Which comes first, the chicken or the logo?

I can’t tell you how often I have come close to the end of a web project, or even published it only to be told “we’ve decided to change our logo”.  At which point any halfway decent graphic designer will sigh heavily.  Why?

Logos are a focal point for website design

There should be a cascade effect from the logo which should not only clearly show the company name, but also set the tone (through font, colour and shape) to attract your target audience. These elements will have been echoed throughout the design and you change them late in the day at risk of having a logo that looks like it doesn’t belong to a design or having to redesign from scratch (usually at a cost).

What do you need to brief your branding designer on?

See above (ideally before your website re-launch even begins). Who is your target audience, what do you want to say to them, how do you want your company to come across? What information will they look to find on your website and which pieces of information are most important (usps)?

What have these got to do with your logo?

Everything! A good graphic designer worth his salt will pitch the logo perfectly in terms of fonts, colours (the psychology of colour is fascinating), and idents to get that message across to your customer in the right voice and in the right format for a variety of purposes.