Looking at Logos: Let's Discuss the Design Process
In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, meet Alyssa and Serena, two members of Barn2Door's design team. They'll break down the logo design process, explain the importance of logos for your farm's brand, and share tips and insight on what makes a logo look great.
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Rory Loughran: Welcome to the Direct Farm Podcast. I'm Rory, your host for today's episode. We've got a great conversation for you today with two members of our Barn2Door design team, Alyssa, our design team lead and Serena, our senior designer. Welcome Alyssa and Serena. To start out, Alyssa, could you maybe tell us a little bit about your role at Barn2Door and how you work with farmers?
Alyssa Pascual: Hi Rory, thanks for having me. As a design lead, it's my job to help hire, train and manage the team. I also make sure our processes are running smoothly and I'm constantly thinking of ways that our team can improve.
I do believe in constant learning and I just love [00:01:00] seeing over time how our team has evolved. I also get to take part in the same work as the rest of the team. So the whole goal of the team is to serve our farmers by helping them create or further develop their online presence and brand. The main thing that we do is create websites for our farmers, but since the beginning of 2022, we've started offering add-ons such as marketing toolkits and farm logos as well.
So as the Barn2Door team has grown over time and as we continue to grow over time, I just look forward to seeing what else we can offer our farmers.
Rory Loughran: Yeah, and we're going to get into a bunch of those things here in just a second, but Alyssa, you've been with Barn2Door for a pretty long time now. How long have you been here and, and how have you seen that change kind of take place?
Alyssa Pascual: I've been at Barn2Door for about three years now, I've seen a lot of changes take place over the time that I've been here. We've done a lot of process changes just to make sure that we are implementing an efficient process, that our farmers can get a website up and live in a timely manner.
And also just trying to make [00:02:00] sure that we're telling their stories appropriately and that we understand that farmers work in a certain way and there's a lot of different types of farms.
Rory Loughran: Awesome. We also have Serena here with us today and a senior designer here at Barn2Door. Haven't been here for as long as Alyssa, but could you maybe tell us a little bit about how long you've been with Barn2Door and what your role is on the team?
Serena Toney: Of course. Yeah. So I have been here for a little over two years and same with what Alyssa was saying, even in a shorter amount of time, I've seen the team just become more efficient and just be able to help farmers even more than we, when we first started. But as a senior designer, I do get the pleasure of being able to help interview and train new design members and also have an opportunity to help hash out those due processes that Alyssa was mentioning like the toolkit and the farm logo add-ons, but I think the best part of the job definitely is getting to work with the farmers directly through creating those websites, and designing logos.
It's just a great way to just have amazing [00:03:00] conversations with so many great people across the country. And it is really fulfilling knowing that I get to use my passion for design to help farmers with what they're passionate about.
Rory Loughran: You kinda mentioned there that you've kind of added some things to your, to your team's plate in the last year in the form of, of some of these new assets.
So, yeah. As you mentioned, in addition to websites, we're now doing logos for farms, which is so cool. Done by you guy's team. Why was this design add on something that you guys wanted to offer farmers?
Serena Toney: Yeah. So through kind of the process of the websites and everything, we've seen a lot of situations where farms either, just don't have logo or they do, and they actually just don't like it. I've seen, I've heard farms tell me like, I don't actually like our logo, but it's what we have.
And we've had a farmers ask, do you design logos and in the past we've had to of course say no, and we've recommended other services through other businesses. But now I think it's really great that when a farmer asks that question, we can actually say yes, and that we can actually design it for them. I think it's really definitely beneficial to have us, design [00:04:00] that for them, because again, with that website process, we have that experience working with farmers, and we've also seen just hundreds and hundreds of farm logos.
So we definitely know best practices and design in general, but also we have that knowledge of just farm specific design, which I think is a pretty kind of niche type of knowledge I think a lot of designers out there don't really understand.
Rory Loughran: Yeah, definitely. You're experts in your field. Where do you typically see farms kind of falling in there, the ones that are looking and needing a new logo?
Serena Toney: Yeah, so I think most recently I've been working with a lot of newer farms that are kinda just starting up the process, I've even had farms were like were planting like next week. So we know it can start very early in the process. So just farmers who are wanting to begin building out their brand.
But then, you know, we've also seen other farms who, maybe have been around for many years, but maybe got their logo design like 30 years ago and just want it to go to, you know, get it [00:05:00] refreshed a little bit, a alittle bit more modernized. Uh, So it's kind of a mix here, but either way, you know, we're here to help anybody no matter where they are in the process of their business.
Rory Loughran: Yeah. So then kind of maybe taking a step back here, what is kind of the purpose that a logo serves and why should that be something that's important to farmers?
Alyssa Pascual: Logos are essential to a brand because they help build recognition and create a visual identity. When you think of Nike, for example, the first thing that probably comes to your mind is the Nike swoosh. For farmers, their logo is a representation of who they are and what they do.
Rory Loughran: Yeah, that's so cool. And I love that you brought up Nike, cause that's just like such a go-to in terms of such an iconic brand. And I think a lot of times at Barn2Door, we're talking about branding, we talk about all the other things and I've even heard us say in some of our webinars and things like farm brand is more than your logo.
But logo is the first thing that typically comes to mind when you start to think of brands. So what is the role that a farm logo plays in brand? Why is that so important?
Alyssa Pascual: The logo of a brand is used everywhere, [00:06:00] so from your social channels, your website, all your marketing materials and your merchandise, there's a lot that farmers can do with their logo.
Logos play an essential role in the overall brand, but we're also trying to match those fonts and colors to other aspects of their business as well. Like on their website, we're going to want to use all the colors we're using in that logo throughout their website and really create something that's cohesive.
Serena Toney: I think it really helps with like consistency across all platforms. So digitally, of course you got your social media channels, you got your website. But I think it also helps create a bit more of a connection with the actual analog part of the business. So like maybe your print marketing materials, business cards, packaging, merchandise like t-shirts and hats and things. So I think it really just kind of connects everything together. Just makes everything cohesive.
Rory Loughran: I think that is something that we talk about as being consistent on all your channels and having a logo to be like your guide for all those colors, all the fonts to be the same across everything is really helpful. Really great. When you're building these [00:07:00] logos for farms, what are the types of ideals or maybe messaging that farmers are trying to portray with their logo, and how do you translate that into a design?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah, this can really vary from farm to farm. But we're always trying to make sure that our logos represent who they are and what they do. Having that be focused on the products they offer or the practices that they value, or maybe they have like a rich farm history they want to showcase um, creating logos is creating a visual identity.
So some farmers already know exactly what they want their logo to look like, but others need some help with finding what that identity might be. So we're here to help guide them.
Rory Loughran: That's really cool and such a great point. Cause I know there's, there's always a different focus for every farm. You know, Some are generational family farms and they really want that to be evident in their logos, and others are maybe a regenerative farm and they want their practices to be evident through the imagery in their logo. So that's really cool that you guys are able to hone in on those specific aspects and then make it appear visually. That's awesome.
So let's get into the [00:08:00] process for this. If I'm a farmer, walk me through the logo design process from start to finish. What does that look like for me as a farmer?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah. So if you were a farmer, once you've purchased a logo, we're notified and we send over an email, which will include a logo intake form.
This is a great way for you to provide us with information such as fonts, colors, and what you want the main focus of the logo to be. For example, a cow for a beef ranch, or an apple for an orchard. The form also gives you the opportunity to provide us with references of your animals or your land or other logos that you might find inspiring.
During the actual logo review call with the farmer, the designers will present each of the three different logo versions. We'll discuss some thoughts behind each of the designs, and we want to really just get your initial reactions and feedback. Then after the meeting, you'll be receiving an email with a PDF of the presentation with all the different logos in there. So you'll be able to go back over it um, [00:09:00] see, you know, what you liked and didn't like, and maybe discuss it with other people that couldn't be on the call.
There will also be a logo feedback form where the farmers will then be able to let us know which version they would like to go with and then any changes they want to see made to that version, typically takes about a week for people to get feedback back to us, and then a week for us to make the changes and give them all the final versions.
Rory Loughran: Wow. That's so awesome. I mean, beginning to end, how long that process is about three, four weeks?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah. It's typically around four weeks. We just want our farmers to be able to fill out that intake form and then have the designers have that time to be able to make it look as good as they can for them. So it's typically two weeks to get really started and get to that meeting, and then two weeks to get the final.
Rory Loughran: Yeah. I really liked that step of having a farmer submit some of their own, the logos that they like too, because I'm sure that's super helpful for your team to be able to have something to go off of, but also then just as [00:10:00] the farmer, as the person that's paying for this like, ah, kind of like elements of this, I kind of like elements of this. Let's throw them all together and see what happens.
That's really awesome, and just how often you guys are critiquing each other's work, getting feedback from the farmer. It's a really cool process that you guys have put together there.
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah. We never want to copy another logo design or anything like that. When people send over their inspiration, it's just nice to be able to know, what are they interested in, and it shows us a lot more of their style than they might think.
Rory Loughran: Yeah, definitely. Well, So I'm sure there's some challenges in this process. What are some of the kind of main roadblocks that you guys can run into throughout that process, and how do you work through those?
Serena Toney: So I think one of the challenges that we face is not having enough information at the very beginning in that intake form, kind of mentioned it before about how important that step is since that's the step that really gives us the information of what the farmer's thinking about and what they're wanting for the design.
So if we don't have enough [00:11:00] information to begin with, it's really hard for us to create something that's personalized and unique and it can make the process just a little bit more difficult to get from start to end. We've obviously done that before, I've had some really great conversations in the actual logo review, so I know sometimes talking about it is a little bit easier than typing it out.
So I totally understand that. But just, you know, trying your best to be as specific as you can in that intake form, providing those references for us, is really great because it just makes it a little easier for us to know what you're thinking and know what you're wanting.
But of course that's why we have that meeting to be able to discuss any other thoughts that come to your head. Cause I know as soon as you see the design, all these other thoughts are going to come in and so, don't be shy to, to let us know what you're thinking.
Rory Loughran: Alyssa, what would kind of be your thoughts on that?
Alyssa Pascual: One of the main challenges we face is sometimes people have a lot of aspects about the farm that are important to them, and they want to fit all of that into one logo. This can be really difficult and it typically will stray away from what we see as best practices.
So we [00:12:00] try to accommodate what we can fit and still have the logo look very clean and professional, but sometimes it does take some convincing to maybe drop one aspect or another.
Rory Loughran: This is a very personal and like near and dear thing to a lot of people's hearts. Outside of farmers too, I mean, any business, it's like another child for someone, and so you're putting a face on that. You're choosing the colors that will be used in all their marketing materials and on their packaging. So it's a really important thing, and then for farmers, they almost take it a step further because these are the values and the practices that they use to, to raise animals or produce food for people. So what is kind of your approach to something that is so personal and important for farmers?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah, we do really try to take into account the visual identity the farmers are trying to get across. That's why it's really important for us to create three versions of the logo for their review. So then we can get a clearer idea of what direction they're wanting to go in. The initial intake form also asks a lot of questions so that lets us know what is important to [00:13:00] them. So as long as people are answering those questions to the best of their ability, our team's able to create a design that will reflect their farm well. Another thing to mention is that while reviewing the three designs in the lower review call with the designer, it's really important that farmers are honest with us in what they like, or don't like. That way, we'll know how to make them happy with the final logo products. It just takes a bit more of an honest critique.
Serena Toney: So that's why we, we do think it's really important to create like three different designs. We want these logos to really feel like it's them. We don't want it to be just like any other farm logo out there, we want them to feel really connected to it. Um, So that's why, again, with that intake form, we ask so many questions so that we can really understand what they do, what they're about.
Cause I mean, a lot of times there's maybe certain practices that we aren't the most familiar with. you know, We all will only get to talk to you for a bit. So just obviously it's hard to explain what you do every single day and why you do it. I get it. There's the challenge there, but [00:14:00] just, now we really want to understand who you are and what you do, uh, so that we can really create something personal for you, and that you're proud of as well. Because you want to be proud of what you're, what you're sharing and you're proud of your products, so we definitely want you to be proud of your brand as well.
Rory Loughran: Proud enough to put that thing everywhere.
Serena Toney: Exactly.
Rory Loughran: So once a farmer has a logo from Barn2Door, they're free to use that and however they want?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah. They're free to use their new farm logo wherever, and whenever they want. They get to keep it forever.
Rory Loughran: Yeah, that's awesome. What are some of the first places you see farmers using these new logos once they get them from you?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah, it kind of depends on where the farmers are out with the process with Barn2Door. If they've already had a website built, the first thing we do is update their website with the new logo and updated fonts and colors.
Our team also gets to work, updating their MailChimp template and putting their new logo in their farm store. As for our farmers, the first place we see them adding their logos, is on their social channels. But if a farmer hasn't had a website built with us, the logo we create for them will be a key factor in the design [00:15:00] decisions we make when we do get to the website process.
Serena Toney: I think the first thing that we see them using it, is on their Facebook, their Instagram, their Twitter, all the social medias, since, you know, a lot of times that's where they're connecting with their customers.
So we really want to, right away, start sharing that brand everywhere so that people can start recognizing it wherever they're at, like at farmer's markets or something like that. If they follow them on Facebook, they're walking down the farmer's market and they see their sign up. They're like, oh, I follow them on Facebook.
But then of course you can, like I was saying before, you can use it or wherever you'd like, have fun with it and do what you want.
Rory Loughran: What is your favorite part about this whole process and specifically working with farmers as you go through this process?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah, I'd say creating logos is super fun because you really get to see the branding come together. But I actually love when I get to create their logo and also get to create their website because I get to see how the fonts and the color scheme all come together, and I just love seeing their faces when they envision it all as one thing.
Serena Toney: Yeah, it's a lot, it's a lot more personal. I mean, the website, of course, we [00:16:00] want to communicate who you are and what you did with the logo. It's, you know, really, in a small little space, visualizing who you are and I think it's a really fantastic being able to see the brand from starting at the farmer's idea to finishing out the actual final design. Because, like I've been saying before, ultimately you want the farmer to be proud of what they're sharing, be really connected to what we've created for them, and so I think it's really beneficial to treat this process more of a conversation than just us presenting to you.
So I think with that, it really helps create just a really great personalized design for our farmers.
Rory Loughran: As a designer at Barn2Door, what are some of your biggest pet peeves when it comes to logo designs? What are some of the things people should avoid and just not touch with a 10 foot pole?
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah. One of our biggest pet peeves is when someone requests, we use an image in the logo. This is not best practice, because you're really limiting yourself where that logo can be used. Logos need to be adaptable. It needs to be able to work in many sizes, colors, and on many [00:17:00] mediums. We want our farmers to be able to use their logo on their website, social channels, and store.
But also as we mentioned, be able to use it in other areas of their business, like their merchandise. We've also seen farmers actually use logos and get them carved or burned into cutting boards, and some people have been used those to take their product photos.
Rory Loughran: That's so cool. That is awesome. I didn't even think about that, and then you could even offer those as an item in your store, which is really cool. I'm sure people would be eager to get those.
Alyssa Pascual: Yeah.
Rory Loughran: On the flip side of this, What would you say is the key to a good farm logo?
Alyssa Pascual: I'd say the key to a good farm logo is not being too overly complex. It needs to be clean and be able to be made really big or really small and still be recognizable as your brand. The logo needs to be distinctive, practical, and convey the owner's intended message. So the ultimate goal for the logo is to be memorable and stick in the minds of the farmer's customers.
Rory Loughran: That's really interesting. Serena what would kind of be your thought process on that?
Serena Toney: So adding onto that, I [00:18:00] think, I think it's really great to use that opportunity to represent your farm and your business visually in your logo. There's always that option of keeping it really simple. It's just having your farm name in a really cool font or, maybe customize something a little bit there.
Um, but I think you even add in like a little icon of like, your cow, your apple, or a little basket of produce, I think can add a little bit of personality to it. Again, make it unique to you because we want this logo to look like you, and we want people to associate your logo with your business.
Rory Loughran: Yeah. Awesome. How do you do that? How do you capture that in your work, on these logos for farmers?
Alyssa Pascual: We do that by making sure that we're following all the best practices. If a farmer asks for something that is not a best practice, we do our best to explain why. Sometimes that does take us creating one of the versions the way the farmer asked, so they can see for themselves the issues that will come with it.
Then we create the other two versions with elements of what the farmer was [00:19:00] asking for and show them the benefits of having a logo that is following all the right ingredients that make up the recipe of a good logo. We also know that some people are more visual than others. So showing them, instead of telling them, tends to be better. This way, we can have more of a conversation and our farmers are able to ask us any questions they might have on why we made certain design decisions.
Rory Loughran: That's great, and it's really cool that you guys team can provide that to farmers.
I want to extend my thanks to Alyssa and Serena for joining us on this week's podcast episode here at Barn2Door we're humbled to support thousands of farms across the country who implement sustainable agricultural practices and support their local communities. To learn more about Barn2Door, including access to numerous free resources and best practices for your farm. Go to barndoor.com/resources. Thank you for tuning in and we'll see you next week.
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