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The Farm Logo Design Experience with Barn2Door
615 Plays1 year ago
Designers at Barn2Door, Alyssa and Serena, discuss the Farm Logo design process. From shape to color, each element of your logo can communicate your Brand to Buyers.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Direct Farm Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast, the go-to resource for farms across the US looking to grow and manage their business. Tune in weekly to hear tips and tactics from our most successful farmers on how to increase sales, access more customers, and save time and money. We'll also speak with industry experts, business leaders, and partners to share the latest farm business trends selling direct to market.
00:00:27
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm Podcast.
Meet the Design Team: Alyssa and Serena
00:00:29
Speaker
I'm James, the Chief Operating Officer at Barnadore, and your host for today's episode. As many of our listeners may be aware, Barnadore offers an all-in-one business solution for farmers selling direct, online, and in person. Today, we've got a great conversation for you with Alyssa and Serena, who are members of Barnadore's professional design team.
00:00:49
Speaker
Both have been with the company for several years and each has literally designed more than a thousand farm websites. Pretty amazing.
Design Beginnings and Farm Branding
00:00:58
Speaker
Today we're going to be discussing farm logos and how they got their start in design and what it's like working with farmers to build their brand. Welcome Alyssa and Serena. How are you doing today? Doing great. Thank you for having us. Definitely excited to get started. I've had so much fun working with both of you over the years and I'm really excited to dive in today.
00:01:18
Speaker
Why don't we start with a little bit of a background for people who may not know you.
Alyssa's Journey in Graphic Design
00:01:22
Speaker
Maybe you can both start telling us about how you get started in graphic design altogether. So my name is Alyssa. I'm the lead designer here at Barn to Door on the success team. I've always really been into art since I was a kid. When I got into high school, I was actually the editor in chief for my yearbook for two years. So during that experience is when I learned how much I love doing layout design and working on my computer.
00:01:45
Speaker
So I decided that was something I wanted to pursue a little bit more. I chose to go to Seattle Pacific University to study visual communication. What I really liked about that specific degree was that it focused on a variety of design areas that could give me experience and help me decide what area of design I really wanted to go into as a career. So I actually graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a bachelor's in visual communication and credits for minors in illustration and digital media.
00:02:14
Speaker
And you are talented in all those areas, Alyssa, I know. Thank you. It's fun to see your creativity.
Serena's Design Background
00:02:20
Speaker
How about you, Serena? How did you get your start in graphic design? Yeah, so I also knew that I wanted to pursue design when I got to high school because I did a lot of design work for the athletic department. So a lot of posters that were put up throughout businesses and local area and throughout the school as well. But I got a degree
00:02:39
Speaker
in communication design with an emphasis in visual design from Cal State Monterey Bay. And then I also got a minor in marketing as well. And it was really fascinating learning about the relationship between design and marketing and how much they really do work together. Let's talk a little bit about Barn to Door. Both of you guys have been here for several years now. It's just really been fun to watch your careers evolve and grow. Alyssa, how did you get your start? Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about your journey?
00:03:06
Speaker
Yeah, so I began with Barnadore in the spring of 2019.
Alyssa's Career Progression
00:03:10
Speaker
It was my last year of college and I worked in Barnadore as a design intern.
00:03:15
Speaker
Then when I graduated, I moved to being a full-time designer. And then over the years, I've grown in the company. So now I'm the design lead on the success team. My responsibilities have definitely changed and grown over the years. So while I still work as a designer on the team, I also focus on process updates, efficiencies, interviewing and training new team members, and then managing the team as a whole as we work with websites, logos, and the marketing toolkit.
00:03:40
Speaker
And you are very good at all those things, Alyssa. In addition to being a great designer, you're a very good manager too. It's been really fun to see you grow professionally. Serena, why don't you share a little bit about your experience and how you arrived at Barned Adore.
Serena's Growth in Design Role
00:03:54
Speaker
Yeah. So I also started as an intern, but I started in the summer of 2020. I believe I was one of the first virtual cohorts joined in Barn to door. So it was definitely very interesting start with being all remote, but definitely real excited that I get to see everybody in person now. But I was also still in school when I did start, but when I did graduate, I became full-time designer and then have since grown to a senior designer on the team.
00:04:18
Speaker
but I of course get to help with all of the amazing design services that we offer. It's really great that I also get to be part of updating and tweaking our processes, new and current, and then also get to help with interviewing and training new designers as well.
00:04:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's fun just to see how much creativity you guys bring to the table and with the rest of the team. And particularly being able to bounce ideas and thoughts off of each other and help each other and help the whole team get better. Now, I remember initially we started with websites. That was kind of the big starting point for the design services offered by Barn to Door. But obviously we've evolved to a marketing toolkit and now to logos, right? So what did farmers do before we started with logos, anyhow?
Challenges with Farm Logos Pre-Barn to Door
00:05:00
Speaker
So before we started with offering logos over the years, we actually noticed that a lot of farmers didn't have a logo. So in these cases, we'd have to kind of come up with a temporary brand for them in terms of like colors and fonts that we'd use on their website. But it was something that farmers weren't really sticking to across all of their channels, like their social media or marketing pieces. So there's definitely room for opportunity and just cleaner branding in that sense.
00:05:30
Speaker
So there were also other farms that did have logos, but they were limited in the way that we could use them. Either we didn't have the correct files to use. So we had to tweak them ourselves, like removing backgrounds or even turning it into a solid color. But then there were also some logos that just the resolution was a little too low. So they couldn't actually be clearly seen on the website. I think one of the things that we noticed the most is that a lot of the designs we were getting.
00:05:55
Speaker
from farmers were a little too complex to be used in a variety of ways so not only was it again limited on the website on how we could use it but it also could limit the farmer on being able to use it on other platforms as well and a lot of these farms did go with alternative logo options and design options and because of that they again weren't given the proper files
00:06:19
Speaker
So they could use them all across channels, but they also might have worked with designers that didn't keep in mind best practices and also didn't have the experience with working with farmers specifically as well.
Farmers' Logo Dissatisfaction and Branding Issues
00:06:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think in your guys' tenure, again, having worked with literally thousands of farms, each of you individually, as a team collectively, several thousands of farms, it's amazing what we've seen, right? Like you said, people have come to the table with all kinds of different assets or non-assets or partial assets and lots of things, maybe a son or daughter, maybe even designed when they're in middle school or high school.
00:06:57
Speaker
Good starting point, but not necessarily what you wanted to go invest in terms of building your brand and raising and elevating your farm brand as you look to grow your business. So before Barn to Door got into this market, were farmers very satisfied with the logos that they had from other alternative providers? So in a lot of these cases, the farmers weren't really happy with the logo that they had or they knew they needed to get a logo, but they weren't quite sure who to turn to for that.
00:07:25
Speaker
So that's why we were so excited to debut custom design farm logos because we have the unique experience and the education to understand what the farms need and also to understand best practices when it comes to design.
00:07:38
Speaker
Well said, Alyssa. I couldn't agree more. You know, it's amazing to think about how important it is to take a very careful and thoughtful approach when designing a logo for a farmer, right? I mean, their products are so unique and so different. There's a big difference between a dairy cow and a steer that you're going to eat, right? A very different look and feel to that animal specifically. So let's dive into this a little bit more because obviously designing farm logos is something you guys are very passionate about. Obviously something that we're having quite a bit of success with.
00:08:06
Speaker
Let's help our listeners better understand the whole process that goes into that.
Uncovering Farmer Preferences for Logos
00:08:10
Speaker
So when you guys get started, I imagine there's certain preferences that a farmer may have. How do you uncover those preferences of a farmer when you get started?
00:08:19
Speaker
Yeah. So we definitely want to make sure that the farmer feels involved with the outcome of their logo. So part of this happens by the designer understanding the look in the field the farmer's going for. We figure this out by including some examples in our logo intake form that shows different logo shapes and types that they can choose from. These include emblem types, which could be circular or more of like a signage type shape. We also have pictorial marks, which are kind of like icons.
00:08:45
Speaker
And you have lettermarks or brands, which are often the initials of the farm. And then we also have wordplay, which typically is the farm name with a design element included as part of the word or in place of a letter in the word.
00:08:58
Speaker
So once we do know the top two favorite logo types that they're looking for, we then also ask them about the style they're looking for, which we typically like to ask them if they want to go for more of an organic, modern, premium, rustic, or playful style. There is of course opportunity to add in any additional style ideas in the form as well. But just even understanding these two pieces gives us a really good start.
00:09:23
Speaker
So after considering these first two elements and deciding on some ideas, you then are going to kind of go into choosing what font you are wanting to use. And we always want to make sure that this does complement the style and the shape of the logo. But you also really want to make sure that it's easy to read because you're not only going to be using the font within the logo, but you're also going to be using the font in
00:09:46
Speaker
other marketing materials as well. So you're actually going to be choosing two fonts most of the time. So they have the primary font or the header font, which is usually for a larger text, for example, on your website for the headers. And this can be a little bit more decorative if you would like it to be, but we still really want to again make sure that it's versatile and easy for people to read.
00:10:09
Speaker
But then you also will be choosing a body font as well, which is something that you'll use for smaller text and longer text as well. So this would be like paragraphs on the website, for example, or if you want to include a tagline or your location within the logo so that it's a little bit smaller, but still again, really easy to read.
00:10:29
Speaker
So if I'm going to replay what I just heard from you, the shape and the logo type is very important, right? I love the idea of a emblem signage. I've seen some of the examples you guys have done and they look great. And then second one is kind of stylistically. I love this kind of notion of for myself, I'd like to something look a little bit more modern or a little bit more rustic as well.
00:10:51
Speaker
And then the third one was the font, right? So those three are the starting points. So those are obviously really important to get the farmer's feedback because those really can reflect what the farmer really feels about their farm, like in terms of what the brand they want to portray. But what other design considerations do you ask or do you dive into as well before you actually start the creative process once you've got these initial preferences?
Significance of Color Choices in Branding
00:11:15
Speaker
So another element we want to understand is the colors they would like to incorporate. We asked that the farmers let us know two to three colors that they want to embody their farm brand. In the logo intake form, we actually also include a color wheel so they can see not only all the colors, but also color styles like neutral, cool, warm, natural, or vibrant. These also make a big difference in the design and style of the brand.
00:11:40
Speaker
So you can also typically think of a color palette being about five colors that include your lightest color, your light color, primary color, dark color, and darkest color. These will allow you to play with different pairings of the colors and create a good amount of contrast as well, but not all of these colors are actually gonna be on the logo. They will be incorporated with the website and with other elements of the brand, but we wanna make sure that the logo itself isn't
00:12:08
Speaker
two colorful, you want to stick to those two to three, and then use those other colors for other pieces of the brand. And then of course we'll give you all the color versions in one solid color when you're getting all the final assets as well. And then so after taking into account all of these different design aspects, you really want to keep in mind where you're actually going to be using the logo itself.
00:12:33
Speaker
So you want to make sure that the logo can be used in a large space. So for example, on a big banner at the farmers market or on a delivery truck. But then you also want to make sure that it can be used in on a small space as well. So say like on a pen or on a hat.
00:12:47
Speaker
so that it can be easily seen really big and easily seen really small as well. But as Melissa mentioned with wanting to keep it simple so that it can be changed to one solid color, that is really important because it does make it more versatile of where you can actually use the logo itself. So for example, you'd be able to turn your logo to all white, so you'd be able to put it on top of images or even on a dark colored t-shirt for merchandise.
00:13:12
Speaker
But then there's kind of other variables that you take into account, depending on the design. So maybe you have a design that would have to have a horizontal layout and a vertical layout so that you can again use it in any space. Or there may be elements within the design, such as like a icon, a pictorial mark, a letter mark.
00:13:30
Speaker
that can actually be used by itself as well along with the full logo. So again there are like a lot of considerations when it comes to the variations of the logo, but really all in all you just want to make sure that the logo is simple enough so that it is really versatile so you don't run into any blockers while you're using it out in the real world.
00:13:49
Speaker
What about any special imagery for my farm that might be unique to my home? Let's say if I have a very pretty oak tree that's the center point of my farm or an old barn or an old weather vane, does that come up as well at times when people are thinking about what they want to reflect the brand of their farm as well? That definitely also comes up, but we also have to be a little bit careful because some people have a lot of different animals on the property and they may
00:14:19
Speaker
want to include all of the animals in the logo, but that isn't necessarily best practice. So we do recommend that people find the element that is most unique to them. That is really the highlight of the business and that they go with that for the logo to make sure it stays within that simplicity and not too complex or anything. If they do have a lot of different types of animals, maybe it would be better to go with a lettermark type of logo.
00:14:46
Speaker
since that's more of the initials of the brand and can be used in any type of packaging, no matter the animal.
00:14:53
Speaker
Well, it's very clear that you guys are professionals at what you do. And it's fantastic to see again, the expertise and the knowledge you guys bring to the table when thinking about and creating a beautiful farm logo. Talk to me a little bit about the farmer's story. Like how important is the farmer's story, their history, their practices, or their mission when they are trying to develop or thinking about a logo that's gonna reflect their why behind their farming business.
00:15:23
Speaker
It is definitely really important for us to understand these aspects. Alyssa, of course, and I really enjoy learning about all of these different farms as well, but helping us understand why and how a farmer got started really can influence the logo design itself. Since the logo is like the first impression of a farm brand, it really needs to embody and reflect who they are. So a quick example that I have is I've designed a few veteran owned farm logos.
00:15:52
Speaker
Um, so for one of them, uh, we had an Eagle as that main icon, and then we did utilize, um, the colors red, white, and blue. Um, and then another one as well was actually a farmer who was an army veteran. And so they wanted more of a rough style, but also wanted to utilize the greens and browns of the army. And so taking to account their history and their story can again, really affect the design itself. Cause we of course want to embody who they are. Consider these again, that first impression for their customers. Yeah.
00:16:21
Speaker
And then taking into consideration the practices side, we definitely have some examples for that as well. I've done some logos for aquaponic and hydroponic farms and these designs often use different shades of blues and greens and then typically have a more modern and fresh look to them. And then you have livestock farms who their breed is really important because if you have one farm that has black Angus cattle and one farm that has Texas Longhorns, it's going to be a very different look for the design.
00:16:49
Speaker
This is epic. I think our farmers who get to work with you guys are so lucky because they get somebody who is so knowledgeable and cares so deeply about their business and making sure, like you said, that this logo truly embodies the brand and values that the farmer wants to portray. What should a farmer expect when working with you? I know how nice and wonderful you guys are and the rest of your team, but what does the process look like?
00:17:15
Speaker
Yeah, so to start off, we sort of mentioned the logo intake form a little bit throughout this podcast.
00:17:22
Speaker
but to be specific, once you have bought your logo, you'll get that logo intake form and be able to fill out your preferences for your logo type, style, colors, and fonts. And then we'll also ask you to send us some images of logos that you like so we can have a good idea of other types of styles that you like, and then send a few reference photos of any imagery that you're interested in so that we can know exactly what breeds are on your farm. Once they have submitted their intake form,
00:17:51
Speaker
We do send them an email to schedule a logo review call for two weeks out. And we do ask for these two weeks just to make sure the designer does have enough time to build out the three logo variations and make sure that we're taking all of the preferences into consideration. At that point, once we do a get to the logo review, it's definitely a really exciting part of the process. This is basically a one-on-one video call with your designer where they will walk through those three versions that they've created out for you within a presentation.
00:18:19
Speaker
And this is where they will share their design decisions based on the information that was received in that intake form. But then they'll also ask for your first impressions and your feedback because this is a really great time to ask questions and to share thoughts. This will really make sure that the design is going in the right direction and that we're of course going to be able to finalize something that you'll love to use everywhere across your business.
00:18:44
Speaker
But then, of course, after the call, we will follow up with an email. That'll include just a quick little overview of what we had discussed, like if we did discuss any potential changes or thoughts that you had, and then we'll also attach a PDF of the presentation with those three versions as well, along with a link to a feedback form.
00:19:02
Speaker
So this will basically just give you some more time and an opportunity to review the versions further, get any other feedback from friends and family as well, and then fill out that feedback form with which of the three versions you'd like to go with, along with any changes that you'd like made to that version as well. That's a pretty special experience, right? I know the reveal in the logo design review is a big deal, right? And I've heard and seen responses from farmers many times who just fall in love
00:19:30
Speaker
with that one logo or worse yet, they fall in luck with all three and then they're really struggling with trying to make a decision of which one to go with. But I love the fact that as you shared Serena, that you guys also give them a full PDF of the entire presentation so that they can go walk through that with their family, with their friends and get their feedback too, right?
00:19:50
Speaker
Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for that to gestate for them to think about quite literally what is going to be one of the most important decisions in terms of the farm brand going forward. So after they've gotten that feedback and they provide that feedback to you on a farm, what next? How long before they get that final logo and get that final reveal of what their brand's going to be going forward? Yeah. So the timing on the final assets will depend on how many edits the farmer might have.
00:20:15
Speaker
We've had many people have no edits and in these cases, we can often get the final package since them the same day they submit the edits. However, in other cases, if the edits are a little bit more complex, it may take around a week or so to complete. But if that is the case and there are a few more edits involved, we also want to make sure that we are in communication with the farmer about those changes.
00:20:37
Speaker
Once we do have an update, we'll email them with the new design. And if it's approved, they can get the files sent to them shortly after that. Or they can let us know if there's just a couple more tweaks before we finally package everything up. Well, now, obviously, there's a lot of logo design alternatives in the market. And I'm just kind of curious to hear your thoughts on what makes a custom design farm logo from barn to door a better alternative versus perhaps a lower priced or even a more expensive option.
00:21:07
Speaker
So we have worked with thousands of farmers, as you've mentioned over the years. And through that experience, we've really been able to understand different types of farms and their products and their unique circumstances. So we do have this great understanding of the farmers, but also of their customer basis and what typically appeals to those customer bases. Along those lines, we do want to make sure that it's really easy for the farmers to be able to use the logo on all of their channels.
Types of Logo Files for Farmers
00:21:33
Speaker
So we do a full package that will send off to them at the end, which will include their primary logo, as well as all the different solid color versions from their brands. And we'll also include PNG files, which will have no backgrounds, so they're really easy to use on marketing materials. And we'll include JPEG versions that do have backgrounds but are sized properly, so the farmers can use it on their social media profiles and on their store.
00:21:58
Speaker
And then we also include a favicon, which is also called a browser icon that you'll usually see on website tabs. And those are just going to be easy for people to see what the website looks like when they're going to a different tab online. And then, of course, we do have a lot of farms. You want to go get these logos printed on hats and t-shirts and other things like that.
00:22:18
Speaker
So we send over EPS files, which are vector based, and a lot of these printing companies are going to ask for those files. And just in case you don't have what you need, you will have the full Illustrator file as well. So everything you could possibly need to be able to utilize your logo, as well as a simple brand guide with the fonts and colors that we're using. So just in short, if you do get a logo with Barnadore, you'll know you're in good hands with experienced designers who are building with a lot of heart involved.
00:22:45
Speaker
Yeah, I definitely want to emphasize that last point, Alyssa, in addition to all the thoughtfulness and all the effort that your team puts together in assembling the logos in this great asset package, it's the heart. It's the mission that we have here at Barnadora to really ensure that farmers are completely satisfied with the entire logo process, right? So it's really great to see how much effort you guys bring to the table.
00:23:09
Speaker
and even the introspective and self-criticism to help each other get better, to make sure we're actually delivering a really high quality product for the farmers that they can be proud of. Just a few remaining questions. Love to just help people understand your creative thought process here. I'd love to hear a little bit more about what's the most difficult part of doing a logo, right? When you guys are digging in and you talk with a farmer and you get the intake form, what's the biggest challenge?
00:23:36
Speaker
Yeah, so it can be different every time we go through the process with a new farm, but I think one of the difficulties that we've seen across is having too little information at the beginning of the process so.
00:23:47
Speaker
As we have mentioned a lot previously, the intake form is one of, if not the most important part to begin the process because this is again where we'll be gathering all of your preferences and learning more about you. So if we aren't given enough information at the beginning, there may be some design decisions that we make that you may not like or may not even be correct. And we do really want to make sure that we're creating something that you'll love.
00:24:13
Speaker
and that really embodies your farm brand well. So that's why we always really want to encourage the farms to thoroughly fill out the intake form and take their time with it. And we definitely know that some of these decisions can be pretty tough to make since it is such an important step in building a brand. So even doing a little bit of research can be really beneficial. I know we've mentioned looking up some references, some different logos,
00:24:36
Speaker
That may not even be farm logos, but just so you can kind of learn a little bit more about what you like and what you don't like. And even brainstorming with friends and family can also really help get some inspiration because we do really welcome all creative thoughts and ideas when it comes to submitting that intake form and getting started on the design. And what about on the flip side? What's your favorite part of the logo design process?
00:24:59
Speaker
So I think one of our favorite parts of the logo process is doing the logo design review and getting to do the reveal of the logo and all the designs that we've come up with. It's just so fun to see the farmer's faces and reactions when they see the logo. Oftentimes our faces are just lighting up and they just can't wait to go show the designs to their family after the call. So I think just being able to be excited along with them is one of my favorite things.
00:25:24
Speaker
I think another one of our favorite parts is Walks. I know we both have our favorite parts, but they're also kind of the same. But I think definitely one of our top favorites is actually seeing the logo out in the wild. So once we've sent off all the final files and then they start using it everywhere is so exciting. Like we've seen logos on merchandise labels, signs, delivery trucks, and even more than that, it's really fun seeing how
00:25:48
Speaker
the farmers get creative with how to use it. So again, it's just really exciting to see how much the farm loves the logo that we've created for them and wanting to use it everywhere they can. I would agree with you 100%. Nothing makes me happier than seeing how proud and delighted farmers are to share their new logo on their farm van and their social reels on
00:26:10
Speaker
T-shirts that they're wearing at the farmer's market, you know, big signs, posters, et cetera. It's just great to see. And of course, don't forget the trucker hat with the big logo on it. That's just very cool. I love to see him wearing that proudly.
Barn to Door's Logo Design Commitment
00:26:22
Speaker
Any other final thoughts or feedback for farmers who might be considering barn to door when it comes to designing a custom farm logo?
00:26:30
Speaker
Yeah. So when it comes to the design team at Burned Door creating your logo, you'll know that we only serve farmers. We really do have that expertise and knowledge that we've gained over the years. And then also we do guarantee your satisfaction. If you don't like the custom farm logo from our team, then you pay nothing. We just really stand behind our services.
00:26:50
Speaker
Well, that is wonderful. Thank you again, Alyssa and Serena for joining me on this week's Direct Farm podcast. Here at Barnadore, we are humbled to support thousands of farms across the country that sell to more than 1 million buyers. And we're delighted to offer software and services, including custom logos and websites to help farmers build their brand and attract and retain buyers. We do have the experience and we know what we're doing and we would be excited to work with you.
00:27:18
Speaker
If you're eager to sell all of your farm products direct online or in person and want to elevate your farm brand with a custom design logo or website, then go to barn2door.com backslash contact and you can get in touch with a representative of our team who would be happy to answer any other questions. Thank you for tuning in today and we look forward to seeing you next time on the Direct Farm podcast.
00:27:44
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in. For more free farm resources, tips, and tactics that are most successful farms use to grow and manage their business, visit barnadore.com slash resources. Also don't forget to subscribe to the Direct Farm podcast to automatically download our weekly episodes. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.