Functionise is a SaaS application for testing and monitoring website functionality. But at the time I set out to create a logo there was just a prototype product, no product name, and no customer base. So to begin I needed to get answers to questions the client might not have thought about. After a lot of brainstorming with the client, here's what we established:

The Product: A web application for testing and & monitoring website functionality.
Audience: Web developers, and Q/A managers working in small teams and startups. Not Enterprise.
Competitors/Industry Companions: Telerik, Optimizely, Pingdom, UTest.
Look & Feel: Elegant but strong, blue or green colors, and a combination-style logomark and logotype. Simple, clinical, and clean.
Use: On screen and in-application, so it needs to work at small sizes too.

Starting on paper with a mind map (left) is much quicker for me than going straight to screen. It's like sketching for words. I began with the word "test" and wrote down whatever associations came to mind – no filter, just stream-of-consciousness. When I ran out of ideas I underlined a few words that might have potential: "clean", "smooth, and "clinical". 

Since the product had no official name at this point, I also wrote down some rough naming ideas (right).

Once we agreed on the product name "Functionise" (how we settled on that name is another story), I did an additional mind map exercise to explore associations with the word "functionise".

Since the brief required a logo that could be separated into a logomark and logotype, I started sketching ideas for a symbol based on concepts from the mind maps: tests, automation, harmony, and mechanical functions etc.

I also explored the building blocks of the letter F and the check mark symbol. I resisted using the checkmark in its standard icon form because it just seemed too generic, so I tried to see what else I could do with it.

After exhausting the idea of the letter F and the checkmark, I explored imagery of browser windows interlocking like Ying & Yang symbols to represent harmony. The idea being that the Functionise tool would allow users to easily achieve a properly working site across multiple browsers versions.

Setting aside the sketchbook, I used Squarespace's free logo-creation tool to explore what lettering and logomark combinations might work on screen and at scale. Being a free tool, it's certainly not going to crank out award winning results, but with its limited set of fonts and icons, I found it helpful to quickly view rough ideas in the browser.

After reviewing my initial logomark sketches with the client, we agreed on an interlocking and rotating checkmark idea. They liked that the checkmarks represented passed tests, the rotation symbolized automation, and interlocking pieces represented the harmony of fully functional websites.

The brief dictated that the logo be clinical and elegant but also strong. From this, I came up with a list of typeface requirements for the Functionise logo: Sans serif, geometric, really circular "O"s to fit with the idea of automation cycles, and no narrow or condensed fonts.

 

After browsing Myfonts.com and Fontsquirrel.com for a few days, I settled on Nexa book for it's polished geometric design and good legibility at smaller sizes. Campton was a close 2nd but with the taller ascender on the "f" and the tighter apertures, it felt a bit too "editorial". The client really liked Museo 500, but mostly because it was already widely used by other web firms and seemed familiar. Functionise needed to be unique so it got the axe. Nexa Thin was an option too, but it just didn't work well small sizes below 16pt.

Going back to Illustrator, I set out to fine tune the kerning, spacing, and sizing with the logomark and logotype. To get it right, I also made adjustments while inverting the image both horizontally and vertically. This technique worked for me because it forced my eyes to make adjustments purely by visual weight (I can't read upside down or back to front!) As a result, I got a more aesthetically pleasing and balanced layout. 

 

Prior to locking down the final version, I proofed my tweaks by printing out large format versions on paper, using an overlay grid, and exporting .png versions for use on the product dashboard and marketing website.