A Good logo is the face of a brand or business. The brand is recognized by the logo, so it is one of the most important values for a business.
A logo is meant to create immediate recognition for the business. A great logo inspires trust, loyalty, and projects a sense of superiority for the product or services provided. The logo is a major part of a company’s commercial brand. A logo’s shapes, colors, fonts, and images are usually different from others in the same industry to distinguish itself as unique and set-apart from competition.
A bad logo is one that mimics a competitor, since it can create a sense of confusion or knock-off effect in the minds of consumers.
Due the significance of a logo, it should be taken with great consideration before selection.
In the past I’ve seen business look to a logo design contest, or simply Google “logo design” and look for the cheapest rate. Since the logo is so important, it does an injustice to simply look for the cheapest rate. A professional logo designer has a very strict design process that can take weeks or in some cases months to complete a logo.
If a company is simply offering you a set number of logos to choose from, and less than 24-hour turn around, that usually indicates there was no thought put into your logo design.
With these so called “designers”, what you are most likely to get is a logo based off of stock images that they simply take and mash your company’s name into it. Stock images are downloaded by thousands of people, so the chance of your logo not being unique is almost guaranteed.
You must ensure that your logo design is original; otherwise you are wasting your time and money. Problems occur where another company may have a similar logo, which will cause confusion for your potential customer and your brand, especially if the other company is not even in the same industry.
Also, don’t use Free Logo Maker programs. That is the cheap route, but for reasons mentioned already, it’s going to hurt you in the long run.
Some business owners tend to look over the shoulder of the designer. I cannot begin to tell you how this process creates such an erratic feeling in the designer’s head. Where a designer starts out rarely reflects where the designer finishes. So when a person is looking over their shoulder and making suggestions, it throws off their own train of thought and process. Let the designer be. When the designer asks for your input or suggestion give it to them. This is why most of the designers I know work on most of their projects as night, so there is no one to bother them with uninvited comments. It sounds harsh and rude, but the point is to create a professional logo; let them work with their process.
For the designers, once you have some choices for logos, get feedback! See what others like and dislike about the logo. Make sure you don’t give your opinion. Ask for honest, critical, opinions from everyone you can find. Sometimes the best way to get honest feedback is from a complete stranger. Get feedback from your clients, peers, and stakeholders in the company as well.
The cost of a professional logo is not a simple question that can be answered right away. Every business has different needs, and the best way is to get a customized quote from a professional designer.
Some considerations need to be taken, such as how many logo concepts are going to be presented, how many revisions are going to be required, the amount of time for research needed, etc.
A great quote about design from David Airey: Comparing the design industry to any other is by no means exact, but the, “How much for a logo?” question is kind of like asking a real estate agent, “How much for a house?”
January 14, 2009
