Behind the Scenes: How We Created Our Logo
In our “Behind the Scenes” series of blogs, we’ll learn how the Communications Team created the Green Valley Project identity out of nothing.
When we say the Green Valley Project is a youth-led organization, we aren’t kidding. Our first team of Communications Interns learned all about what’s planned for GVP as well as a ton about marketing and communications, then went through the process of naming the initiative, helping to design and choose a logo, then created a communications plan, built a website and set up GVP’s social media presence.
Logo Designer Neil Hubert took the GVP Communications Team through the basics of logo design and brand identity, using companies and logos that we already knew (like Nike, Lululemon, Trader Joe’s and Patagonia), then, with our newly chosen name in mind, we talked about how we could visually communicate the work and the ideals of the Green Valley Project in a logo.
We did some serious brainstorming, we all tried our hand at translating what was in our heads onto the page (regardless of our art skill levels), and we worked together to figure out which visuals and layouts best conveyed the look and feel we were going for.
Logo brainstorming sketches
After our initial sketches, Neil took some of the concepts we were exploring and returned with a first round of logo options. All very different -- all very cool.
First round of logo options
Then, after the Communications Team shared our thoughts, we invited friends and peers to share their opinions through a survey. We organized and discussed the survey data together with Neil, to determine what people really liked and where there were areas for improvement. Then, Neil worked his magic again and came back with another round of logo revisions, incorporating audience feedback from our survey.
Revised logo options
We learned a lot about how many decisions go into a logo, and how many different elements you have to consider, from your intended audience, to the different sizes your logo needs to work at (“from billboards to blimps to business cards,” as Communications Team Mentor Danny Carmichael put it).
“It really made me appreciate the logos that I see around,” said intern Aylan. “All the people it takes to make each one.”
“I never thought about how much work goes into a little picture on a shoe or a bag or a car!” said GVP intern Phoebe.
It was fun. It was challenging. It was educational. It was exciting. And at the end of the process (about a month), we had narrowed it down to the crowd favorite: our kinda trippy, kinda throwback, super-busy, fun-to-look-closely-at GVP logo. And, to make sure it worked in lots of different situations, designer Neil gave us different versions of the final logo (or “lockup”) with different levels of detail.
Final logo lockups