The Nike Swoosh. McDonald’s Arch. Coca-Cola. Apple. BMW.

What do these brands have in common? They are just a few of the world’s most famous logos: symbols that are meant to instantly identify a brand. Clearly, logos can be powerful signatures for companies. But how can we summarize a whole brand in one relatively small design? Cubic’s team faces this challenge every day, creating designs that accurately express the identity of brands.

But where should you start when designing a logo? Cubic’s own Creative Director, Winston Peraza, shared insight into this process. “When it comes to logo design, clients have high expectations. A logo can be the epicenter of a brand, but it is also simply a signature. The logo is important, but it is not the brand. It is a part of the brand.” With a deep understanding of the overall picture of brands, Peraza and the team at Cubic take this into account when designing logos for clients. “We enjoy the challenge of designing logos, but we are always looking at the bigger picture. How is this logo going to exist in the broader world of the brand? How is it going to print and reproduce? Does this logo express the identity of this company? These are all essential questions we ask when designing a logo,” Peraza said.

As a multilingual visual artist and graphic designer, Peraza provides insight and direction into this whole- design process at Cubic. Recently, his work was featured in Logo Lounge 5, a leading graphic design book focusing on logo design. Selected from more than 33,000 logo submissions from designers across the world, three of Peraza’s designs (shown below) were included in the compilation of 2,000 designs.

When creating a logo, Peraza suggests looking at the big picture. “Spend as much time as possible researching the product and culture of the brand. Understanding the identity of the brand is key. The more you know up front, the easier it will be to create the visual expression.”