When creating a brand identity, it has always been an industry standard for brand designers to deliver multiple concepts to their clients. When this happens, clients tend to pick their favorite, bringing personal preference to the brand strategy design process.
When a client books to work with me, I am hired for my skills and expertise. As an expert with a design degree and years of experience under my belt, I am creating a brand for my client and, more importantly, creating a brand for my client’s target market, which is my top priority. It does no good for a client or their business to love a logo that is not effective with their audience and doesn’t meet their business goals.
For example, you hire an accountant to do your taxes. Do they provide you multiple solutions? No, they only deliver you with the best option. Why show many wrong choices when you can only present one best option? Giving numerous options to clients sometimes creates confusion, overwhelms them, and could lead to decision fatigue.
I always start every project off with a complete brand strategy session. Clients are given a short questionnaire and be added to a private Pinterest board to share their ideas and design style they like before the session to go over it together. Thorough market research is done within the brand strategy session to determine the client’s target market, age range, trends, and competitors.
A brand strategy road map is delivered a few days after the session and approved before developing the brand identity. This way, everyone is on the same page right from the get-go. I then start the design process by focusing on creating one ideal brand identity within my client’s needs.
There are a few pros of the One Concept Method that I believe are important to take in. The first one is quality over quantity. When focusing on one overall idea, they are developed with more intention. Designing multiple concepts won’t have too much meaning because designers won’t have time to bring out in-depth ideas for each one. Another advantage of this method is that it cuts back drastically on revisions. We brand designers craft elements that correlate with the brand strategy notes while the client understands why we cut down the revisions.
The only disadvantage of the One Concept Method is that it can be intimidating at first for both the designer and the client. Us designers are experts, but sometimes we can design something that we feel the client won’t understand. That’s where we come in and explain why we chose every color, font, and element and how it relates to their business goals and overall branding.
Now that you know why I use the One Concept Method, and you feel like it’s time for a brand refresh, check out my website to see if you would like to work with me!
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