Are you given time to really wiggle your way into your clients head, time to fully comprehend what they are about and to whom they want to be worshiped and adored by [Insert Apple] by?
It’s a rare thing.
A few years back I read a truly insightful book called, ‘Time to think’ by Nancy Kline, check the details on Amazon. This book sincerly changed my perception of allowing people time to communicate, both in conversation and in work. If you always talk over people, if you hate pauses in other peoples conversations and feel the need to plug that silent gap, you may find this book quite humbling.
Anywho.
Time to think is probably one of the most important aspects of creating a solid identity, yet we are often harried into accepting unrealistic deadlines or pressured into a vacuum of desperation to complete the job over the execution and delivery of a well thought out creative solution.
Allowing your staff or your hired designer time and flexibility to really explore creative avenues will win you more than a few gold stars.
If as a client or employer you have arrived at a point of ‘no time’ and ‘no logo’, you need to expect that you have created conditions barely optimal for the job at hand.
In the same way it takes time to really get to know someone, it also takes time for a logo designer to really understand the complexities that make a business a true living identity. Rushing to full fill the social act of ‘getting to know and understand’ someone will likely result in gaps and personality omissions and a less than accurate idea of what makes that person tick. Ergo. Rushing staff or your hired designer will likely equate to the same for your business identity.
Allowing time for the creation of a solid brand identity, and i am talking many weeks, not days, is vital.
As a logo designer I am fortunate to be able to be a little selective on the clients I work with. One of the overriding aspects I consider is the schedule. If I sense a screaming urgency, coupled with a major identity requirement, I will usually pass the project up. It would probably result in me getting stressed and anxious, not ideal conditions to do my best work, which is after all what I should be doing when charging the extortionate* rates I provide. [*Joke]
It’s my responsibility to measure my own suitability for any project. If I sense I will be providing less than 100% due to unrealistic schedule and not having this ‘time to think’, it’s wiser to pass up than to do something substandard.
The more successful of my projects have had little or no immediate time constraints. I dip in and out, allowing myself time to soak up my work thus far, to return a few days later with a clear head and perspective. An idea I might have thought had potential, after a few days may not seem so viable. It’s akin to living in a new house for a while before you decorate.
Its not uncommon for a logo project of mine to reach 2 months and counting. This is not to say I don’t take on urgent jobs, it all depends on the particular project and budget. I’m mostly talking here about a significantly important and prestigious type of project, where a comprehensive identity is required.
A client who comes to you at the very beginning of their branding campaign is a client that has allowed everyone one involved time to full fill their duties as proficiently as is possible.
While its true that many people work well under pressure, the idea and thought process needed to fully realise a successful brand identity is ‘usually’ best achieved under a more reasonable schedule.
Exploration of any kind should not be rushed. Neither should the evolution of your identity be rushed.
I can work well under pressure, whilst art working a brochure, keying in page after page of text, but the moment I am tasked with getting to know a business or company individual, that goes out the window by choice.
You can’t rush getting to know someone and expect to really know them. Same holds true for your business identity.
Time to think. It’s a designers vital ingredient, yet so often it’s overlooked in favour of ‘I want it all and I want it now.’ We need time to work our logo magic.