Logo designing is probably the most challenging type of design I do. Hands down, it requires more understanding of my client than any other type of creative project, as well as collaboration with them. Whereas with websites, which have plentiful opportunities to identify and brand, logos have to do just the same, only in a much smaller space.

The guys behind Amplifx had already spent a considerable amount of time on carefully titling the magazine, as well as coming up possible taglines. Right from the start, they had also given me the direction of making the “X” stand out or be stylized somehow. After the initial meeting, where we discussed everything from their inspirations, what their publication’s goals were, general iconography principles, to the format of their magazine, I felt prepared with the notes and on-the-spot sketches I had made to begin the process.

The first round was rough: we had agreed a text-based logo, with one or two small graphic elements, but the immediate challenge I ran into was the “X”. It was clearly going to be the heart of the logo. How was I going to create balance when it was the right-most element of the design? They had ideas of the logo being spelled out in a continuous cursive line, with a plug at one end, and the “X” at the other. I did several attempts to get something going with that, but also added some other, different concepts too. You can see the full logo board here.

After the second meeting, in which we concluded that of all the designs presented, the first one–the most simple–was the best. Still, they wanted me to try again at using the graphic element approach. I chose a new font, and played around more with the idea of a plug to balance the weight of the logo. The new addition of the tagline had also helped immensely, as it let me fill in the annoying gap below the “Amplif”, besides the “X”. The second round logo board is here.

The third meeting, we sat down with both boards, and we kept being gravitated to the first one of the first logo board. It became apparent to us what I was going to need to do: text treatment. Simpler was simply better. With the new design parameters in mind, I arrived to what is the logo now, save for another quick round of drafts specifically aimed at getting the tagline font and positioning down.

This was definitely one logo that required a lot of different directions be explored, and tweaks to be made. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process and learned a few things along the way, foremost being that one should never stop returning to old versions and mockups. After all, it was the font choice in round one that eventually wound up being used after our third meeting!