“Hey, I need a high quality logo!” “Can I have a unique logo for my restaurant!” “I want a creative logo for my dental clinic!” Call them requests or orders from the clients, but such high are the expectations – and that’s one thing common for sure! Did you ask money? Well, the best is, they feel if such outstanding and unique logos could be offered for free! Customers are price sensitive even on knowing that a logo not only bears a brand’s identity but also increases the brand’s visibility. Only if their benevolent conscience could realize how important and competitive the role of a logo is!
In my good long 13 years of shedding sweat as a graphics specialist, I along with my co-mates at visualbest.com have created around 300+ logo designs. All of these were for start-ups and SMEs. SMEs have more budget and time to invest in the making of a unique logo. But, over the years, I noticed that the start-ups indulge the least in terms of time and money. Initially, I had just called off many such hasty deals. Had I agreed to them, my logo creation count would have crossed 1000. Instead, I chose not to be submissive from the very onset of my career, so as not to lose my credibility and reputation. A handful of classic specimen weighs more than a galaxy of poor exhibits.
With booming technology, we see tons of online tools and marketplaces selling logos like cupcakes at $5 within 24 hours. Sounds fascinating, isn’t it? But are you sure about the impact and authentication of such logo designs? From research and brainstorming to font customization and creating a simplified design with the well-defined draft – trust the brain that works on it, it’s time consuming and quite some job. No wonder, the pay ranges from ₹25,000 to ₹2,00000 for a logo. However, if you genuinely consider the unique and original element of such designs, even the said amount could prove pretty less. While this is quite likely the standard price for start-ups, big brands happily pay much higher for designing a new or redesigning an existing logo. If your creation can go over big and knock dead, then you could be floating in thousands of dollars. But if you bag an order from a small business or start-up, looking for quality design, consider smiling to $300-$1300.
Guide to help fix your budget and decide the best way to spend, on prioritising your needs:
You may come across freelancers who can get you a logo done for $100. While one part of your brain might get super thrilled with the offer, enforce the other part to think, ‘why so less’! Luck is all yours if you personally know the freelancer; but, if not, then there ought to be some grey in the process. Possibilities are the logo might be as generic as an unprofessional layman’s creation or it’s simply stolen from some other source.
As a client, not necessarily investing upon a good logo means fixing a luxury budget! Just think on the right direction and try to apprehend the elements that go behind the making of an effective logo. Have you ever made any effort to check if your logo is unique or it is just a copy of some other design. The following tricks can prove the originality of your logo:
Explore images in Google via ‘search by image’ option. All you need to do is, just take a screenshot or a snapshot of your logo and upload, as shown in images below.
Step: 1
Step: 2
Next, click on image search and you will get similar examples. In no time you’ll be able to differentiate the water and the milk. Big reason of worry, in case you see a copy. This clearly means your brand identity is in danger.
Clients often ask me to redesign their existing logo, which they realise is a copied version. They repent hiring a designer from online marketplaces behind whom they might have wasted a lot of money and time. The duplicacy of such work puts the client’s reputation at stake too.
According to Dr. Ralf Speth, CEO Jaguar, “If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”
An expert and experienced designer who has full respect for his profession can never cheat you. The designer who believes in creativity and follows a well-defined work process is sure to deliver work that stands high on quality. Most of the logo designers follow the following iterations:
Simplicity: Is the design simple and clean enough to be flexible and easily recognizable? Is it too clumsy, distracting, or confusing?
Memorability: Is it quickly recognizable? Will people only have to spend a second or two thinking about it to understand?
Timelessness: Will it still be a great logo in 10, 20, or even 50 years down the line?
Versatility: Does it scale to different sizes without losing quality? Will it work across various media and within different contexts?
Appropriateness: Does it resonate with the desired audience?
Here’s a quick look at the right process of creating a great logo design:
Design Brief: Get to know the client’s business.
Research: Conduct research focused on the industry, its history, and competitors.
Brainstorming: Conceptualize ideas and make decisions on the possible design directions.
Sketching: Develop the logo design concepts around the brief and research.
Design Execution: Select promising logo design concepts and execute them digitally.
Presentation: Present logo designs or concepts in the context of applications relevant to the client.
Revisions / Approval: Make changes if necessary. Together with the client, arrive at the best solution.
Delivery: Deliver the final logo artwork and identity guidelines.
The crux of the story: Designing a logo isn’t a child’s play! It involves a lot of effort. Whether you chose to damage or retain your brand’s reputation depends on the designer you’re hiring to create the logo. Compromising on an experienced and quality design for the sake of some penny will only get you in the middle of the Pacific with no lifejacket. Wise you are to know what I mean!
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