This one was a ball-buster. Normal 3 pass logo development: I throw a lot of ideas, including some basic suggestions from the client (he wanted a globe or globe-like shape) he picks the ones he likes for further development, we do that based on new guidelines, then a final tweak of 2-3 choices with, usually, a clear front-runner. That’s what happened this time, except it went through SIX series of changes (some contradictory) until the final choice. Then client threw out everything we’d done for a new idea he’d just thought up (or actually seen used by a competitor) that was the antithesis of a modern, clean, elegant logo for a backwards, literally 19th century look that wouldn’t work for letterheads, business cards or anywhere else, didn’t have the name or anything to do with the firm.

I completed what he wanted, but left to myself I would have suggested this client might be better served elsewhere and written off the previous work as just too frustrating and thankless a task, but I was convinced to persevere. Maybe I’ll post the abomination he came up with in future.

First versions:

Second pass: development of client’s first choices (and he wanted some new choices as well:

Third pass: development of choices from 2nd pass with client’s notes (by now I’d done more exemplars than I ever had for any logo development):

Fourth pass: I felt we were going a bit off the rails here and the client was asking for stuff he never planned on using, acting like pumping these out was like turning the crank on a barrel-organ when some individual logos too over an hour to render and I was doing dozens per pass:

Fifth pass: Still didn’t feel we were narrowing it down much at this point and I knew it would take one more pass, which is a frustrating.

Development of (what I thought would be) the final version:

It was after this he threw out everything we’d done and started over. While I don’t let personal pique or ‘artistic temperament” get in the way of satisfying the customer and getting paid, I felt this guy was being manipulative and taking advantage, but I agreed to continue to work because my employer was in a hard place. I wouldn’t do it again, however. This was a nightmare client. Sorry to include this in a portfolio but this illustrates my ability to put up with a great deal of crap.

None of these were ever used.