The term Brainstorming has become a commonly used
word in the English language as a generic term for creative thinking.
The basis of brainstorming is a generating ideas in a group situation
based on the principle of suspending judgment - a principle which
scientific research has proved to be highly productive in individual
effort as well as group effort. The generation phase is separate from
the judgment phase of thinking.
Brainstorming is a process that works best with
a group of people when you follow the following four rules.
1. Have a well-defined and clearly stated problem
(your logo design)
2. Have someone assigned to write down all the ideas as they occur
3. Have the right number of people in the group.
4. Have someone in charge to help enforce the following guidelines:
* Suspend judgment
* Every idea is accepted and recorded
* Encourage people to build on the ideas of others
* Encourage way-out and odd ideas
Brainstorming as a traditional approach to do deliberate
creative thinking with the consequence that people think creative
thinking can only be done in groups. The whole idea of brainstorming
is that other people's remarks would act to stimulate your own ideas
in a sort of chain reaction of ideas.
Groups are not at all necessary for deliberate creative
thinking. In a group you have to listen to others and you may spend
time repeating your own ideas so they get sufficient attention. Thinking
as a group using brainstorming can certainly produce ideas, but individual
thinking should be employed.
We strongly believe that individuals can be just
as good at generating ideas and fresh directions. Once the idea has
been born then a group may be better able to develop the idea and
take it in more directions than can the originator.
Within every business there are key players
who understand what the company's vision, products, services
and goals are. These individuals should take part in a brainstorming
session that will drive the logo design process. If available, suggested
participants include leadership from Marketing, Human Resources and
Operations.
Everyone's input is critical to developing
the final product, but only one decision-maker is required. Pick one
(usually the CEO) and stick with his/her decision.
Here are some topics to address in the brainstorming
session:
•Name some adjectives
or attributes that you would use, or like to use, to describe your
business. Some answers might be: progressive, traditional, cutting-edge,
global, fast, organized, reliable. Depending on your response, the
style of your logo will vary. A finance company rooted in a strong
history of tradition and stability might want to choose soothing colors,
straight lines and subtle textures, while, a new Internet start-up
poised for rapid growth and technological advancements, may go for
bold colors, sharp contrasts and oval shapes.
•Talk about the vision for the company. You might ask, Are we
moving into International markets? Are we adding new product lines?
Will we need to use the logo in context with subsidiaries or partners?
• Discuss your target market. Who are our customers today? Who
will be our customers tomorrow?
• Discuss the image your company projects and your employees.
Who are our employees? What distinguishing features do we look for
in new hires…entrepreneurial, reliable, educated, experienced,
friendly?
• Pinpoint what makes your company different. What separates
us from the competition?
•Identify how you want your company to be perceived, and how
you want customers to feel. What emotions do we want to evoke from
people who look at our logo? Do we want to make them feel curious,
safe, excited, happy, uneasy, beautiful?
• Discuss how this logo fits into your overall branding strategy.
Make sure the logo fits in with the other materials, communications
and creative outlets you are using, and that it fits with the overall
spirit of the company.
Carefully record all the answers to these
questions. Go back and highlight the items and comments that seem
cohesive, complementary and repetitive throughout. After all these
questions are answered, you should have a clearer idea of the creative
direction you need to take.
Corporate
Identity Design 
