Educating clients has won me more work than designing logos ever did
One conversation has followed me around for most of my career. It usually starts with a prospective client saying they “just need a logo.”
My response tends to sound something like this: “It’s never just a logo.”
And I often explain it like this, “If you’re looking for someone to spend as little time as possible so it costs as little as possible, I’m probably not the right designer for you. Although it might seem more expensive than the other quotes you’ve had, but this isn’t a like for like comparison.”
Comparing my process with someone who simply designs a logo from a vague brief is like comparing a ten year old one litre Nissan Micra with a brand new four litre Audi A7 S Line. They both get you from A to B, but they’re built to do very different jobs. For years, I accepted projects that started with almost no brief at all.
“Can you make us a logo?”
“Can you modernise the brand?”
“We’re not really sure what we want.”
I used to say yes. Looking back, it was exhausting. The client wasn’t deliberately making life difficult. They were busy. They knew they couldn’t solve the problem themselves, so they pushed it across the table and expected me to work it out. Many designers will accept that challenge… I did too. You end up trying to become a mind reader. You’re expected to solve problems that nobody has properly defined. You lose days chasing ideas, second guessing decisions and trying to satisfy expectations that were never communicated in the first place. It’s soul destroying.
It’s a bit like asking a builder to construct your dream home while only giving them half the bricks, a few windows, no front door and no plans. Nobody would expect a successful outcome. Yet that’s exactly how many branding projects begin. Eventually I realised something. The problem wasn’t the client, the problem was the process… So I changed it.
Today, I don’t accept beige briefs anymore. I take whatever information a client gives me and we rewrite it together. I challenge assumptions. I ask difficult questions. I define the real problem before anyone starts talking about logos, colours or typography. Only when we’ve agreed the brief do I begin designing. And yes, I charge for that work; some people find that surprising. I don’t.
Because if the thinking isn’t done properly, the design work has no foundations to stand on. The thinking before the making is where the real value lives.
During that process we’re already building the first sections of the brand strategy. We’re uncovering why the business exists, what has changed, who they’re trying to reach, what they’re trying to become and what the visual identity actually needs to achieve. Only then do I open the sketchbook.
What I’ve found is that most clients don’t actually want a new logo. They want growth, to attract better customers, to charge more confidently. They want to feel proud of how their business shows up.
The logo is simply one output of solving those problems.
When clients slow down and invest time understanding the “why”, the design process becomes faster, smoother and far more successful. Ironically, slowing down is often the quickest route to getting it right.
A brand has never been just a logo. It’s the foundation that shapes your message, your tone of voice, your positioning, your customer experience and ultimately how people remember you. That’s not something I’d ever recommend doing as quickly or as cheaply as possible. It’s something worth getting right.
If you’re considering a rebrand and want to understand the thinking before the making, I’d be happy to have that conversation.
It’s probably my favourite part of the whole process.