How Founders Should Brief and Review a Brand Project
For startup founders needing a brand · Based on Will Paterson Brand Identity Deep Dive Method
// TL;DR
If you're a startup founder commissioning a brand identity, understanding the Will Paterson Brand Identity Deep Dive Method helps you brief your designer well and review work at the right moments. You'll provide clear inputs — brand name, keywords or feelings, and audience context — sign off on a mood board before logo work begins, review two to three distinct directions instead of a single option, and expect logos validated across real social formats. Use this knowledge to give sharp feedback, avoid derailing the process, and receive clean, usable assets exported to formats your team actually works in, like Canva.
What should you give your designer before they start?
Give your designer three things clearly: your brand name, the keywords or feelings you want to evoke (like playful, monolithic, or vibrant), and your industry and audience context. If you can, add how your team will use the assets — Canva, PDF guidelines, social templates — and any existing references or competitor logos you like. A sharp brief on these inputs is what lets a designer move fast and hit the right emotional territory instead of guessing.
Why is the mood board the most important review moment?
The mood board is your alignment checkpoint, not a decorative step. When your designer presents references, a named color palette, and archetypical keywords, this is your chance to confirm the visual direction before any logo is designed. The rule your designer follows: if you're visually aligned on the mood board, you're visually aligned on the project. Take this review seriously — approving a mood board you don't actually love guarantees a logo you won't love either.
How should you react to messy or unfinished-looking early work?
Don't panic if you glimpse rough sketches or awful-looking early concepts — that's the process working. In this method, bad-looking early work is evidence the designer is genuinely exploring rather than playing it safe. The messy ideation phase is for the designer's self-proof, not for your review. Resist the urge to demand early peeks; instead, wait for the structured presentation where directions are neatened and organized for you.
How should you review the logo presentation?
Expect two to three distinct directions — not minor variations of one idea. This is deliberate: it gives you genuine choice and shows the breadth of the designer's thinking. In this first presentation, your job is to identify which direction to develop, not to lock a final logo. Give directional feedback — what resonates, what feels off relative to your keywords — rather than nitpicking details on a concept that's still exploratory.
What should you expect at handover?
Expect your logo to have been validated across real formats — Instagram story, square post, splash background, presentation slide — before it was finalized. A logo that fails in these contexts isn't finished. At handover you should receive a brand guidelines PDF (clear space rules, color values, typography, logo variations, do/don't examples) plus assets in the formats your team uses: JPEG, PNG, SVG, PDF, or a direct export into your Canva workspace. Before closing, confirm you can locate, open, and use every file.
Understanding this process makes you a better client: you'll give feedback at the right moments, trust the messy middle, and end up with a brand your team can actually run with.
Next step: Before your next kickoff call, write down your brand name, three to five keywords or feelings, and your audience context — then ask your designer to present a mood board for sign-off before any logo work begins.
// FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What's the most important thing I can do as a founder in a brand project?
Take the mood board sign-off seriously. It's the alignment checkpoint that determines whether you'll love the final logo. If you approve a mood board you're lukewarm about, you'll get a logo you're lukewarm about. Give honest, specific feedback on the visual direction here — it's the highest-leverage moment in the entire process.
Why did my designer only show rough sketches at first?
Because messy early work is part of the method — it means they're genuinely exploring rather than playing it safe. The sketching and artboard ideation phase is for the designer's self-proof, not your review. Wait for the structured presentation, where two to three neatened, distinct directions are organized for you to give directional feedback on.
Can I get my brand assets in Canva for my team to use?
Yes. If your team uses Canva for ongoing social media, tell your designer during the brief. The method supports exporting final assets directly to your Canva workspace so your team can access them, alongside the brand guidelines PDF and standard formats like JPEG, PNG, and SVG. Confirm everyone can locate and use the files before closing the project.