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Choosing a graphic designer - picking the best source for your logo project.
 Running a search on any of the search engines will produce 100,000's of companies and individuals who claim to be "Logo Designers" (that's probably how you found The Logo Factory in the first place). Other than obvious standouts, the logos presented look fairly similar. When it comes to the bottom line, pricing is all over the place - there's even places where you can have a logo designed for ten bucks (but even the most price conscious client will know there's a very large catch there) - and it may get terribly confusing before too long. While we would be more than happy to work on your new logo design project, and the purpose of this website is to convince you of that, we also realize that there are other very capable design houses, studios and freelancers out there. We also realize that you may well select one of our competitors who will create a perfectly serviceable design that you're happy with. However, as with most of our logo design articles, we've donned out 'Industry Watchdog' cap and believe, at the end of the day, that an educated client is a happy client. As such, we offer some suggestions for selecting the designer or logo design firm that will create your new company mark.
Graphic designer experience is crucial...
Does the designer have a gallery of logo design samples? Logo design is a developed skill, and requires both technical and artistic prowess. Look for REAL logo designs - examples of ACTUAL design projects. Anyone can claim to be a logo designer, create a nice icon and reverse engineer it into a company that WOULD be appropriate. It is, for example, easy to create a nice 'swooshy' design and show it as an tutorial example of what COULD work as a 'high-tech' company. Or come up with homesy graphics and use that as an example of a 'quaint little bread & breakfast'. It's not so easy to create an ACTUAL design that pleases the client, their marketplace, and the designer as well. Also, watch out for designers that feel it's necessary to tell you why a logo is fantastic. If a logo needs a paragraph to explain what this color means, and what this shape represents, then ask yourself - "is this is a really effective design?" Keep in mind that you will never have the luxury of explaining the wonderful abstract meanings of your logo to anybody else. Select professional design houses that are able to display this experience and design savvy.
Bargain basement pricing - bargain basement design?
Multinational companies pay tens of thousands of dollars for their logo design. That's how important the logo design process is. That's not to say you have to do the same. However, if someone is emphasizing bargain prices rather than skill, service and technical knowledge, warning lights should go off. Quality design takes time, logo design experts, and the latest software, hardware and knowledge of the current graphic industry standards. These all cost money. Logo design is like any other commodity - you get what you pay for. Prices range from a few hundred dollars to thousands. The price you will pay for your logo should NOT be the only factor. Would you visit a dentist simply because he was giving away free mugs and a 20% discount? Or use an accountant that promised a free T-shirt if you spent $X on their services? Probably not. And as your company logo is perhaps one of the most important investments you'll ever make, it's in your best interest to follow the same ideology with the creation of same.
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| Buying a logo online - a survival guide.
Over the years, the online logo design industry has become a fiercely competitive one, as more and more firms compete for an ever-shrinking bit of the marketplace. That's generally good for you, the client, as it offers a wider range of choices, and forces designers to constantly strive to improve their pricing, customer service and level of work. Survival of the Fittest kinda deal. And despite the claims of some graphic design purists, it's now the case that you now, for several hundreds of dollars, can have what used to cost thousands. To this day, and according to the Graphic Artists Guild (GAG) you should be paying $2,000 to $10,000 for a corporate logo at a traditional design firm (at least according to their GAG Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. While logo designers love to quote this as a pitch, it should be pointed out that this suggested pricing reflects a brand 'build' not a simple logo treatment. It does, however, give you an idea on the competitive forces at work). It's all market forces and capitalism at its finest. On the otherhand, this heated marketplace has led other firms to develop business practices that are designed only to cut their costs, so that they can feature spurious claims on their web sites. Many of these companies are more interested in logo design & search engines quackery than the design process itself. That's not to say that you can't still get an effective logo from folks using these techniques to market themselves. You probably can. And this isn't a 'bash the competitors hit piece. Truth to tell, some design 'purists' are heavily critical of our business model which tends to fly in the face of GAG as well. It's just that as a newcomer to the online logo design business, you may not know what's going on 'behind the scenes'. We do.
1) Unlimited Revisions
Unlimited revisions of any design project are a myth. Nuff said.
2) Project Managers
Sounds all business. One small problem - Project Mangers are to keep you away from your designer, not to help you communicate with them.
3) The 100% money back guarantee that isn't
At lot of logo designers & websites boast a 100% money back guarantee. Trouble is, when you read the fine print, it's always less a service charge. Here's the deal. You pay for the logo package. If you don't like what the firm has produced, you get some of your money back. They keep a small portion, usually to pay for design time that went into the project. That's called a Limited Guarantee and is fair enough. Doesn't look as impressive as 'Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed" in a star burst, though, so you're presented with the embellished version.
4) Logo design 'review' sites
The logo design industry is, by most definitions, a small one. So why would anyone pay to develop a web site, hosting and maintenance of same, to feature a bunch of supposedly unbiased reviews of logo designer web sites. Answer? They wouldn't. All (and yes, that means all) of the so-called logo review websites can be tracked back to one design firm or another (while they don't make it easy, we have our ways). How can you tell who's behind the 'review' site? That's easy. The site or sites that get the highest reviews. There's a new one around that includes reviews of two sites, owned by the same company, as the very best of the best. Funny enough, The Logo Factory was also featured as one of the 'top ten' companies (thanks very much), but we dropped from a 4.8 (out of five) stars, to a 3.8 (out of five stars) as 'punishment' when I wrote a blog piece exposing this fairly shady practice. Bottom line - the only people interested in 'reviewing' logo design sites are people who own one. And that, alas, renders the usefulness of any reviews moot (expect we'll drop to 2.5 stars now). A more in-depth look at logo design review sites can be found on our design blog.
5) See before you pay
The latest marketing ploy to lure people to logo designer's web sites. Oh, it would be nice, for you the client, if this were true. After all, it presents a No Risk solution. You're probably a little nervous about parting with your hard-earned cash, especially over the Internet, for a service that you're unfamiliar with. Fair enough. Seeing logos before you pay for them certainly sounds good (though if you're nervous to begin with, it should concern you that you still have to supply these guys your credit card details when ordering your supposedly 'see before you pay' logos. They'll claim that it's to verify your age - not true - or that it's to validate your identity - also not true). Alas, the pitch is only half of what it appears. Here's the deal. What they're doing is taking your project profile and rooting through their archives to find rejected designs, from old projects, to see if there's anything that even comes close to want you've requested. You take a look at the material presented and if you like, you buy (and they just happen to have your credit card number on file for those 'snap' buying decisions). If you don't see anything you like, no time spent. Could be a pretty cool way of doing things - if only they'd be up front about it. Turns out your 'do not pay before you see custom design' is more like 'do not pay until you find something you like from our pile of rejected logos' design. But that doesn't sound too enticing. In the industry these 'rejected' files are referred to as Morgue Files - we have thousands of them. Alas, we don't have the heart to pass them off as original custom work, so we give our Morgue Files away as free logos.
Want more info? We cover these items, and more, in our Hackology - The McLogo Effect feature.
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Effective design takes time - faster is not necessarily better...
Logo design houses that crank out a logo in a day or two as a standard service are doing just that - cranking 'em out. Quality design takes time. It is as simple as that. Designers need to research your company, your market, and your needs. And they need to create original work (that can be trademarked and/or copyrighted) otherwise you may print your logo on everything only to find out that the icon that took two days to create came off an obscure clip art CD, and is, in fact being used by dozens of other companies. And keep in mind - the less distinctive your logo is, the more difficult it is to trademark or copyright. Three multicolored brush strokes may be wonderful and all, but the trademark office will be less than enthused. Watch out for quickies. Reputable logo design firms usually charge very large premiums for rush design work - a team of designers has to drop all other projects and concentrate all their energy, time and equipment to your project and requires overtime salaries, etc., to be paid. This translates into a larger bill for you.
Communication is paramount...
Can you reach your designer by e-mail and/or phone, or with local designers visit their studio? The more professional houses are like any other business; they have studios, offices and customer service staff. Graphic design is their business, not a part-time sideline. Communication is the name of the game. More importantly, can you communicate DIRECTLY with your designer. If you can't (i.e.: "we'll pass the message on", or "we only communicate via e-mail") usually indicates you're working with a house that employs freelancers. Not that this is a major issue in itself, unless you want more work created at a later date. The designer may no longer be available, and your 'look and feel' may be at the mercy of someone who's not familiar with your work, or worse, someone who's style you detest.
Look at the firm's own identity. It'll never be better than that...
Would you hire an accountant who was always under audit? A mechanic whose car never worked? A dentist with lousy teeth? The same should apply to your graphic/logo designer. Look at their identity. Their look-and-feel. They NEVER get any better than this - this is, after all, their advertising, to the world, of what they are capable of. If you don't like the way their company is presented, what is the likelihood of them creating an effective design for you?
Beware of the cookie-cutter, shake-and-bake logo design 'package'...
By default, a logo is a search for originality. So why then, would anybody resort to using "Pre-Made' or logo templates (simply clip art by another name). In order to save a few dollars at the onset, you're going to end up with a logo that is weak, unoriginal, and potentially infringing upon somebody else. Sure, you'll save a few hundred dollars now, but you're going to spend thousands (perhaps tens of thousands) in REPRODUCING your logo. Don't risk it all by dealing with an untested or anonymous vendor. (See our Copycats section for more).
Watch out for multiple domain disorder as well. It's a common practice for design companies to have multiple web addresses (domains) - all with different names, and oddly, different prices - in order to eventually snag your business. The search engines are peppered with such sites, some of them vaguely identified offshore design houses. But you have to ask yourself - if a logo designer or corporate identity company can't create, and believe in their own logo, corporate identity and name, or they resort to displaying (without authorization) other designer's work (or business material) how can they possibly create an original logo that will work for you?
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