Creating logos is the “fun” part of starting a biz. Business plans, overall vision, planning… those things are hard. Logos are fun, so… let's do that!

The trap I see people fall into is starting there because it's fun – then deciding what the biz should be about.

The thing is, you should have clarity about your biz before you hire a designer. Otherwise, you're both feeling in the dark and you'll never be sure if the logo is “right.”

Something to understand about logos is that they should be independent of a web site design or other promotional materials. A logo is part of your branding, which doesn't change in the face of new web sites, business cards, etc.

It makes sense that the web designer would want to see your logo, but not vice versa. If you don't have a logo yet but you need to get your web site up to tell people you exist, then just spell out the name of your biz in simple text. Nothing fancy, just nice and legible.

Your recipe for disaster begs the question:
when do you know your concept is mature enough to start thinking about a logo?

Let's say you are employing a logo designer and a web designer. The web designer would like to see the logo to make sure it's congruent with the design – but the logo designer would like clarity on how the rest is going to look.

I guess what I see with a lot of clients is that they have no means of achieving clarity until they see something to work with – even if it sucks.

Not quite the best way for a designer to spend their time but,
thoughts?

New client AND new to the copywriting process. It has prompted me to come up with some sort of “process for newbies,” although I wouldn't call it that, of course. How to give thoughtful feedback, what to look for, etc.

After 17 years, you just assume that clients know how to do this, but this recent experience really opened my eyes.

Very useful post, David.