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How long does it take to design a logo might seem fairly simple to some, especially at first glance. Not only might they think that it is simple in terms of how it looks, but also simple in terms of how it is made. After all, every brand has a logo and every company has a logo as well. So, it might be a fairly simple and easy process, right?
Of course, nothing can be further from the truth. Even the simplest of logos can take from a few minutes to a few months. Some of the most infamous examples of logo designs taking a long time or having a simple design are that of brands rather than companies. Brands such as Firefox, Google Chrome, and Xiaomi are just a few examples of brands that changed their logos ever so slightly over the course of several years, making it even more simple in the process.
Why is that? Well, you can find out exactly that!
How Long Does It Take to Design a Logo? – Keeping it Simple
There is a very valid reason for multi-billion-dollar companies to have simple logos, and sticking to making them even simpler. For one, a logo is the most important visual identifier of that company or brand. It is the icon, the image, or the drawing that is directly associated with the brand message itself.
That means it is not just a question of whether a logo should be simple and easy to remember. There are far more things to consider there.
However, simplicity is still a very valid and very apparent reason behind these logos. The logo of Facebook, for example, does not need to change all that much. Still, creating a simple logo does not mean that time an effort does not get put in. In fact, these companies spend millions of dollars and months of work just to make one corner of the logo into a rounded edge, and call it a redesign. For all intents and purposes, it is by no means a simple job, but the output does not always indicate the work or the thought process behind it.
Logos Can Take a Few Minutes Too
If you pose the question of, “How long does it take to design a logo?” to a designer, their answer might vary between minutes to even months. Not only does that depend on the type of logo they usually make, but also on the creative process behind it. Some people, for example, deal with relatively basic brands that are starting out, with not much budget to hire their own design team, and outsource that work to someone else. At times, that designer might not have the information or incentive to invest much time into a logo.
Could be that it takes longer, but conceptualizing and designing a logo, and sending a few concepts to a client for approval is a fairly simple and common process used by a lot of beginners. This is by no means a method that makes bad logos, but rather, one that does not take branding into account.
A simple logo concept can be drawn in a computer in an hour, or on a napkin in a few minutes at most. It is the example of doodling to just put your ideas out there, and hope that one of them becomes the face of the brand you are dealing with.
The Logos That Take a Few Hours
There are also logos made by designers working the 9 to 5 corporate job that puts them in a company specializing in digital marketing and logo design. This is when the design of the logo itself—perhaps after the conceptualization stage is complete—takes a few hours so that the person designing the logo is able to leave on time without having to stop their creative process.
One of the examples of this is Florida Logo Design, a digital marketing agency that specializes in delivering logos over the course of just 24 hours, or longer, depending on your brand and how much research you want in it.
This method can produce some great logos, but they are most suited for starting a digital marketing brand, such as designing logos to print on T-shirts, business cards, mobile applications, banners, etc. Once again, these are simple yet effective methods of designing a logo, and are by no means any less viable than the designs that can take much longer.
Considering the Brand – Logos That Take a Few Days
Once again, the question of “how long does it take to design a logo?” has a different answer. This is the stage when impulse buys and bright colors are set aside in favor of some brand research and some detailed insight into what makes a logo and brand synergize.
This is when considerations that are otherwise left by the wayside brought into the fold. An example of these considerations is when a logo’s typography is focused on. Could be that the logo is given different fonts and sent out to focus groups, and the back and forth between them takes a few days. Maybe the creative process is different, but still, even a simple change such as making one letter slightly larger is a design decision that could take a few days to get through.
Well, it Can Take Weeks, Too
When you run or manage a company, you don’t want to mess up or hurry up too much in the initial setup process. Even small businesses need recognition, marketing, advertising, and a brand to focus it all on. This is when in-house logo designers prop up, working on not just one brand, but perhaps even several brands for a company, such as Florida Logo Design. That could potentially mean that the designer has their work cut out for them, but that the company can also keep them for launching new brands that take a few weeks to design logos.
This in-house consideration is important, because it allows the designer to work with the rest of the team developing that brand. Could be that the product has a unique selling point that was not briefed to the designer. Could be that the brand has an interesting story to tell. Maybe the synergy is off.
All these things are discovered, and solved, in the editing room and in the creative process. This is the collaborative process that can make a truly successful logo. Ideas get around, discarded, used again, and different concepts are constantly being made. It is not that the logo itself takes weeks to make, but rather, the process behind it.
A restaurant, for example, works better with a chef included in their logo, like KFC. This is called a Mascot. However, McDonalds does not have its mascot in the logo. Why? Well, maybe they considered that the competition had it, and so, changed it to be without a mascot. This can serve as an example of how the process flows, and why it takes so long for logos to be made.
How Long Does It Take to Design a Logo? – Several Months, Apparently
This has more to do when a logo gets stuck in limbo at a company that has a committee to deal with all things design related. Legal issues are something that cannot be answered in a simple yes or no fashion after a few hours. Even lawyers, attorneys, and legal consultants have to work with the marketing department to do some market research on patented designs, similar designs, competitive brands, and more.
This is when the creative process takes weeks, but the approval process takes months. Then, if there are any discrepancies in it, the approval process begins again, because the logo might be slightly changed, and the market and legal considerations have to be made with new parameters.
Conclusion
Overall, it is not a given that the more work you put in a logo, the better it will turn out. Quality does not exponentially rise with the amount of time given to it, but rather, how effective the creative process is behind it. The question of “how long does it take to design a logo?” has no definitive answers, but this blog is one that can serve as an answer.
Logos are complicated, because they are a creative aspect. Any creative project takes time, time that is not apparent in the final product, and thus, difficult to quantify. Still, market research and general consumer psyche has proven that well-made logos use the creative process effectively, and that the best logos are sometimes the ones that take a long time to make.
