How Logo designs evolve

The following conversation was adapted from a web forum on graphic design. You can follow along as a logo design is refined from a vague approximation of the company into a clear, simple and sucessful business card.

Meet the players

is the customer/ would be designer

is the graphic professional with years of experience.

Hi. I am a real estate consultant with limited graphic experience. I've been trying to design a logo to represent my new website.

Tell me a little bit about your company and your idea for a logo.

The logo is for a blog/real-estate agent referral site that I call AgentHarvest.com. The site will be an expression of my real-estate opinions and will market my service of finding the perfect real-estate agent to sell your house.
The logo is trying to connect a farming harvest theme with real-estate agents. The tag line at the bottom is sort of sloppy, but I haven’t come up with anything better yet. It’s all still pretty new. I’ll also be using the theme on the Web site, too.

Does Agent Harvest have anything to do with agriculture?

No, Agent Harvest is purely about residential real estate. I'm trying to use a metaphor, you know harvesting ideas and opinions, and picking only the best agents from the entire crop of agents.

Graphically speaking, this is well-drawn and cheery. Thing is, it looks really farm-like. Iowa. Corn. All that. That impression is very strong. Since your business has nothing to do with any of that, your logo is sending viewers down the wrong path.

So before you can tell them who you actually are — already a tough-enough task — you FIRST have to reel them back from the misdirection. You won’t be able to do that, and even if you could, you’ve made extra work for yourself.

So you made a nice graphic, but it’s the wrong graphic.

Ask yourself these questions
1) Who are you?
2) Do I understand what you do?
3) Do I need what you do?
4) Can I trust you?
5) What’s it cost?
6) How complicated is it? And so on.

You term yourself an agent harvester. What would the customer term you?
Can you take those issues and roll them into a word or an image?

I knew something about it was off.

Now we’ll see if I interpreted your advice correctly. No more farm graphics, Hee Haw type fonts or corn-colored pod people.. With this logo, I tried to represent the theme of “Finding the best agents for free.” After all, that’s what the core business is structured around.
The graphic hopefully represents a rating scale focusing on the fact that we find the best agents.

I drew two possible designs.

I have learned from years of experience that the keys to logo design are beauty, simplicity and clarity. Your new images miss all three. I don’t say this to be harsh, just to move us along.

Before you start drawing, think more about the communication part.
You are a unique business. You are “Agent Harvest.”
What’s that? asks the mystified customer.
It’s “A free real-estate agent finder service.”
Hmmmm, that’s interesting. Maybe I could use that. Let me give this guy a call.
See what’s happened? Your name and tagline got you a phone call.
That’s good.
In fact, that’s great.
So the question is, do you need a logo at all?
I think you don’t.
Buying and selling a house isn’t like buying a Coke. How often do you do it? Once? Twice?
So your customer deals with you one time.
You don’t need a logo for that. Just your name and that good tagline.

You explained that your service is to pick the right person(s) out of a field of many.
Your second logo had people in it.

Let's try to simplify the graphic and stick with one concept.

If you showed this image plus your tagline, “A free real-estate agent finder service” to someone in your office, would they get it?

Try it.
Strictly conceptual. We’re not talking about a logo. Just an image.

I was hoping you’d like the people concept. Your peeps line was a great idea. Here’s what I did with it. What about using a different slogan, one that makes it more personal? However, I can’t figure out how to put the “free” concept in there without making the slogan into a manifesto. Is the fact that it’s free to the seller important enough for the logo to convey it?
Does the idea of the “V” as a pointer come across? What type of fonts would be appropriate?

“Free” is vital. I (the customer) probably wouldn’t phone you if I didn’t know it was free. Your original tagline says it all.

Let’s get back to concept building, not logo-making. Logo-making is the last step in the process. In fact, you probably don’t need a logo.

The question was, if you showed someone the peeps line with the tag, “A free real-estate agent finder service,” would he get it?

If the answer is yes, you’re home free. It’s clean, it’s clear, it’s simple, and — especially important — it’s complete. ANYTHING you add will muddy the message.

Here is an example of a business card. What do you think?

You Nailed it, THANKS!

Conclusion

We can learn a lot from this quick conversation. Remember what the professional said: The keys to logo design are beauty, simplicity and clarity. Also, he kept pushing the message. Remember the five requirements of effective communication:

The sender knows the message.
The sender expresses the message in a way that can be understood.
The receiver is paying attention.
The receiver interprets the message.
The receiver understands and remembers the message.

Good design supports the message, it isn't about decoration.

How would you solve the problem?