Why should you care if your logo cost $5 or $500? Obviously most people would rather have their logo designed for $5, but the saying, “You get what you pay for,” is even more true in the world of marketing and design. If you pay $5 for your logo, anyone with a relatively well-trained business mind will notice.
This article will start out by defining a logo, then we will move on to a comparison of two ways to go about haveing a logo made: spec contests and hired designers. Next we’ll take a look at some cheap logos and compare them to more expensive logos. Finally we’ll wrap everything up by summarizing how to go about having a logo designed based on a budget budget.
What is a logo?
Your logo is your company’s brand; it’s your identity as a business. A brand is something that distinguishes one company from another. Some brands are more trusted and well-respected than others. As a representation of this brand, your logo should be taken just as seriously.
A logo is a visual or symbolic representation of a brand used to incite public recognition. Whether or not this recognition inspires respect, trust and the desire to use the brand associated depends on not only the quality of the service, but also the logo itself. Therefore, designing your logo should never be taken lightly.
Logo Design: Spec vs. Design
Any work that is done as speculation is known as “spec” work. This means that someone designs a logo based on what they think their client wants and if the client likes it, they will pay for it. Unfortunately for the design industry, this route is becoming more popular. However, it will not get you the best result.
A designer and a client need to have a relationship to generate the best results. It might seem like a good idea to hold a spec design contest, but in reality it gives you the least creative, least relevant logo for your business. A true and loyal designer will look deep into your business plan, your target audience, your mission, the company background, how your company interacts with people and what your brand represents prior to designing a logo. If you hold a spec design contest, the designers are not motivated to invest that much time into the project because there’s a chance they won’t get paid.
The Mystified $5 Logo
Websites like Fiverr, Logo123 and 5MinuteLogo are actually killing the design industry. No one wants to pay more than $5 for a logo, but they still expect the logo to look as great as the Pepsi or Starbucks logos. That’s not possible. The logos that come from these sites are $5 because designers are literally spending 5 minutes putting them together from pre-made vectors, free fonts and generic templates.
When you choose a $5 logo you risk your brand being confused with another, because someone else will have used the same designer. In fact multiple people will have used the same designer. In turn, this designer will have used their same resources repeatedly. Vectors, fonts, good design software, etc. are all expensive. It will take a designer hours and hours to create their own unique designs, but they will not invest this into your logo if you’re paying them $5 for the design.
Choosing a $5 logo also risks your company looking cheap and untrustworthy. People do associate a good design with a good business. They are too accustomed to the large brands and their million dollar logos. More thought goes into a logo than just what looks aesthetically pleasing that can be thrown together in 5 minutes.
Paying for an Outstanding Design
This brings us to our next point. What should you pay for your logo? Just because $5 makes for a poor choice, doesn’t mean a logo needs to break the bank. The following steps will help you get your logo designed professionally on a budget you can afford.
1. Decide if budget or creativity is more important.
Do you need more variations to choose from or do you need to stay within a certain budget more? Most companies will provide 2-10 variations of a logo for you to choose from and fine tune, depending on your budget and desires.
2. List the most important messages you want your logo to portray and the audience you want to target.
It’s important for a designer to understand who the business targets as well as what you want your brand to represent. If you can’t think of anything, start by looking back at the mission and vision statements for your company.
3. Get quotes from multiple designers.
Don’t just look at the price tag, look at their previous work, their reviews and their customer service skills. Is this someone you want to work with? Do they design the kind of “look” you’re going for? What is their pricing structure based on?
4. Take the plunge.
Invest in a great logo. It’s worth it.
Contact us for any questions you may have about this article or to get a quote from M’agency to design your logo.
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