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Beyond the Brief: Our Design Process at Athago

Every design request carries more weight than it seems. A logo? A homepage? A style guide? What it really signals is this: “We need clarity. We need to be understood.”

At Athago, design is never just execution,  it’s translation. We turn scattered ideas into structured visuals. We don’t just make things look good; we make them work, scale, and speak for the brand behind them.

Step 1: Discovery Is Everything

Before we open Figma, we open conversations. Every project begins with a structured onboarding and discovery phase. This includes questionnaires, brand audits, stakeholder interviews, and, if needed, a kickoff call.

Our goal? To understand your business model, audience personas, industry context, and long-term goals.

We don’t design for you. We design with you. Just like Dieter Rams once said, “Good design is as little design as possible.” But that “little” must be deeply informed.

Step 2: Concepts with Purpose

We usually deliver 2–3 initial directions, not to give you random options, but to explore different narratives. Each concept includes:

-Logo

-Typography system

-Color story

-Mood references or UI snippets (if it’s for digital)

This isn’t just about aesthetics. Each version represents a unique positioning. A different voice.

It’s not a logo presentation. It’s a brand language preview.

Step 3: Refinement Through Alignment

Once a direction is chosen, we move into refinements, but not just visual tweaks. We align the design with:

-Brand values

-Market gap analysis

-User behavior (especially if this is tied to product design)

This phase includes iterative feedback loops, where you have unlimited revisions within the scope to get it just right.

Step 4: Deliverables, but With a Spine

The final delivery isn’t just a folder of PNGs. You’ll receive:

-Logo assets in all variations

-A Brand Book (logo usage, typography, color system)

-Optional: Social media starter pack, stationery, or presentation deck

Because consistency beats creativity when you scale.

Why This Process Works

Good design is not intuitive genius. It’s a system. Ours is inspired by:

-The Design Thinking methodology from Stanford d.school

-Semiotic analysis from the University of Reading’s Typography & Graphic Communication program

-Practical systems used in agencies like Pentagram and Collins

We merge that academic rigor with our own flair.

If It’s Not a Logo Project?

Even if you’re hiring us for web or app design, the first thing we’ll ask is:
“Can you send us your brand guidelines?”

If the answer is “We don’t have one,” we’ll help you build that foundation before touching the interface. Because design without a strategy is just decoration. Design is a strategy made visible.

The Tools We Use

Great process means little without the right tools behind it. Here’s what we rely on throughout our workflow:

-Figma: For high-fidelity screens, responsive layouts, and interactive prototypes

-Octopus: Our go-to for fast, clean wireframes during early UX phases

-MidJourney / Sora / Photoshop: Used in early-stage ideation, moodboarding, and creative direction development

-LottieFiles / Rive: For lightweight, scalable motion design and animation integration

-ClickUp: For structured collaboration, feedback loops, and overall project management

-Slack: Optional, but ideal for quick daily communication with active teams

We don’t believe in overwhelming clients with tools, but we do keep things transparent and traceable. Everything has a purpose in the pipeline.

Whether you’re asking for a logo or a full product UI, our methods stay the same: understand, distill, design, refine, deliver.

And above all, make it make sense.

SPREAD THE WORD

WHO WE ARE

Athago is a full service digital agency for those who favor bold choices, which pushes the boundaries of technology, strategy, and design, to create lasting relationships between brands & people.

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