Here at UBD, we build a TON of sites and blogs that require custom/unique logos. Considering that, we figured we should put out some great info on how to tackle this step in your business’ development.
Plain and simple – logo creation is not that easy (and really not that cheap).
Hiring a premium-level firm like UBD or an e-famous independent artist can run up a considerably large bill. Somewhere close to $1k will get you a handful of very well made drafts. Fortunately, when you work with professionals, you’re going to get your money’s worth. Not a bad way to go at all, but not all of us can afford that level of service.
We can hear you telling yourself right now, “That’s just too much money.” Hold onto that thought, as we’ll be answering that later on in this post. What do you do if $1k+ is well outside of your budget?
Time is always of the essence, and logos can chew away at your time like you wouldn’t believe. Trying to sift through an endless number of artists/designers/firms, comparing pricing, then going on to potentially rejecting drafts that come your way can take FOREVER. Trust us, we occasionally have to hire other people to do work for us, and tracking down legitimate help is PAINFULLY SLOW. Like pull-your-hair-out type slow. Luckily, we have the skills (obviously) to handle all creative work in-house, so we have a backup plan for logos. Not everyone is in our position, though, so we’ll help you get your backup logo plan later in this post.
So, here are a few strategies we recommend to develop logos:
Get Specific
Have an idea in mind before you even go looking for help with a logo. While it’s always great to let a designer run free with an open concept, you’re also leaving yourself open to a surprise when you get drafts back.
Keep It Simple
You probably won’t want to go overboard while thinking of a logo design.
Is It Printable?
Think about your logo being printed on a plain, white business card. MOST logos will want to adhere to a color scheme that looks appropriate on a white background. It just makes your life easier down the road when expanding your marketing and branding efforts.
This isn’t a rule, but simply a kind suggestion.
Show The Draft(s) To Others Before Deciding
Okay, so you’ve got yourself a draft but aren’t sure if it’s the perfect logo for your business… How do you make sure it’s good? Show it to other people!
Try to avoid only showing your drafts to people in your office. You’d be surprised how often honest opinions can be drowned out by group dynamics. Test your designs against “non-techie” folks before actually using them in live marketing.
Sounds good, but I’m not a designer and don’t have a lot of money to invest into my logo…
First off, it’s totally okay. We’ve all been there. Sometimes the most creative solutions to problems come forth when cash and resources are low.
By now, you have most likely heard about 99designs.com and how great they are for crowdsourcing design work (logos included). We’ve used their site before, and it’s pretty amazing to see how many talented designers answer your calling when needed.
There are two ways in which you can really use 99 Designs to help with your logo design:
- Start a new project with them, and have tons of designers design something for you (starting at $211)
- Or, you can try their new “Ready-made” logos for only $99
99 Designs is a pretty incredible resource when you think about it. For only a few hundred bucks, you can have a group of talented designers take a shot at making your perfect company logo.
If you’ve only got $99 to spare, they’ll let you choose from a HUGE number of awesome logos that will most likely work for you.
To summarize, here are a few options:
- EXPENSIVE – Pay a very talented design firm or independent artist to create your logo.
- PRETTY EXPENSIVE – Crowdsource your logo design on 99 Designs, or on a similar site.
- INEXPENSIVE – Get a “Ready-made” logo for only $99.
Hopefully you’ve got a basic idea of how to get started with your logo, and where you will be able to get one made for you. As an extra help to you, here’s a quick link for 99 Designs:
