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The ultimate 10-question logo design questionnaire

A logo design questionnaire is absolutely vital right after you signed the logo design contract template, and well before logo creation commences.

That’s because it provides a solid understanding for your design brief. By drawing out as many questions as possible, you’ll be creating a smooth journey towards a proud-worthy outcome that your client will rave about.

According to research, asking 15-18 questions during your discovery call is only slightly more effective than asking fewer.

So, we’re hitting the sweet spot with 10 questions to ask when designing a logo, all organized in three sections to serve as your ultimate logo questionnaire.

A. Brand values & brand attributes

Here, we focus on the client’s brand values and attributes to gain a valuable sense of how you should be representing their brand as a whole. The logo will surely play a huge part in their marketing strategy.

Once you’ve sent your freelance contract, the questionnaire should come next. And this section should be the first to cover as it’s arguably the most important.

1. What best represents the company?

Does your client’s business focus on shipping services?

Baby products?

Herbal remedies?

Understanding what the company stands for will help you visualize an image that best represents it.

Once you have a basic image in mind, you can then start building upon it with additional and meaningful visuals.

2. Who are your competitors?

Ask your client who his/her competitors are. From there, you can begin researching how these competitors are presenting their brand.

This will help you build on an image even further.

However, always make sure you ask yourself:

“Do I want to follow someone’s lead? Or set my client apart?”
“How can I set this logo apart from the others in a genuine way?”

3. Who is your target audience?

If your client’s target audience is women ages 17-25, their logo will be much different than a logo directed towards men ages 35-50.

Identifying your client’s target audience will help you eliminate certain logo elements and focus on effective design choices that the audience loves.

“The best marketing strategy ever: CARE.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

4. Pick characteristics that best define your brand

Ask your client how their brand’s image falls between these opposing characteristics:

Masculine/Feminine
Grey/Colorful
Simple/Intricate
Approachable/Authoritative
Conservative/Extravagant
Fun/Serious
Necessity/Luxury
Modern/Classic
Professional/Casual
Sporty/Elegant
Safe/Extreme

Now, before continuing with the rest of the questionnaire - did you know that with Bonsai you can integrate and send the logo design questionnaire as part of a proposal?

To start, just head to your dashboard, and click on "send a proposal".

You'll now see a pop up which allows you to choose or create your client and project details. Once done, click on "create proposal".

Next, you will see the section with general information about yourself and the client, plus the option to further customize it with a background or logo, for example. Set those up and scroll further down.

Finally, here is the part where you'll be able to integrate your logo design questionnaire with the proposal. Feel free to adjust the sections as you like, remove them, rename them, and even add them back.

There's no right recipe - you can decide to just send the questionnaire or to complement it with a professional proposal that will surely win you the gig.

Easy process, right? Feel free to further explore Bonsai by signing up to our free trial.

B. Abstract values

This section involves a bit of imagination which can be a lot of fun and, according to Entrepreneur, can also lead to increased productivity for both yourself and your client.

Out of all the questions to ask when designing a logo, you’ll have the most fun with these.

5. How would you describe your brand to a friend?

While this goes hand-in-hand with section A, you’ll be surprised how different the answers will be.

This question will encourage more relaxed and genuine answers which will be amazing material for your creative process.

6. What animal would best represent your brand?

Alright, this may sound… weird. But sometimes animals make the best logo images.

By including your client’s spirit animal in your logo questionnaire, you’ll open up new, creative possibilities.

C. Design

Now that we have the deeper meaning behind your client’s brand logo, it’s time to narrow down visual preferences.

By including this final step, you’ll be sealing the deal on your logo design (and probably gearing up to create more work opportunities very soon).

8. Which logos resonate with you?

Pick out a few examples of logos to show your client. These can be logos from any industry – just make sure there’s a variety.

Ask him/her which three resonate with them, then take note of common elements in the logos they chose.

9. Which colors best suit your brand?

Remember: colors convey a psychological impact on people.

So, while your client may like the color orange, make sure you show him/her a list of colors and their psychological effects.

Blue = Trust
Orange = Friendliness
Yellow = Optimism
Red = Excitement
Purple = Creative
Green = Peace

Including this useful list in your logo questionnaire is one of the steps to winning client admiration.

10. Which font best fits your brand?

Another big question to ask in your logo design questionnaire revolves around the impactful font type.

Fonts are easily overlooked, but they are strongly associated with a specific emotion or idea, which makes choosing the right font extremely important.

For example:

Masculine = Modern Fonts
Feminine/Funny = Script Fonts
Practical = Sans Serif

Your logo questionnaire takeaway

Your logo questionnaire is the backbone of your design process and outcome.

By asking these golden questions, your project will not only be successful, but enjoyable. Confidence enables you to take on more work, at higher rates, and with bigger clients.

The way to harness that confidence?

By designing your own project management layout, with professional-approved tools that keep you inspired and creative - that's where Bonsai can help. We have helpful tips you can use when writing graphic design contracts .

Diana Myers

Diana Myers is a Candian copywriter, content expert and CBO of her content agency, Quill and Craft. Consumed by the art of storytelling, Diana is on a mission to humanize brands through humor, heart, and CSR practices. When she’s not glued to her laptop, you’ll find her studying ecological restoration, mapping out hikes less-traveled or brewing herbal potions for her apprehensive partner.