo design in up to 10 configurations. Plus, your typography, color palette, and brand patterns
Website design PDF with a full design system for a custom website

We include a round of refinements at this stage if needed. After you receive the design presentation and give your approval, we are ready to deploy your new brand!

03. Implement: Put your branding to work

It’s time for your new look to go to work for your business. We are big believers in empowering you with all the tools you need, so we don’t hold back files or details.

Touchpoint 4: Design Deliverables

We package up all the logo files you will need in 2 colorways, as well as send a detailed list of color keys and type settings for your exact brand standards. We package everything up for you to use and include a helpful guide with resources for implementation. This makes it easy for you, your team, and any partners you work with in the future to consistently use your branding.

Design deliverables include:

5-page guide with instructions for using brand colors, fonts, and logos
Packaged logo and brand files for web and print as .jpg, .png, .svg, and .eps in up to 2 sets of colors
10 launch images showing off the new designs
Font files licensed in client name upon request

Touchpoint 5: Credit Items

We’re not done yet! As a bonus, we have a credit-based a ’la carte system. Your project includes two credits ($500 value) that we can apply toward items like business cards, social media graphics, service guides, gift packaging, and more!

As a client, you can choose anything you want from our extensive credit menu.

Some of our most popular credit items:

Collateral and Marketing Materials: Business card, notecard, letterhead, envelope, insert card, postcard, trifold flyer, 2-sided mailer, 4-32 page PDF, billboards.
Social Media: Pinterest, Instagram, & Facebook templates, Instagram highlight covers, full social media makeover, brand-targeted blog post and social media prompts, ready-to-post Reels with audio, tutorials, and future-use templates.
Physical Branding Applications: Large-scale branded exterior signage, store, lobby, studio, or office interior signage, branded pillow, towel, toiletry bag, mug apparel, promotional item, and car wrap design.
Swag and Gift Package Design: Product label, box, gift tag, inner box design packaging, tissue paper, seal, thank you/insert card, outer mailer labels.

What’s next after branding

Optional Website, Collateral, Signage, Packaging, and More

After this stage, we can implement your branding everywhere for you, from additional signage to packaging to a new website!

For websites, we hop back into collaborative roles as we work with you to guide you in detail through every piece of content we need for your collateral or website, and you provide the images and wording (or work with a copywriting partner!) you’ll get a launch date and friendly reminders to help you plan and curate your content, making the process as easy as possible for you.

FAQs we frequently get about branding

Can I just get a logo?

Our Custom Branding process always delivers your custom logo design in the context of a complete visual system for your company. This includes an in-depth research process which results in a custom logo and full brand board. We even create a custom site design mockup showing how we recommend your brand look online. At the end, you’ll have a complete visual toolkit, and we’ll even sit down with you to talk site strategy or connect with your developer to make sure you’re all set.

How much is a custom brand?

This will depend on your unique needs! Schedule a free consultation with our Creative Director Kathryn so we can gather the necessary information to create a custom proposal.

How does branding help me raise prices or profit margin?

Yes! We asked our clients and 82% of clients raised their prices after working with us.

How do you measure the ROI? Do you guarantee results with branding?

With strategic branding, our goal is to help you achieve your goals. For example, if you’d like to shift to a higher end market, you can measure success by comparing the types of clients you’re attracting before and after branding. We asked our clients and 82% of clients raised their prices after working with us.

Do you work in my industry?

Absolutely! We’ve had the honor of working with clients from a variety of industries, including Weddings & Events, Food & Beverage, Hospitality, Professional Services, Creative Services, Personal Care, Homegoods, Medspas, Fragrance, Legal, Financial, Medical, Real Estate, Construction, and more.

What should I ask a designer before hiring them for branding?

Work with a designer who takes the time to understand your business model and has a step-by-step creative process that allows them to come up with something unique for you. While creativity can be mysterious, asking questions like “What are the milestones that lead up to the logo” or “How do you ensure a custom design” is helpful to understand a bit of the magic.

Have you won any awards for branding?

Yes! Our designs have won awards at the Louisville AIGA 100 Show.

How long have you been designing logos and brands?

Creme Brands was founded in 2013, so we’ve been in business for over 10 years. Our team has over 25 years of combined experience.

How do I know if it’s time for a rebrand?

We always recommend trusting your gut AND looking at things strategically: ask yourself if your branding is in alignment with your future business goals. Check out our article covering key indicators that it might be time for a rebrand.

A Deep Dive into Our Strategic Branding and Logo Design Process