Want a Great Design? Don’t Say Cool.

Let’s say I’m designing a logo for Susie Q. I ask Susie Q what she wants the logo to say about her company. Susie Q gives me four descriptive words she would like the logo to represent. They are as follows: cool, hip, unique and elegant. I breathe a deep sigh (and sometimes an eye roll) at the mention of these words, as I quickly try to steer her mind away from her current thought process.

What’s the problem with these words, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. These four words mean nothing to me. Why, you ask? Because what is cool and unique to me, may or may not be cool and unique to you. What I believe is clean and elegant is probably not your version of clean and elegant. My mind does not necessarily go where your mind will. The thing is, most people know this! But what is the first thing they say to me? “I want a cool/ hip/ unique logo.” Or, “I want an elegant/cool business card.” And there is always my favorite, “I want a logo/stationary/ad/poster that stands apart.” Guess what? Everybody wants their stuff to stand apart from the bunch. And you are not going to get very far in achieving this by using these vague terms.

Lucky for you, there are much better approaches you can take when describing to a designer what you want, and I’m going to tell you what they are. Instead of using generalized words, it’s better to find examples of things you like. Think of colors, shapes and fonts you gravitate toward, so you can have a concrete idea of what you are looking for. Do you like bold or thin fonts? Dark or light colors? Do you like a lot of clean white space? What is the first thing you want the viewer to see? What sort of things stand out to you?

Supplying your designer with as much detail as possible on what you like and what you’d like to see improves the odds that you’ll be ecstatic with the end product. It is also the best way to avoid heavy sighs and eye rolls…just in case you’re not a big fan of that.

Allison Hurd