Delivering final logo package to clients is a bit of a journey with its own twists and turns. As designers, it's crucial to hit the brakes at this point and navigate the process with precision. Otherwise, you might find yourself in a maze of issues – from redoing logo files due to mistakes, to clients having trouble with file usage or the logo being used in all the wrong ways (to name a few!)
I decided to shed some light on this process by writing a guide, so I reached out to fellow designers to learn about their logo delivery methods. With over a decade of logo design experience, I was keen to discover whether my process aligned with theirs or if they had any new tricks up their sleeves.
In November 2023, I sent out an anonymous form titled ‘How do you deliver your final logo packages?’ to my newsletter subscribers, containing three questions. I'm excited to share the results with you.
A quick heads up – the percentages displayed might not add up to 100%, as all three questions allowed for multiple selections.
Let's take a look at the findings.
First question:
When sending your client a final logo package, what else do you include?
- 88%: A client guide to help their client use the right files
- 75%: A brand guidelines board (one-pager)
- 38%: A brand guidelines document (multi-page)
Designers mentioned opting for one-pager or multi-page brand guidelines depending on the project's size.
Seems like the one-pager brand guidelines board is the go-to choice, and almost everyone ensures their client gets a helpful guide – nice!
Second question:
How do you supply the final files to your client?
- 25%: Email or WeTransfer a zipped folder
- 50%: Upload them to Google Drive or Dropbox
- 13%: Upload them to 'Logo Package Portal' by Logo Package Express
The majority go for uploading to Google Drive or Dropbox. 'Logo Package Portal' might not be a household name yet, but it's still early days for this product.
Third and final question:
What frustrates you the most when making final logo file packages?
- 25%: Tidying up the vector and artboards
- 13%: Knowing what variations of the logo they should make (ie horizontal, vertical, badge)
- 50%: Converting colours (RGB, CMYK, Pantone)
- 50%: Client uses the wrong files
- 50% Client keeps asking for files even though they’ve sent them to the client
Designers noted that clients, despite providing comprehensive file guides, still manage to mess up file usage.
The most hair-pulling aspects for designers are colour conversion and navigating client interactions around logo files:
A couple of nifty solutions from Logo Package Express
Here are two Logo Package Express products that have helped me to tackle the main headaches from question three.
Logo Package Swatch: An Illustrator plugin that quickly converts colours. If Pantone's departure from Adobe threw you for a loop, this plugin has your back. It can turn your CMYK colours into Pantone Coated and Uncoated (plus RGB, HEX, etc.) with just one click.
Logo Package Portal: A portal where you can upload all your logo files post-export (using Logo Package Express). It will simplify your client's hunt for the right files with handy filters – it’s easier to show you rather than explain, so check out this demo project here. You can grab a pack of 5 portal projects at a time – no need for a subscription. Factor that into pricing for every logo project, and it's a win-win for both you and the client.
Full disclosure, I'm an affiliate of Logo Package Express. Using the code ‘designguide20’ at checkout will give you 20% off both products (plus, I get a little kickback). I only recommend products that I know and use myself.
Conclusion: We're in this together!
It's always helpful to see how fellow designers tackle challenges. There's something genuinely comforting in realising that we're not alone in the struggles we face. By sharing insights from this logo package questionnaire, my hope is that you feel a bit less isolated in the frustrations you encounter and that you can use these insights to tweak and improve your process.
A big thank you to the logo designers who took the time to share the ins and outs of their process :).
