Why You Need a Design Brief for Your Logo Contest

● A logo design brief is crucial when running a logo design contest.

● A logo design brief provides designers with important information about your business.

● A logo design brief can include everything from your brand’s colors to your competitors’ logos but should include information that will help guide the logo design to something you will love.

A logo design contest seems like the perfect way to choose a logo for your business when you don’t exactly have a clear idea of what you want. And it can be! But only if you are able to write a clear, detailed design brief when creating your contest.

Designers seem like magicians with their ability to create compelling logos that you would never have imagined. But, in reality, they need your help and guidance so they can create not only a beautiful logo but one that truly speaks to your business. To do that, you need to create a logo design brief that you can post alongside your logo contest that will help guide the designs you receive.

What’s a logo design brief?

A logo design brief is a file that gives the designers competing in your logo design contest all the information they need to create a logo that fits your business.

Like we talk about in our blog post ​“What Comes First, The Logo or The Brand?”​, your brand is your company. It’s how your audience perceives your business and it’s a big part of what should go into your logo design. As great as a logo contest is, without a logo design brief, all you will get are logos that look nice but don’t speak to your brand.

A logo design brief is your chance to explain your brand to the designers in the logo contest, along with any other important information they need to know. If you do this, you are more likely to have dozens of appropriate logos to choose from, rather than just a few.

What should I include in a logo design brief?

The first thing that your logo design brief should include is pertinent information about your business. This includes:

● Your business name and any slogan you want to be included in the logo. Think long and hard about whether you want to include your slogan. If you’re unsure, you can ask designers to make the slogan a removable part of the design.

● Your product.

● Your target audience.

● Your brand values. Is your brand youthful or mature? Playful or serious? Modern or vintage?

Next, you need to include your desired logo style

This will help your logo design contest designers make sure they are designing an appropriate logo for your business. The most important style elements to include are:

● What type of logo you want. Do you want it to include a character? Do you want it to be an abstract mark? Do you have an emblem you want to include? Do you want it to be just your business’s name? If you aren’t sure, you can suggest a couple of types and let the designers create the one they think is best.

● Colors. Does your brand have thematic colors that should be included? Do you specifically avoid certain colors because of the references they can show (for instance, red as anger)? Do you not have certain colors but know you want cool or warm colors?

● Font preferences. Do you want a fun font? Do you want a bold font? Do you want a classic or modern font? Again, you don’t have to be incredibly specific here. This is a category where designers probably know a lot more than you do, but guiding information is always helpful.

Conclusion

Your business is stronger with a great logo. Logo design contests are a good way to get a great logo, but only if you are able to clearly communicate your wants, needs, and expectations at the beginning. A logo design brief is the perfect tool to accomplish that mission.