After years of planning your perfect business you’re finally ready to start creating a new brand around it. You come up with a unique name, tagline and start thinking about what the logo might look like. It’s time to hop on the computer and see what information google can provide you. You’re delighted to see many companies are running specials on logo design. $50.00 for 4 concepts and 6 revisions! That’s an unbelievably good deal right? Maybe these logo contest websites can help too. Only $5.00 and multiple designers will send logos that you can choose from. This is going to be easier than you thought. Heck, maybe you can take a crack at designing the logo yourself. After all, it’s your business and you know what it represents better than anyone else.
A good logo is simple, versatile, timeless, befitting and memorable. What I’m about to say may shock some people, but it does not matter if a logo reflects a business’s services. Apple does not have anything related to technology in their logo. Nike does not have a shoe in their logo. Ford does not have an engine, Starbucks does’t have a coffee and McDonalds doesn’t have food in their logo… (I can keep going) In reality the only thing a logo should be is clear and impressionable. This is why simple is so far from simple. It takes a ton of research, thought, creativity, restraint and discipline to create a proper logo. But I’m not here to talk about good logos.
This is a guide on how to design a bad logo.
Google search will provide you with a lot of ads for logo design services that are “great deals”. 50% off is great on your budget and I’m sure you’ll get similar quality as the other guys that are expensive. Why pay more? It’s only the face of your new business. The mark that will represent you as a legitimate and trust-worthy brand. The clearance rack seems like the perfect place to look around. Sure, you’re only going to get 50% of thought, effort, talent and time into your work, but you’ll save a lot of money for more important things.
Another awesome way to save yourself some cash is using a logo contest. You will see these websites on google as well. You pay a small fee and upload your design brief to the website. A handful of “designers” will be selected and create “logos” for you to review and select a winner. This is great because you get more than one designer working for you and only have to pay one. Because of the low budget and overall nature of this concept, your designs will have hardly any thought behind them. Your logo will more than likely be bought from a stock-imagery website for $1.00 and then manipulated slightly before having your company’s name slapped on it. These designers are obviously desperate for some extra cash. Probably because they can’t find real jobs with their skills. But none of that matters to us.
The best way to save money on a logo is to just design it yourself. Your son-in-law is pretty good at Photoshop Elements and is more than willing to help polish up your sketches. Plus it’s your business and you know what it represents better than anyone else. While your at it, you can start giving yourself physical exams every year and treating your aches and pains. Nobody knows your body better than you right? Not to mention you googled general medical practices so obviously don’t need a doctor anymore. Think about it.
In conclusion, there are plenty of ways to save a lot of money on your new logo design. If you care about your business however, you might want to reconsider any of these methods and put some faith into the serious designers out there. The ones who spent hard earned money at college studying design. The ones who wake up every day thinking about typefaces and whitespace. These people care more about your business and brand than you might assume. They eat, breathe and dream design. These people are recognized and employed for their talent and drive. It’s true that in most cases, you get what you pay for.
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Justin Girard
Sr. Designer at Wallfrog