A company’s logo can either assist or hurt its public perception, depending on how well it’s designed. In many cases
In many cases, a company’s logo will be the first and only visual representation of that business to a potential customer. What is the value of a logo if it acts as the face of the company?
There is no shortage of low-cost logo designers online, offering services for less than $150.
Logos for as cheap as $49, $99, $75, and even $99!
Logo design services can be found online for a wide range of rates. Be wary of low bids for logo creation; the designer may be skimping using clip art. Intellectual property laws cannot protect a logo that uses a stock image available for public use. Probably dozens of logo ideas might benefit from using that same clip art. Logo examples should be provided with the designer’s portfolio. Do you think all the logos are the same quality for $49 a pop? Do most of them feature a swoosh and block lettering?
Some logo designers have a set rate for all logos, regardless of complexity. Buying a logo design for $99. Can you picture Coca-Cola doing that?
This is unbelievable! Or consider Bob’s bait business, which forked over $700 for a new logo.
The funds just vanished! Not every business has the same resources, needs, or size. Designs vary in quality. How much work goes into making a swoosh compared to a fully detailed motorcycle?
The bafflement continues from there. Extra colors, changes, and preliminary designs may all incur additional fees with some logo designers. The total price of your logo will require the use of a calculator. Do you understand precisely what it is you’re buying?
The value of a custom logo design. Ask Coke, Polo, Nike, the Hard Rock Cafe, Hallmark, or any other brand that uses its logo as its primary marketing tool. While not every business needs to be on the same scale as these, all companies need to have a logo that is instantly recognizable and represents the firm’s values.
A professionally designed logo can do more for a business than any individual illustration could. A logo can be seen on stationery, signs, banners, vehicles, buildings, and products for years, but an image may only be used once or for a short promotional period. Can you see why that makes a difference to a business? The time and effort put into developing a logo is only part of its overall worth. It starts to represent the company itself.
Shouldn’t the value of a logo exceed the effort put into its design? The going pay for a professional graphic designer is between $30 and $75 per hour. Do you figure that a designer who charges $50 per hour spent 2.5 hours on your logo if you saw one that costs $125? That cost would cover getting in touch with you, researching your company and the competition, coming up with initial concepts, making revisions, finishing the logo, preparing the logo’s file for each format, shipping the logo, charging you, and giving you exclusive design rights. How long did you spend conceptualizing and designing that logo?
A company’s logo is worth significantly more than a generic illustration, and the cost should reflect this difference. A skilled graphic designer would have difficulty producing even a decent image, let alone a logo, for less than $150.
Be wary of logos that cost less than $150, as you might get what you pay for.
The cost of logos is also unclear. Logo design fees may be determined by several of the following considerations for some designers:
You may incur additional fees if you need to make changes or update your logo. Significant revisions to a logo design shouldn’t be necessary if the designer takes the time to ask the right questions, conducts adequate research, and maintains open lines of communication with the customer. Ensure you can effectively convey to the designer what you want the logo to represent. Designers must obtain written client consent before making any changes to a project.
Additional colors cost more to print, so be aware before ordering. Find out why the designer is charging more for a two-color logo than a three-color one if that’s the case. Including an additional hue is as simple as clicking a mouse. There’s no reason for a designer to charge by color nowadays, as color separations are rarely used.
Initial Concepts: Too many options are overwhelming, but few will do.
A professional logo designer should have the expertise to determine how many iterations of a logo concept are necessary to reach perfection. Avoid designs with eight, ten, or more iterations. How long would it be possible to spend on each possible layout? You can ask for another set of two or three designs if the first set doesn’t satisfy you.
Trust me when I say that no one on a board or committee wants to show ten different logos to ten different people. You may never settle on a design that works.
However, you should pay more if your company completely shifts its focus, and you need a new set of logos to reflect this. If you ask for a yellow duck logo but then decide you want a red dog logo, that’s an example of changing your mind.
A logo identity program is a necessary investment. Creating stationery, including business cards, letterhead, and envelopes, is typically more expensive. Each design must be supplied with camera-ready files.
Graphic design and corporate identity projects can be priced using a standardized framework. The Graphic Artists Guild has released a document titled Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. The book is available to any logo designer who wants it. It would be difficult for a competent graphic designer to provide for a family and a studio by designing logos for less than $200.
Since the conditions of each logo designer are unique, it would be impossible for me to provide accurate pricing information in this post. An amateur logo designer may start charging significantly less, but they may start charging more as they gain experience and expertise.
Standard logo design fees are determined by two factors: the size of the firm and the number of times the logo will be used or distributed. Most online stamps are made for small businesses or individuals who will only use them in a few places. Companies in the Fortune 500 typically utilize advertising agencies and pay substantially more for logo design.
As a result, I have come to the following conclusions about how a logo’s worth can be determined:
One is the logo designer’s track record
Company size and available resources
3. The Logo’s Remit and Its Applications
4 The complexity of the blueprint
Professional logo design services can cost anywhere from $300 to $1500, making them out of reach of individuals and smaller businesses with even moderate needs.
What do you get in addition to the logo? If you purchase a low-quality logo, you may be disappointed that you were not provided with print- and web-ready files. You will have to hire a different graphic artist or printer to make updated versions of the files. Ask your logo designer what file formats will be delivered and whether or not they are included in the fee.
AI (Illustrator) or EPS format files are required for most commercial printing tasks. These documents are in a vector format. The CMYK color mode is required for these files. The beauty of vector art is that it can be scaled to any size without losing quality.
TIFF and BMP files are required for personal usage and specific print projects.
These files are pixels and require a DPI (dots per inch) of 300 or higher. Professional printing calls for a resolution of 600–1200 dpi. It is possible to lower the size of these files without losing quality.
The only remaining options are the JPEG and GIF formats. Web designers take advantage of these pixel files. They need to be saved as RGB files. Remember that not all colors will appear accurately in online media, especially GIF files. Find out if the logo designer chose colors that would be acceptable on the web. You may expect high-quality 72 dpi web files. If you don’t want a white border around your GIF, save it as a transparent file.
Make sure to discuss the color scheme for your logo with your designer. Get the Pantone Matching System (PMS) numbers for each shade. Every time you want your logo printed, you’ll need these details. This ensures consistent color reproduction across all of your printers.
Is a CD included, or do you get the contents online? A CD will make carrying the files to a nearby printer much simpler. If you lose your logo variations in the future, you might want to know how long your designer keeps them on file.
Your logo’s copyrights (rights) should likewise be transferred to you. To obtain a trademark, you must prove that you are the sole owner of the company’s logo.
If you have any doubts, you should request this in writing.
If you hire a logo designer, you need at least to know their name and a little about them. Have they completed any formal education? When did they start making logos? Do they do this for a living or as a pastime? What happened to their portfolio? Is there a way to contact any of their previous customers? Are you able to get them personally? Any youngster of sixteen nowadays can launch a successful logo design business because of the abundance of readily accessible software and the widespread availability of the Internet.
Let me preface this by saying that my views on logo design and graphic design, in general, are based on years of research and study. The services and rates outlined in this article are specific to graphic designers and do not apply to those advertising firms. An advertising firm offers comprehensive corporate identification services, including logo design on a grander scale. Their prices for logo design are several times that of graphic designers.
Regarding cartoon logos, Curtis D. Tucker is a top choice. The Cartoons Cartoon Company, his firm, assists startups and sole proprietors in making professional-looking cartoon logos and characters. You can check out over two hundred cartoon designs from Curtoons’ portfolio at http://www.curtoons.com.
Curtis can be reached at 580.977.9947 any day of the week.
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