🧂High-velocity vs. deep-dive branding: choosing your path

Hey there. Happy Saturday! Today, I want to share some thoughts on design process for startups.

I’ve spent years building brands and product for VC-backed Silicon Valley startups. But in 2024, I opened my doors to the bootstrapped founder community. To bridge the gap, I’ve engineered two distinct ways to work together: one built for speed, and one built for scale.

Option 1: The "Founder-Led" Sprint

Best for: Bootstrapped founders, Pre-launch validation, and Rapid execution.

This is a lean, high-velocity process designed for founders who have a clear vision and need to move fast. By stripping away the administrative layers and multiple feedback cycles, we focus purely on design execution.

The Workflow:

1. Founder Brief: Following our questionnaire, you provide your core preferences (colors, style, inspiration).

2. Dual Concepts: We translate your vision into two distinct professional directions.

3. Selection: You pick the winner.

4. Final Handoff: We ship the production-ready assets.

Why it works: It’s "One-Shot" design. We cut the weeks of research and meetings to give you a professional, high-signal identity in days so you can get back to building.

This process is ideal if:

• You’re in the pre-launch phase and need a quick logo.

• You’re operating on a tight budget and timeline (1-2 weeks).

• You have a clear preference and can follow Salt’s quick discovery process.

• You’re comfortable with minimal iterations in the design process.

Option 2: The "Strategic Identity" Partnership

Best for: Scaling startups, Consumer-facing brands, and Long-term market positioning.

This is the comprehensive branding framework. Prepare 2-3 months to get this done. We don’t just design a logo; we build a visual ecosystem that communicates your company’s values, competitive moat, and future trajectory.

1. Meet with the founder and team: We start with an in-depth meeting to understand your goals, audience, and brand personality.

2. Share industry research and logo studies: We provide insights into your industry’s visual trends and competitors.

3. Send in a survey to collect preferences: We gather your team’s input through a detailed survey.

4. Ask questions to clarify needs: Follow-up questions ensure We’re aligned with your expectations.

5. Round 1: Logo color and concept mood boards: We present mood boards to explore directions for color schemes and design styles.

6. Collect feedback and keep working: Your input guides the next steps.

7. Round 2: 2-3 sets of logo concepts (6-8 logo variants): We create multiple logo concets for you to review.

8. Collect feedback and keep working: Refinements are made based on your feedback.

9. Round 3: Final set of logo options (4-6 logo variants): A polished selection of logo designs is presented.

10. Collect feedback and keep working: Further tweaks are made to hone in on the perfect design.

11. Round 4: Final logo option with 2-4 tweaks of the same logo + fonts: The chosen logo is fine-tuned with variations in fonts and details.

12. Collect feedback and keep working: Last-minute adjustments ensure perfection.

13. Round 5: Logo exports: The final logo is exported in all necessary formats.

14. Brand book and brand assets building: A comprehensive brand guide and supporting assets are created.

15. Deliver final assets: Everything is handed over, ready for implementation.

This process is ideal if:

• You’re launching a consumer-facing or highly visible company.

• You have 2-3 months design time and a big budget just for the branding side.

• You don’t have any preferences and want designers to lead a comprehensive discovery process.

• You value collaboration and back and forth iteration on every detail.

The Founder-Led Sprint is designed for those who prioritize momentum and market entry. The Strategic Identity is for those ready to invest in a comprehensive, long-term market position.

As a founder, it’s tempting to believe that a months-long branding exercise is a prerequisite for success. But in the early stages, over-investing in brand identity before you have a customer base can be common trap. Your brand doesn’t truly exist until people care about your product.

Take Stripe: even at their current scale, their core identity (the “S”) is rooted in simplicity. They understood early on what many successful founders eventually realize: a logo is a vessel for the value you create, not the value itself.

My advice for early-stage companies: Don’t let the "perfect" brand become a barrier to launch. You can always evolve, rebrand, or pivot once you’ve found Product-Market Fit. For now, choose a process that matches your current stage, your budget, and—most importantly—your need for speed.

Whichever route you choose, it’s about making the right strategic bet for your company’s current chapter. Let’s build something that sets the tone for your future success.

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