In order going trough the creative process of a logo design, we were assigned to develop branding guidelines for a fictional company. My choice was to work with "Spruce Skate and Surf Shop" located in Tofino. A logo identifies a company or product via the use of a mark, flag, symbol or signature. A logo does not sell the company directly nor rarely does it describe a business. Logos derive their meaning from the quality of the thing they symbolise, not the other way around - logos are there to identity, not to explain. In a nutshell, what a logo means is more important than what it looks like.
First step was to brainstorm the nature of our company in order to come up with at least 20 thumbnail sketches - ideas, notes and connections. After narrowing down the scetches we created six viable and varied solutions for the logo within a worksheet in Adobe Illustrator. In a next step three presentation-level options for the logo and branding guidlines - including colour palette, fonts (primary and secondary) and other elements. To finalize the process we came up with some implementations in form of: Stationeries, letterheads, envelopes and business cards.
spruce skate&surf shop would also have a little shop in Tofino where clients are able to rent wetsuits, surfboards, skim & boogie boards etc. - great opportunity to sell as well small merchandise items.
simple business card idea