I absolutely love process threads. As an artist, there’s something very seductive about being able to peak inside someone else’s brain, breaking down their workflow and inspirations behind a specific piece. Some equate an artist revealing their processes to a magician giving away their secrets, and think it devalues the work. However I believe quite the opposite is true.

We needed to do a bit of a re-brand for our client, Child Care Insurance Professionals. They weren’t sure whether they wanted a totally new direction, or simply wanted to re-purpose their existing logo. My task was to come up with a few different options that would give them a solid foundation for making a decision. Here’s a quick and dirty look how I went about it.

So first things first. As with any assignment, I begin my process by researching the client and their industry, which in this case is the Insurance Industry, and more specifically, Charter School Insurance. After searching the web for any Charter School / Insurance inspiration I could find, I compiled the information, both visual and my notes, and began to brainstorm. Which gave me this.

Concept maps are my favorite way of instantly dumping my ideas into words. While this is certainly nothing I would ever show the client, it allows me to quickly cycle through many different directions. At this point, I knew I wanted to include some sort of light iconography, specifically a torch. I felt the torch functions well with a number of my keywords such as: wisdom, peace of mind, preparedness, the future, and being a leader. I also kicked around the idea of using a dove, or bird of sorts.

Next I go into sketch mode. Again we are still in the very initial stages of the assignment and my ideas are intended to be rough and quick. At this point I have a pretty good idea of what I want in my head, and I am just trying to put something on paper that somewhat resembles the image I have in my head. As a designer, one of my favorite feelings is being able to put on paper what I have in my mind, which is very very tough, and only get’s easier with lots of practice.

I am pretty satisfied with the last sketch as it’s starting to represent my vision. Some people insist on sketching until they have exhausted all their ideas or have the art pretty well finalized. Personally I find this a bit restrictive, and like to start working digitally as soon as possible, especially when there’s a fairly tight deadline in the equation.

Now I pop open Illustrator and quickly start refining my initial sketch. Working digitally allows me a lot of speed and flexibility and I am able to pump out some more refined variations. Notice I am still working in black and white.

The first two are new directions and the last three are variations of their existing logo. While we’re still working with comps, I now have something to present to the client. From here they’ll be able to get a good feel for the direction we’re headed in, and they’ll be able to give proper feedback.