DesignReference Guide

People mean different things by “logo”: a text-based wordmark, a separate graphic mark, or a combination of the two. Designing a logo isn’t about drawing a picture — it’s about finding a stable form that reads clearly on a signboard, an app icon and packaging alike. A separate topic is the trademark: a logo can be registered to secure legal rights; registration and assessment are handled by patent attorneys, while the design itself is prepared with extra contrast and variants in reserve.

It makes sense to order a logo when a new brand, a rebrand or a product needs a face of its own. The finished mark is delivered in vector format, in several sizes and versions (color, monochrome, for a dark background).

Logofolio — 70+ marks →

The logo answers “who is this”; brand identity answers “what does this look like on everything else” — from a business card to a website to packaging. When the rules are gathered into a document with examples and templates, you get a brand book — the team uses it to keep a consistent look without needing a designer for every layout. Developing a brand identity and brand book matters for companies that need to be recognizable: chains, manufacturers, a café or bakery, a hotel, a shop.

Brand Book Development →

Naming means coming up with a name for a company, product, promotion or event and testing it: how it sounds, whether it’s already taken, how it will sit with the logo and packaging. A slogan is a short phrase that carries the idea of the brand or of a specific campaign. These tasks often go hand in hand with the logo: the name and the mark are designed to work together.

Naming & Slogans →

It’s worth distinguishing between formats here. A landing page is a single page built for one task: introduce the product and collect a request. A multi-page website covers a catalog, services, a blog. An app (iOS or Android) is a separate product with its own screens and logic. In every case, the structure and prototype come first, then the screen designs, and only then the build. Responsive design is a must: the interface has to work equally well on a phone and on a large monitor.

UX/UI and Web Design →

Presentation design means structuring and laying out slides for a talk or for sending out — to investors, clients, partners. A marketing kit is a denser document about a product or company, with facts, case studies and an offer; its format and structure depend on who will see it and how. Annual reports and multi-page publications belong here too — anywhere a lot of information needs to be organized so it’s easy to read.

Presentations and More →

The most common types are business cards, brochures, leaflets and flyers, catalogs, menus and table tents for cafés and restaurants, folders, letterheads, postcards, posters. Every format has its own layout requirements: bleed for trimming, the color model for the print shop, legible sizes. That’s why print design is best prepared with the actual printing method in mind — that way there are no surprises with color or margins at the end.

Print and Printing →

Outdoor advertising works by different rules than a screen or a sheet of paper: the viewer has seconds and a long viewing distance. That’s why a banner, billboard or sign is built around a single message, bold typography and high contrast. Technical details matter too — the real dimensions of the medium and the file resolution for the specific printing. The same brand identity has to hold up confidently on both a business card and a billboard.

Outdoor Advertising →

Packaging design combines brand identity, print production and plain common sense about how a product is picked up. It has to read clearly on the shelf, hold up when printed on the actual material, and work as a line — when there are several varieties or flavors. Packaging is often designed together with the logo and naming: the name, the mark and the box or label design are worked out as a single whole.

Packaging and More →

If a company has grown and its materials look outdated or inconsistent, it’s worth starting with an audit: gathering the website, packaging, ads and documents together and finding the mismatches. Sometimes it’s enough to fix the typography, palette and templates. If the product, audience or positioning has changed, deeper work is needed.

What to prepare: the current materials, the reasons for the update, and a list of what’s important to keep. What to agree on: how deep the changes go, the key touchpoints, and the order of the rollout to the new style. That way the signage, the website and the presentation don’t end up as three different versions of the brand.

Brand Identity and Brand Book →

A cover, an avatar, cards, announcements and stories all solve different tasks. An avatar needs to read clearly at a small size, a card needs to hold attention on one idea, and a series of posts needs to add up to a recognizable system. A one-size-fits-all layout is rarely equally convenient across all platforms.

What to prepare: a list of platforms, content categories, sample texts and photos. What’s useful to get in the end: templates with examples of short and long headlines, rules for working with images, and editable files for the team.

Ongoing Design Support →

It’s a combination of image, headline, color and composition that can be developed into banners, posters, posts and event design. A brand identity lasts a long time, while a key visual is usually tied to a specific launch, season or offer.

It’s worth agreeing on the core message first, along with a few very different formats — for example, a horizontal banner and a vertical poster. Adaptations come after that. Simply shrinking the original layout is no substitute for composing it for the new size.

Advertising Materials →

The cover image introduces the product; the following images show specifications, dimensions, what’s included and usage scenarios. The design builds the order of arguments and keeps the captions readable on a phone. It doesn’t replace good-quality photos and accurate product information.

What to prepare: photos, confirmed specifications, the contents of the kit, and the requirements of the chosen platform. For a product line, a template is useful: the overall structure stays the same, while the model, color and parameters are easy to tell apart.

Card and Material Design →

The system includes directional signs, plaques, numbering, maps and pictograms. The work starts with routes and decision points: where a visitor needs a cue and from what distance they’ll see it. A beautiful sign isn’t enough if it’s placed after the turn a visitor needed to take.

What to prepare: a floor plan, a list of zones, photos and any placement constraints. What you need at the end: a layout scheme, artwork, and a specification of the signage. Materials, mounting and production are agreed with the manufacturer separately.

Wayfinding and Signage →

An illustration can show a process that’s hard to photograph. Icons help people quickly tell actions and categories apart. A character ties communication together if it has a clear role: explaining, guiding or representing the product.

To place an order you need usage scenarios, sizes and examples of the desired style. For an icon set, the grid, line weight and level of detail are agreed on; for a character, the poses, expressions and rules of use. It’s best to define the number of elements before work begins.

Illustration and Graphics →

It’s needed when it’s hard for a reader to spot the main point in a table, a long description or a sequence of steps. Bar charts often suit comparisons of quantities, a line chart suits change over time, and a diagram suits a process. The type of graphic is chosen based on the question the reader needs answered.

What to prepare: the source data, units of measurement, the period, and the source. It’s important that the layout keeps labels, scale and caveats intact: decorative styling shouldn’t distort the conclusion. For regularly updated data, it’s worth ordering an editable template.

Infographics and Presentations →

1. Task and audience. What you’re launching, who will see it, and what action the person should take.
2. Scope of work. The list of materials, the number of pages or screens, sizes, and language versions.
3. Content. Texts, photos, data, the logo, and the current brand identity guidelines.
4. References. A few examples with explanations: what works and why.
5. Timeline and budget. The launch date, interim approvals, and the available budget range.
6. Sign-off. Who makes the decision, how many rounds of discussion are needed, and which files will be needed at the end.

Example task: “We’re opening a neighborhood bakery. We need a logo, a sign, a menu and stickers for bags. The audience is local residents. We already have the texts and the sign dimensions; we’re planning to launch in two months.”

• Completeness: all the agreed materials, sizes, pages and versions.
• Content: names, contacts, prices, captions, and whether the data is up to date.
• Application: legibility at actual size, background variants, mobile screens, or a test print.
• Files: exports for the required platforms and production, plus the agreed editable source files.
• Handover: clear file names, instructions for the templates, and a list of the fonts and images used, with their licensing terms.

For a website, clarify separately what’s included in the work: screen design, development, content population and launch are separate stages. For printed materials, clarify whether preparing files to the chosen print shop’s requirements and production support are included.