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Step one: fix where the mark will live
List the smallest and largest places the mark must appear before drawing anything. For our example advisory firm, that means a browser favicon, an email avatar, a printed proposal cover and a office door sign. The smallest use usually decides the design. At sixteen pixels, fine strokes vanish, so the firm chooses heavy, open letterforms. Write the constraint down in one sentence, such as legible at sixteen pixels in a single colour. Every later option is tested against that sentence, which prevents attractive but unusable drafts from advancing.
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Step two: draft three distinct structures
Create three different constructions rather than three colours of one idea. The firm sketches a horizontal wordmark with tight spacing, a stacked two-by-two block with CW over KD, and a single contained badge with the letters inside a square. Each solves a different problem: the wordmark suits letterheads, the stack fits square avatars, and the badge works as a stamp. Keep every sketch in black and white at first. Judging structure without colour keeps the discussion on legibility and balance, and it shows which letter pairings, like the W beside the K, need adjustment.
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Step three: test, choose and document
Show the three structures to five people who have not seen the name and ask them to read it aloud, then to pick the one that looks most trustworthy for an advisory firm. Note misreadings, such as the D reading as an O at small size. The firm picks the stacked block for avatars and the wordmark for documents, treating them as one family. Finish by recording clear space, minimum size and approved colours on a single reference page, so every future designer, printer or developer reproduces the mark consistently.