It’s easy to get bogged down with color and font options when you’re in the logo design phase, but what’s really paramount in the design: readability and visibility, according to Democratic design and branding strategist Taí Coates-Wedde.
“As long as your logo’s hitting that criteria, the sky’s the limit with your colors,” Coates-Wedde said in an interview with C&E. “But that does stop you from using colors like bright lime green or, you know, neons where it is hard to see or read.”
Clients often feel very strongly about colors in the initial design phase, which is all the more reason to anchor the process with a creative brief, said Coates-Wedde. That process starts with a client questionnaire that helps the design team get a handle on the client’s expectations and gather additional intel that will aid in developing the brand.
“What are the adjectives that would best describe your brand? That’s about how [the candidate] wants other people to think about them,” she said. “That information really gets us started with what the look and feel of the logo should be.”
One thing Coates-Wedde has seen more of this cycle are website and brand refreshes, which she rates as a positive design trend.
“The digital space is only getting louder and more crowded,” she said. “And so from a strategic point of view, I think this means folks are more open to brand consistency and updating their brands overall. It just leads to better recognition and a more cohesive strategy across the board.”
Watch the full interview above for more on what the campaign design world can learn from the non-political space and how to adjust when there are too many creative cooks in the kitchen.
