At Big Giant Media, logo development is a multi-step process designed to insure a properly executed new logo for your business. First, our Graphic Artists will collect information from you concerning your ideas and concepts for your new logo. Questions we might ask include:

We also research your competition to determine the approaches they have taken in the development of their own logos, examining which elements of their design work well, and which don’t. Once a starting point has been established, we begin the development process.

During the first phase of development, we use the data we have collected to explore multiple design solutions. Our Graphic Artists develop each viable concept into “roughs,” or preliminary samples for you to view. At the completion of the first phase, Big Giant Media will present, either in person or electronically, a collection of roughs from which you may designate a design for further development. If our preliminary set of design roughs fails to meet your criteria, we will provide a second set for your subsequent consideration.

Once a rough has been designated for further development, Big Giant Media will work to refine the concept, as needed, to your specifications by creating a collection of varying treatments based on that rough. In this stage, changes are subtle, but important. Variations could include different minor graphic elements, fonts, or logo orientation, among other things. This phase will continue until a final design has been selected.

After you have chosen the final design, the last step of the development process involves establishing the color scheme for your new logo. Color trends can be tricky, but our Graphic Artists will lend their expertise to help you pick the color scheme that’s right for your business.

Voila! Your logo is ready is to use.

Your new logo can be obtained from Big Giant Media in a number of different file formats for your usage, including tiff, gif, jpeg, Photoshop, and Illustrator files to name a few. Or, you can chose to have Big Giant Media develop further applications featuring your new logo like letterhead, business cards, brochures, or a website.

Please feel free to contact the Graphic Artist working on your new logo at any time to discuss any ideas or considerations you might have during the development process. Creating a logo is definitely a collaborative effort, and we want you involved all the way through. We are always available and interested in talking to you about how you feel the development of your new logo is proceeding.

Phase One is the initial consultation phase. During Phase One, our Web Development Team will meet with you to discuss in detail what functionality you will require from your new website. Will your website be a brochure site, a catalog site, or an e-commerce site? Will your website require straight HTML coding, Flash Animation, or a hybrid of the two? What back-end support will be necessary to make your website operate? Many times we are able to obtain answers to these questions during our pre-bid meeting. In that case, you might be contacted by our Development Team for further information subsequent to your acceptance of our bid and prior to our starting development.

We will also discuss presentation requirements concerning how you want your new website to look. Questions we might ask include:

For Phase Two, our Web Development Team will take the information you have given us regarding the structure of your website, and use it to construct a complete schematic of the site’s layout and functionality. Think of it as a technical blueprint. Aside from determining the overall site architecture, the schematic will also establish which individual elements – from both a graphic and programming standpoint – need to be developed for each section of your site.

In Phase Three, our Graphic Artists will compile your design preferences, and, in close consultation with the newly developed site schematic, begin storyboarding the site interfaces. In the early stages of this phase, the focus is placed on frameset and navigation development, or what we call the “overall look-and-feel” of the site, with specific elements – such as splash pages, specialized navigation, and incidental graphics - coming later.

A specific design concept will be developed into a storyboard “rough,” or preliminary sample, for you to view. Usually, this rough will be void of normal site content, and will be a non-animated representation of the site’s overall look-and-feel. Often our Graphic Artists will explain to you their vision about button operation or other animated elements that have yet to be developed. Upon your approval of the initial storyboard rough for further development, Big Giant Media will work to refine the concept, as needed, to your specifications. If our preliminary storyboard fails to meet your criteria, however, we will provide a second storyboard rough for your subsequent consideration.

Once the artwork for your new website has been approved, construction can begin; this is Phase Four. Our Graphic Artists will be joined in this phase by Programmers and Application Specialists to convert the finalized storyboard into an actual working website. During this construction process, your actual website will slowly take shape, online, in the quiet recesses of the clandestine Big Giant Media construction zone. Our team will email you a link to the site, giving you access to view, at any hour of the day, any day of the week, how construction is progressing. Feel free to email or call with concerns or comments at any point; our Web Development Team expects your ongoing input along the way.

Many things happen during Phase Four. Your new website’s skeleton will take shape first. This includes any framesets and navigation systems that will be used throughout the site. Also, the primary interface, or main page, will be built, with animated elements added as necessary. Then gradually, our team will begin linking buttons to various sub-pages within the site. Each time a major section is completed, our team will notify you via email. Feel free to come in and check it out; you won’t be in our way. The Programmers and Application Specialists will then set to work carefully coding all of the special features your site might require, such as input forms, databases, or e--commerce stores, linking them to the appropriate destinations. And then, before you know it, your site is almost complete.

In Phase Five, our Application Specialists will take your site out for a shakedown. Before construction is officially complete, our team will pour over your newly constructed site, beta-testing all of its functions to make absolutely sure that everything works correctly. This includes double-checking that buttons are linked properly, that input forms are receiving information and delivering it to the correct destination, that databases interact accurately, and e-commerce stores process orders in the appropriate manner. Our team will also take the time to trim down file sizes as much as possible to insure that your site loads and responds as quickly as possible. By the end of Phase Five, your site will be a freshly tuned machine ready to get to work.

The final phase of website development at Big Giant Media is your site’s launch. For Phase Six, our team will transfer every published file we have created to the server of your choice, creating any mailboxes or data collection areas that your site might require. In order to best utilize our capability to provide follow-up support, we recommend that our clients make use of the Big Giant Media in-house web server. We offer all the technology necessary for your site to be a true workhorse: Macromedia Cold Fusion, MS SQL database support, email servers, and more. With one last run-through to make sure everything works, the development process comes to a close. Your website is now open for business!