Logo Design from a Napkin Sketch

Ever heard the story about a guy who has a great idea that he quickly sketches out on a napkin. In the world of professional design this actually happen all the time! Recently a client approached us to design a logo for the Canton Cemetery Association.

We were supplied some written instruction and a sketch on (you guessed it) a napkin. Although this may appear to have been "sketchy" input, it was enough for us to develop a logo that the client was absolutely thrilled with!

Written instructions:  Around the perimeter would be the words “Canton Cemetery Association” (top) and “established 1859” (on the bottom). The center of the circle will feature a bridge over a stream, with a sun setting in the background.  A cluster of pine trees are to also be present.  This logo can be multi-colored for the website, but designed in such a way that the logo can be printed in black and white without losing the integrity of the image.

Click to see the CCA web site creatives.

How did you come up with that name?

We're always being asked about the origins our studio name. The most common misconception is that we're huge Ozzy Osborne fanatics. While Ozzy has successfully built a very impressive brand franchise for his family and he, his song was not the inspiration for Bark at the Moon Graphics.

Bark at the Moon Graphics Studio began in 1992 as a moonlighting opportunity for Tricia and Rich Loney. While working on projects in the late night glow of the moon, their new puppy (Winnie) would nip at their heels and bark incessantly for their attention.

Bark at the Moon has grown out of that small room where the business first started but you can still see Winnie siloetted in the moonlght of the logo adorning the canvas awning above the entrance of the studio.

Stop in anytime, we're located at 2751 Hudson Drive in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Logo and Identity 411

Logo Design Process

Developing a logo for a company or organization is approached in two ways.

IDEA ON A NAPKIN: Frequently a client will come to us with a logo idea scribbled on a napkin or notepad. They know what they want in a design but don't have the skills or software needed to create production ready art. In these instances we'll provide a cost based on the time required to create clean vector art from their rough sketch. The time required to do this will vary based on the complexity of the concept.

DEVELOPMENT FROM SCRATCH: Most often a client has no preconceived idea on what they want for a logo. In this instance we start by asking some questions.

1. What is your company or organizations mission statement?
2. Who is the primary audience?
3. In what ways will the logo be used?

• Printed literature
• Web
• Fleet graphics
• Packaging
• Print or TV advertising
• Powerpoint
• Embroidered or printed garments or uniforms

At this point we'll use the information you've supplied for reference and research and invest a great deal of time working through visual studies. When completed, we'll provide you with a visual mark that can be used as the foundation for all your branding efforts (which we can help with as well).

Web Development 411

The costs to develop a website vary greatly based on the clients functionality and content needs. There are several planning steps required to have enough information to provide an estimate.

STEP 1 - Question: Does your current website reflect all the content that is needed for the new website?

• If not, what additional content is needed?
• Do you need professional copywriting services?

STEP 2 -  Provide more info about the new website.

• Have you written an outline detailing the sections and page titles for the website.
• How many pages of content will the new site require?
• Does website need content managed functionality allowing "in house" content changes.
• How many contact forms are needed.
• Does site need commerce abilities to accept donations or sell items.
• Does the site need a secure area(s) accessible only to users with a log-in and password
• Does the website need advanced database content? Example: we developed the Lawyer referral area for akronbar.org. This is an interactive database of attorneys that allows users to be referred to sequentially selected attorneys.
• Is an events calendar needed?
• Would you like to tie in social networking links?
• What other functionality or content needs do you have?

STEP 3 - Discovery meeting with Client

• Once client has provided us with the information from steps 1 and 2 we schedule a discovery meeting to review (in detail) the development objectives.
• After this meeting we can provide a ballpark range for the cost of development.
• If the ballpark is in-line with your budget, we request a project deposit and and write a detailed project "spec" that will enable us to provide more accurate development costs.

Many clients are able to provide a budget number which is very helpful for us to determine what is and what may not be feasible. If you have a budget number you're able to share it would be very helpful.

The importance of web site content.

WHY is web site content important?

When considering the development of a web site, a good deal of thought and planning needs to focus on content. It is true that a basic web site with six pages of written content will take less time and investment to develop then a site with 80 pages. However, it's important to remember that the more pages of content the better your search engine results. When considering what content should be included, keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to get visitors to your website. To help individuals find your site it must contain a good amount of quality industry specific search-able content.

Additionally, quality content helps tremendously with analytic and strategic marketing efforts. When your site is developed, Bark at the Moon can integrate aanalytic code on every page enabling us to provide detailed visitor-reporting. The text content on your site is a key factor when analyzing this tracking data. After reports are processed, we get a clear picture of which key words visitors used to find your site. This valuable information can help establish a very targeted marketing campaign to promotes your hottest product or service.