Innovative Logo Design Process: Research Before IllustratorInnovative Logo Design Process: Research Before Illustrator
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
Most designers open Illustrator first. I open it third.
My logo design process has 4 stages, Research, Ideation (pen and paper), Design, Presentation. Illustrator doesn't open until stage 3. The thinking always comes before the execution.
For Cocoa d'Or, a luxury bakery brand inspired by Parisian café culture, I spent the first two stages deep in research and sketching before touching a single vector. The name itself guided the symbol "d'Or" means gold in French, so the mark merges a cocoa pod cross-section with a gold coin, forming a floral symbol that works as a wordmark, standalone icon, pattern, and favicon.
Usability over aesthetics. Always.
Post image
Back to feed
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started