15 Questions to Ask Clients When Designing a Logo: Essential Guide for Designers

Designing a logo isn’t only about making a quick sketch and hoping the client will like it. Professional logo designs can only be good after the customer gets to know the company, its goals, values, and strategies. 

The top designers out there will always take a proactive approach, but the problem is that some of them might get stuck in the loop of which questions to ask their clients. 

In this article, we’ll dive deeper into learning more about which questions you should be asking your clients when designing a logo. 

The reason communication is important for logo design 

Before we dive deeper into learning more about logo design questions, we need to clarify why communication is important for your logo design. 

Both parties have a lot going on in their head and the more information you share with each other, it’s going to be better to get closer to finishing the project the way the customer wants. Customers will always have preferences and goals, while designers have their own way of working. 

The problem is that you can never know what your client is thinking about until you ask them questions. Especially if it’s the first time you are interacting with them, there are many questions to ask. 

15 Logo design questions to ask your clients 

There are 15 important logo design questions you need to ask your clients to make sure you are both on the right path. 

1. What is the purpose of your logo? 

The purpose of a logo is to serve as a visual embodiment of a brand’s identity and represent its values. It shouldn’t be seen only as a symbol but as a method for communicating with customers and enhancing brand credibility, recognition, and connecting with your target audience on a deeper level. 

Your client needs to give in-depth details of what their logo's purpose is. Of course, if they can’t answer this question, it means that you may need to help them find their logo’s purpose. 

2. What are your business goals? 

Some clients might not understand how business goals can be connected to logo design. They may think logos don’t connect to business goals, and might not provide much information about their business. However, if you see this happening, you can take the lead and directly ask them. 

Knowing about potential expansions and special concerns helps you optimize your logo design for addressing your specific needs. 

3. Can you define your brand’s mission and values? 

The client's brand mission and values are the backbone of showing which kind of logo design is required. Not every company can effectively define their mission and values, and this might become problematic. 

For example, a brand that is dedicated to making a cleaner environment will most likely use a logo that has green colors and elements in it. The more the logo design is tailored to the business values and mission, the better it’ll be. 

4. What is the text of the logo? 

It’s always important to establish the same that your client would like to see in your logo. You need to explain to your client the changes to the wording where this can affect concepts and therefore, the client would need to break down the exact words in the logo before you begin designing the logo. 

5. What are you trying to accomplish with your logo?

After your client knows what they want to accomplish with their logo, you can get into more details and find out where your logo fits. For instance, new brands might want their logo for increasing brand credibility, while others might want it to change their brand’s identity, or increase social media awareness, etc. 

6. Do you know who your target audience is? 

A logo design should always fit a target audience. If it doesn’t, this means that the client won’t know what kind of design is most suitable for them. 

Your client needs to be specific and not give general answers. The best way to find out who your target audience is, is to see what kind of audience is interested in their product and service. This will better help your client answer this question. 

7. Which social channels is your target audience most active on? 

You may wonder how this question is connected to designing your logo, but the truth is that the social channels your target audience is most active on will show you what kind of logo design your client needs. 

Moreover, it shows where your logo can be displayed the most. Social media logo designs are best when they are less detailed since the different sizes might disturb the logo quality. 

8. Who are your competitors? 

It’s always important to analyze who your competitors are and what kind of logos they are using. You can’t copy competitors since it’ll hurt your uniqueness. If your client isn’t aware of this, it’s always a good idea to help them conduct a competitor analysis. 

The whole idea here is to make sure the logo design is unique and memorable. You don’t want the logo design to look like the client's competitors at any cost. 

9. Are there any examples of the logos you like? 

Everyone has a favorite logo they prefer. Someone might like McDonald’s logo, some Coca-Cola’s, etc. Some clients might want to get inspiration from a logo design. If they haven’t thought of their mentors yet, advise them to spend some time researching on the internet. This helps the designer understand the preferences of clients. 

There are plenty of different logo styles on the web and it’s sometimes challenging to think of a favorite, but always be available to help the client if they ask for help in regards to finding their preferences. 

10. Are there any logo examples you don’t like? 

Knowing what the client doesn’t like is always a good sign for you. However, the logo designer needs to use their judgment. If the client doesn’t have an answer to this question, you can always help them out by doing the research and showing them some logo examples. 

As a start, you can showcase many logo examples and separate the ones the client likes and doesn’t. This gives you a better idea of what you can expect. 

11. What are your preferred colors? 

The client must know what their preferred colors are and what kind of colors they’d like to see in logo concepts. The client might not be in a position to know which are preferred colors and how consumers might respond to them, but it might indicate preferences for some colors. 

12. Where are you going to use your logo the most? 

The client needs to always know where they’re going to use their logo. The medium of usage makes it easier for them to decide regarding the layout, how to use gradients, and more. 

Each client has a different perspective, some may create logo designs to use on social media channels, while others might focus more on their website, and so on. 

13. How good are you at deciding which logo is for you? 

Clients differ in the decision-making process and we can easily say that each of them will differ on how they choose a logo design. It’s always best to deal with indecisiveness as early as possible than to deal with the consequences in the end. 

To help your clients prepare for making the right decision, it’s best to give them suggestions based on all the other questions you’ve asked them. 

14. What are you looking to get from our side? 

Answering this question is a bingo and the more you know about the client, the better it is. Ask your clients directly what kind of documents and details they will need. 

Brand personas and branding style guides have a direct effect on logo design, so if the client shows this to you, you’ll need to read more about it. 

15. How are your copyrights handled? 

Another common problem that needs to be addressed to clients is to let them know how copyrights will be handled. For clients who don’t know much about them, we suggest you inform them of everything they need to know. 

There are platforms that you can recommend to clients to help them make sure they own the copyright to their designs. 

Collaboration can never be done alone 

The final words we have to say is that it’s not possible to collaborate on your own. Designers need to always collaborate with their clients to find out more about what they want in their logo design and deliver it to them.

Questions are a great way to clarify which path your client is trying to follow. While many clients might be confused, you can easily help them clarify what decisions they need to make and make their logo design as high-quality as it gets.