Your logo is the signature of your brand, and one of your company's most valuable assets. It is the single element that will symbolize your brand more than anything else. A well-designed logo is one that reflects your business and communicates your message. It needs to be simple, unique, memorable, versatile, and able to work without colour.
In order to choose a logo, there are important steps to go through, both by yourself and with a graphic designer. In this post, I outline the logo design process and some important guidelines to keep in mind when choosing a logo that is perfect for you.
For the creation of your logo, you are free to choose either a freelance designer, a design firm, or perhaps an advertising agency. Throughout this post, for the purpose of convenience and readability, I will use the term "designer" to include whichever type of business or individual is applicable to your case.
Choose a budget
First off, you should decide on your budget for your new logo. They can cost anywhere from $300-1500 (USD), and sometimes more. Just remember that you get what you pay for, and a designer's fees will reflect experience, client history, and professionalism. Investing in a logo (and a corporate identity to go with it) is one of the most important first steps you can take when building a brand. A logo is worth much more than the hours it takes to create it.
You can find logo banks and contest sites online and get one for around $150. There are even different freelancer sites where people bid insanely low prices-like $50. Just be aware that choosing a logo for a cheap price online can be disastrous. Inexperienced designers may take forever, not communicate well, use clip art images (a definite no-no), and may not provide you with the correct files you need for both print and web use.
Locate designers
There are so many places you can find graphic designers. Choosing the right designer for you is definitely a lot harder (and we'll get to that in a minute). You can locate lots of candidates by using different methods.
Ask around. If you know someone with a great logo, simply ask them who did it. Most of my freelance design work comes from referrals.
Search graphic design firm directories such as the one on GraphicDesign.com.
Browse design galleries and portfolio communities like The Behance Network.
Search for "logo design" and "logo development" on social networks like Twitter, Google Plus, and Facebook.
Choose a suitable designer
After contacting a number of designers and requesting quotes, make sure you look at more than just the price when deciding who gets the job. Consider the designer's previous logos and the corporate identities they have created around those logos. Look for good design presentations because it shows how much they care about their own professional appearance. Read the descriptions that go with each of their logo projects because a logo may look great and all, but it has to meet the specific design requirements to be effective.
More importantly, choose a logo designer whose style of design fits your own preferred style. By doing this, you'll be happy with the logo you end up with, and the designer will be happy because that style is what they're most comfortable with.
You can judge the professionalism of a graphic designer by the following points. These don't all have to apply, but be on the lookout for at least a few of them.
They are polite, direct, knowledgeable, and efficient communicators.
They explain their design process for you and tell you what will be delivered upon completion.
They will ask you relevant questions to understand your business.
They have some sort of contract or service agreement to sign before starting.
They require a specified up-front payment before starting.
Their grammar, spelling, and punctuation are at least satisfactory. (As with any industry, bad writing says a lot about a person).
One crucial note here: if the designer presents you with a contract or agreement, make sure that the ownership of the logo is transferred to you upon final payment. If there is nothing in writing that mentions ownership, then ask your designer to give you this agreement in writing. It is imperative that you own your logo design so that you can legally use it however you like in the future.
