Brand Identity: An evolution

Creating an identity for a business does not happen over night…It is truly an evolution.

I recently was commissioned to create an identity for a new hair salon in Rancho Mirage, Ca.  I initially met with the client to find out,  first and foremost what the salon’s demographic was. I believe this is the most important steps in the logo design process because it really determines what “style/design” of  the identity. After this initial meeting I sit down and come up with a few concepts. (Read about my logo design process)

Below are the first round of concepts sent to the client. (The client’s only request was that it was a “Royal Crest” design. Her husband is from England and she wanted to contrast the Liberty (USA) with a Code of Arms (European)

After seeing the concepts she decided that she wanted something simpler. So stage 1 of the evolution process was over, now on to stage 2.

After visiting the salon’s future location, I instantly saw why the first concept would not work. The decor of the salon did not match the feel of the logo. So I went back and came up with a revised concept. (I sent the client images showing the new Liberty Identity on Business cards , inside/outside of the salon, and on staff shirts/cutting capes, etc.)

Client’s feed back was very positive…for the most part. The only request was she really wanted to contrast the Liberty with something more European than the simple L design I came up with. She mentioned in the initial design meeting that she wanted to incorporate a Fluer De Lis somewhere in her identity…if possible.  So, I came up with a few more concepts that replaced the L with a Fluer De Lis design above the Liberty. The trick was not to simply use a Fluer De Lis  but to create it in a way so it was her unique identity. Below were the solutions:

The client and I both agreed that the one on the left was the winner….and Liberty Salon’s new Identity was born.

Below is the final spec sheet I send to my clients at the end of a logo design job. These spec sheets makes sure your new identity is reproduced the same every time.

Testimonial from client:

We commissioned Mike to do the branding for our new salon and couldn’t be happier. He  was really able to bring the vision we had in our head to life. With branding being such an important part of the business, helping people to know who you are and what you represent, we couldn’t have been happier with the process and more importantly the final product. And as our business grows, we will defiantly use Mike for all our further design needs. -Holly Clerkin, Liberty Salon

Need a new image? Everything mentioned above is included in my Start UP Level 2: Identity Package