to try out to see if they’d like it, and without fail, each time I did this they came back with, “We’re not sure about it, we’d like to try something else. Something’s missing but we don’t know what”. This was, to put it lightly, unbelievably frustrating.

It sounds crazy but this was my fault, I

About a year ago I worked with three enterprising women who were considering a start-up company specializing in makeup and a bath and bodyline. They were a good referral from a trusted business colleague.

When these clients first contacted me, they hadn’t done any research in their client market, they had no business plan and they had no idea what type of logo they wanted. Nor did they know what their business was about, what their competition was doing, or even who their customers were. They just thought, “We need a logo design of some kind that will define our company, so let’s hire a designer”. These clients were intelligent, fun and enthusiastic women who said they wanted logo design – but in retrospect I now know they needed was not logo design but concept design.

Even though they said they wanted logo design, the 3 clients were asking for concept design. Unfortunately, I accepted the project as a logo design instead of concept design – which proved to be a HUGE mistake, and one that designers often make.
I ended up spending over 10 hours developing their image for this “dream company”, going from one idea to the next. The women came up with a new idea each day; they wanted me to try out to see if they’d like it, and without fail, each time I did this they came back with, “We’re not sure about it, we’d like to try something else. Something’s missing but we don’t know what”. This was, to put it lightly, unbelievably frustrating.

It sounds crazy but this was my fault, I

no business plan and they had no idea what type of logo they wanted. Nor did they know what their business was about, what their competition was doing, or even who their customers were. They just thought, “We need a logo design of some kind that will define our company, so let’s hire a designer”. These clients were intelligent, fun and enthusiastic women who said they wanted logo design – but in retrospect I now know they needed was not logo design but concept design.

Even though they said they wanted logo design, the 3 clients were asking for concept design. Unfortunately, I accepted the project as a logo design instead of concept design – which proved to be a HUGE mistake, and one that designers often make.
I ended up spending over 10 hours developing their image for this “dream company”, going from one idea to the next. The women came up with a new idea each day; they wanted me to try out to see if they’d like it, and without fail, each time I did this they came back with, “We’re not sure about it, we’d like to try something else. Something’s missing but we don’t know what”. This was, to put it lightly, unbelievably frustrating.

It sounds crazy but this was my fault, I

se clients were intelligent, fun and enthusiastic women who said they wanted logo design – but in retrospect I now know they needed was not logo design but concept design.

Even though they said they wanted logo design, the 3 clients were asking for concept design. Unfortunately, I accepted the project as a logo design instead of concept design – which proved to be a HUGE mistake, and one that designers often make.
I ended up spending over 10 hours developing their image for this “dream company”, going from one idea to the next. The women came up with a new idea each day; they wanted me to try out to see if they’d like it, and without fail, each time I did this they came back with, “We’re not sure about it, we’d like to try something else. Something’s missing but we don’t know what”. This was, to put it lightly, unbelievably frustrating.

It sounds crazy but this was my fault, I

d the project as a logo design instead of concept design – which proved to be a HUGE mistake, and one that designers often make.
I ended up spending over 10 hours developing their image for this “dream company”, going from one idea to the next. The women came up with a new idea each day; they wanted me to try out to see if they’d like it, and without fail, each time I did this they came back with, “We’re not sure about it, we’d like to try something else. Something’s missing but we don’t know what”. This was, to put it lightly, unbelievably frustrating.

It sounds crazy but this was my fault, I

to try out to see if they’d like it, and without fail, each time I did this they came back with, “We’re not sure about it, we’d like to try something else. Something’s missing but we don’t know what”. This was, to put it lightly, unbelievably frustrating.

It sounds crazy but this was my fault, I didn’t first analyze and distinguish the differences between logo design and concept design. I should have recognized and explained to these women that their project was concept design, not a logo design, and that our objective was to flush out concepts rather than a finished logo. In the end I gave the clients their deposit back and wished them the best of luck. They in turn scrapped the idea of having a logo, and paid another designer to create a web site for them – the web site never amounted to more than an “Under Construction” page.

Key Phrases that Indicate Concept Design:

Here are a number of top phrases that should tip you off that the project is concept design, rather than logo design. The business owner says,

“I don’t know what I want, but when I see it, I’ll know”

“Just create some logos, and I’ll tell you what I think”

“I can definitely tell you what I don’t like”

“I’m just starting this business and I probably have to get something”

“I am thinking of starting this business and I’ve got to come up with a look or something”

“I just need to