Project
Next Level Drone Cleaning
Date
August 2025
Role
Founding Visual Designer
Platform
Web + Socials + Apparel
Tools
Illustrator + Photoshop + Gemini
Sebastien and Johannes in Madrid

Sebastien, left, with Johannes, right. Taken across from the Templo de Debod.

During Summer 2025, I pursued a Foreign Language Acquisition Grant thru the University of Chicago to study in Madrid. During one of my nights out, I met a new friend named Sebastien, who happened to be an up-and-coming entrepreneur for his Belgian drone cleaning business called Next Level Drone Cleaning.

After speaking for a bit, I realized Sebastien and I were a great duo: I, a designer, was looking for new clients, and he, an entrepreneur, was looking for a fresh brand identity. The pairing was perfect, so we quickly got to work.

Group of friends in Madrid

With friends enjoying a beautiful Spanish summer night, Sebastien and I situated in the middle of the picture.

Before starting the branding process, it is paramount to truly understand what the business does. So, I start by asking my client six essential questions defined by Michael Johnson in his seminal textbook.

Michael Johnson speaking

Micheal Johnson speaking at
Rebels and Rulers 2020.

Branding In Five and a Half Steps Book Cover

Branding:
In Five and a Half Steps
(2016)

1.

Why are
we here?

Speech Bubble

"We are here to revolutionize the way we clean buildings. Today in Belgium, cleaning high-rises requires large teams and expensive scaffolding. Drone cleaning reduces the inherent dangers and effectively cuts unnecessary costs. Done well, we can disrupt the status quo."

Sebastien Bouckaert

Sebastien

2.

What do
we do?

and

How do
we do it?

Sebastien
Speech Bubble

"We provide professional drone cleaning for roofs, facades, windows, and solar panels. By utilizing advanced aerial technology and pure osmosis water, we eliminate the need for scaffolding. Our process is 4x faster and safer, delivering cost-effective, eco-friendly results across Belgium."

3.

What makes
us different?

Speech Bubble

"We differentiate through efficiency: our drones are 4x faster and 20% cheaper at our price of €5 per m². We eliminate fall risks by 99% while accessing heights without heavy machinery. Using eco-friendly, streak-free techniques, we deliver a safer and more sustainable clean."

Sebastien

4.

Who are
we here for?

Sebastien
Speech Bubble

"We serve both residential and commercial clients across Belgium. Our services are designed for homeowners, businesses, and industrial facility managers who need to clean high or difficult-to-reach areas such as roofs, facades, windows, and solar panels."

5.

What do
we value
the most?

Speech Bubble

"We value safety and innovation above all else. By replacing dangerous scaffolding with advanced drones, we protect our team and your property. We are committed to sustainable, high-quality cleaning that respects the environment while delivering unmatched efficiency and customer satisfaction."

Sebastien

Knowing what Next Level Drone Cleaning stands for, I began ideating a design that would perfectly embody their brand DNA. These three words would ground my thinking.

Technology, Efficiency, Dependability

I began testing ideas that would synthesize essential components. Here, I paired a drone and a window.

Idea 1

Idea #1

For this next iteration, I brought in the environmental symbolism of a solar panel with the youthfulness and inherent drive of sports team iconography.

Idea 2

Idea #2

I tried more ideas that personified the drone into a fun, animated character.

Idea 3

Idea #3

Idea 4

Idea #4

Then, to give Sebastien more options, I crafted some designs that gave a more refined and classy aura.

Idea 5

Idea #5

Idea 6

Idea #6

After receiving feedback from Sebastien, he wanted the logo to balance the approachability of the animated attempts with the professionalism of these text-based attempts.

Idea 7

Idea #7

Idea 8

Idea #8

He liked the new direction we were going in but wanted something a bit more visually minimal, so it could scale well to multiple sizes. This iteration would become the one we went with.

Idea 9

Idea #9

He felt like this design perfectly embodied his brand. To finish our process, I then offered different color variations for him to choose from and minor typography and detail changes.

Grey color variation

Grey

Dark Blue color variation

Dark Blue

Light Blue color variation

Light Blue

This design was successful in that it synthesized professionalism with its minimalistic aesthetic, while still maintaining approachability through a vibrant blue tone.

Minimalist Drone

Minimalist Drone

Brand color B8EDF8

#B8EDF8

Now, the design can be found both digitally and physically throughout the brand ecosystem.

Website

Website

LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Instagram

Instagram

TikTok

TikTok

Sebastien in company merchandise

Company
Merchandise

After taking Professor Sarah Edmands Martin “Branding and Counterbranding” course during my 2026 Winter Quarter at University of Chicago, something I took away is that the story grounding a logo is just as important if not more important than the actual visual elements of the logo itself. Or put another way: the logo serves the story, not the other way around. In that vein, interviewing Sebastien to get a firm grasp of Next Level Drone Cleaning’s business ethos was essential in my ideation process.

Also, whenever presenting him with designs, I made sure to send them in batches, articulating their inherent differences. For instance, the earlier animated logos would present the brand as fun and approachable while the text-based ones would convey seriousness and dependability. By giving these iterations “stories,” I was also indirectly giving him the necessary diction to describe what he wanted visually.

In the end, we synthesized many ideas together to finally get to our end logo, which both Sebastien and I are very proud of. I learned a lot about the design process in this project and am so glad to have met Sebastien during my time in Madrid!