I always start with a bit of research into these things, typically I don't know what half the logos I design are for! So I need to look into them. I know nothing about classic cars.
This is my process
Print out the current logo nice and big.
Make a mood board of logos you find online - like the link above - this is on the same page around your current logo (or underneath it, whatever works).
Your preferences are:
- Oak tree (for the Windsor forest bit)
- A border to show we are geographically bounded (we a surrounded by other local groups)
- A road or path to indicate travelling
- Single colour and simple so it works as a favicon, icon, logo, poster image...
- Doesn't need the name of the group as this will always be shown next to the logo.
Repeat the image search for each of your ideas:
1) Oak tree logo
https://www.google.com/search?q="oa...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off
2) Logo border
https://www.google.com/search?q="lo...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off
3) Road logo -
https://www.google.com/search?q="ro...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off
4) Single colour so it can be used as a FAVICON - yes this is important and your logo should work in full colour, 1/2/3 spot colours and also in White/Black on it's own - so don't let single colour be your deciding force on the design.
5) Great - it will always appear beside the logo - so that's where you can more be focussed on the typography of the text to appear beside the logo.
Start picking out styles you like and build up a mood board.
If you want something iconic - then research again
https://www.google.com/search?q=ico...57&biw=1468&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIE877IE877&safe=off
Study other car logos - some of their history and development and why they were made that way.
A look at the family crests, city flags, and tragic romances that inspired some of the world's most iconic car logos.
www.mentalfloss.com
Once you do your research on different styles, logos and things like that - that's when I then get to the design part.
People often ask how long to design a logo and I see people offering logo design at £50-£150 and wonder to myself how much they value their time.
Research alone can take me up to 2 days to complete and build a mood board to present to the client.
Once I've run through the research of their current logos, logo trends, different variations of the different ideas, I then get to the part of the logo presentation.
This then shows them that I've chosen specific elements for specific reasons and it's based on research and understanding of the industries being represented.
I once had a client insist that they wanted to bright lime green and fluorescent pink logo - which looked horrible but they liked it - but when I researched their industry I found that particular industry mostly had deep purples and deep blues for the logos for those companies. I had to dig out the psychology of colours to read up on why these colours are prominent in the design of this industry.
I've some design books scanned and on my desktop - if you want me to send to you on transfer or something drop me a line with your email and I can send over.
Research and mood boards are your friend here.