It can be hard to figure out why you really should shell out money to get a great logo design; if you can get all this stuff for free, why should you have to pay for it? To understand why you should put some cash down on your next logo design, you need to know what really sets the two apart! Before you spend any money, you really need to know what a good design is and how to choose a good designer (or try and wing it on your own). If you want to know why you need a professional designer, keep reading!

Free Logo Makers are Expensive

It’s a free logo maker, how the heck is it expensive? A free logo can actually be one of the most expensive mistakes you ever make; people need to remember your logo and if you’re using generic elements without any design principals in mind, people just aren’t going to remember you. It’s nothing against you or against free stuff, it’s just your logo is the face of your business. It needs to be special and interesting, just like the services and products your company provides!

Are Professional Design Companies Worth the Money?

The answer to this question is really up to the logo design company that you choose to work on your professional logo design. Some companies are bad and you’ll be throwing away all of your money on something that won’t help you, while other companies will give you the value and logo you need to start building up your brand. But how do you tell the good from the bad, and how do you know that your logo is going to help you be successful?

Choosing the Right Professional Logo Design Team for You

When you’re looking for the right people to work on your logo, you’re going to want to see their portfolio. They need to have worked on something similar to your own business before, and you should be able to look at their logo designs and go “Aha!” and really get what they are trying to say. If you don’t like their logos in their portfolio, you’re probably not going to like what they create for you.

How Much do Logos Cost?

Figuring out the cost of your logo can be tricky, but it’ll boil down to three things:

• How many people work on your logo
• How much time is spent on your logo (including adjustments, changes, fixes)
• How much you want to spend

If a design company can figure out fast enough that the sky is the limit, some of them are going to take you for all you’ve got! You need to set a budget with the design team BEFORE they start working on your design; don’t feel bad if you want to try and get a better deal than what they’re offering. Just remember that you’re going to want to spend money to make money and get a great design, and you’ll do great!

Logo design is important for every kind of business, but are you sure it’s right for yours? If you’re anything like me, you’re probably thinking that you can design your own logo and save yourself some money. It sounds like a great plan; one problem though: if you’re not a designer you shouldn’t try designing logos. Sure, logo designing looks really simple, but it’s difficult and you need to understand colour theory and shape psychology. When you want a logo that’s going to resonate with your audience and really communicate something, you need a professional to design your logo! Here we’re going to go over the reasons why you need a real custom logo design and how it’ll help your business. Let’s get started!

• Get Your Face Out There

Whether you’re a brand new business who is trying to establish your brand and audience, or if you’re an established business that wants to take its brand in another direction, you’re going to want to have a logo that projects success and confidence. A custom logo design can make the difference between a brand that gets noticed and one that makes people wonder what you’re about and why they should care.

• Go Dynamic!

You can put a logo on virtually anything these days, and when you get that kind of visibility you want to make sure that it’s the best you can do! A great logo design will be able to go on everything from apparel and merchandise to promotional materials like business cards and fliers. You want to be able to blow it up to the size of a billboard, so you’ll want to make sure you get your logo from the designer in a dynamic format like vector.

• Make an Impression

The whole point of a custom logo design is to make that brand impression! You want people to look at your logo and KNOW what you’re talking about. You want to become a memorable brand in your area or your niche? You are going to have to start taking the steps to creating a memorable brand; this means you’re going to have to have a dynamic impactful logo that tells people who you are and what you’re about! The right custom logo design will carry you through the years and build your brand recognition; your customers create the brand, all you can do is hope to steer its direction!

So if you already have a logo and are considering redesigning, you probably should; if you’re a new business who needs a logo, you definitely should. You’ll want to look at different design companies (like us!) to get your design done, but you’ll need to check out their portfolio to see what kind of work they’ve done before. You want someone who has some experience with businesses like your own, so you can be sure that you’re getting someone who can do the best work for your business!

Colours are such a major part of our lives. We base our personalities on them, we pick just one to be our favourite, and many people decorate their whole house in just one colour! Colour can make customers associate your brand with anything from tough and durable to soft and delicious; suffice it to say that you want to pay attention to the importance of colour for your brand identity. Here we’re going to go over everything you need to know so you can get a handle on your brand, so keep reading!

What is a Brand Identity?

Brand identity isn’t something that you can really control completely but you can help shape it. When you think of Coca Cola you probably think “soda”, “refreshing”, etc. This is party of their brand identity. You’ll also think of the iconic red and white colours along with perhaps the Santa holiday branding they’ve created as well. Red and white would be Coca Cola’s colour branding. Red is a very common colour for food and consumable brands; Coca Cola, McDonald’s, Tim Horton’s, all of these use red to imprint on customers. You need to use your colours just as wisely!

What Kind of Business are You?

Before you try to figure out what colour represents your business best, you have to think about what kind of business you are. Look at businesses like your own and see what they use. What colours are memorable about them and will they work for you? If you’re a construction company, you’ll want to use construction colours like steel, yellow and orange. If you’re a real estate agency you’ll want to use blue, white and grey. These are just examples but you’ll really want to think about what your brand colours should be.

Hire a Professional

While you can research colours and consumer psychology as much as you like, you’re going to need to hire a professional to get the best brand identity. A design team (like us!) will be able to help you select the right colours and even cycle through different colours to see how people react to different combinations. Your customers create your brand, you and your designer can only hope to give a positive impression out of the gate to get people to love you and associate you with a solution to their problems. If Google had picked a serious name and a serious colour scheme, do you think they would have been a successful as they are today? It’s something to think about.

Colours are part of our lives and you can’t avoid the importance when building your brand identity. Apple has a clean white look that makes people associate them with a clean simple lifestyle. How do you want your customers to perceive you? By working with a designer you’ll be able to craft your brand and get loyal customers who will come back to you again and again.

Who doesn’t want a successful logo design that both speaks to your audience but is also easy on the eyes? Your logo has to be memorable to your audience (when your logo design is successful it’s the corner stone of your corporate brand identity) so they identify with your company when they need you, and it also has to get them excited about what products or services you’re offering. But what do people want? What is colour theory, and why is incorporating simple geometric shapes important in a logo? All of these questions and more will be explained!

“Can’t I Just Design My Own Logo?”

I’ve heard this time and time again, “Why can’t I just design my own logo?” Sure, you have Photoshop or MS Paint and a cool font you downloaded, but a logo design is more than the name of your company and a swirly background. Logos are carefully crafted (at least when done right) with geometric shapes and unique fonts. The colours selected are chosen because customers in that business associate it with positive experiences and emotions. Everything about a successful logo design is carefully chosen and researched.

While you could design your own logo, that doesn’t mean you should design your own logo. You want your logo to carry the same air of professionalism that you do in the rest of your business. Many small businesses have launched and failed on a botched logo. Don’t let this be you.

“Logos are Too Expensive.”

Another issue people have with logo design in general is the cost. A logo is the graphical representation of your business; this is the first thing people see when they come in contact with you via a business card, your e-commerce website or on print materials. You want to make a good lasting impression! With so much that goes into a successful logo design like research, colour theory, designing a custom font and more, logos are an investment. It’s an investment that pays off if you can find the right designer to help you get the logo that will catapult your business ahead of the competition.

“Finding the Right Designer is Like Finding the Right Pair of Shoes.”

Finding the right designer to bring your logo dreams into reality is a process of elimination. You’ll need to find a good designer (like us!) who has a portfolio. Look it over and see if they’ve worked on logos for businesses similar to your own. Look at their rates and see if it’s something you can afford. If those two things work out, contact them and ask for references. Anyone can create a portfolio of logos, but having current and former clients on hand who will speak with potential clients is something altogether. It means they did such a good job they’ll vouch for them.

You need a successful logo design to get ahead, but you also need one that’s tailored to your business and your personal needs. We can help you with your logo today!

A logo is your business’ first point of contact with the world, but is yours effective? Logos are a labour of love and knowledge; without either part you’ll end up with a bad logo that could actually hurt your image. While there are no real rules for logo design, here we’ll be going over a checklist of things you can do to make sure you have the best logo possible. Let’s go!

Is it Trendy?

If your logo is trendy, that’s bad. Sure, right now people are going to look at your logo’s bubble sticker effects and have an affinity towards it, but when the next web 2.0 trend rolls along will they even remember that you exist? Trendy is bad, but durable is where you want to be. Look at the logo for Coca Cola; they’ve rarely had to change it in 100 years because they did it right the first time.

Does it Stand Out?

Does your logo stand out in the crowd or does it blend in? You want your logo to stand out and be special! This is the impact statement, the impression you need to make on your audience. Every time they see your logo they should thing “Aha! It’s such and such company and they can give me a good deal on x and y.” When people think of the products and services you provide, you want them to think about you and what you’re offering before they think of your competitors. Your logos is the entry point to branding, so don’t neglect it.

Can You Use It?

So you have a fantastic logo that looks great on a screen, but when you print it for door hangings it’s horrible… it’s just no usable. A great logo is going to transfer across all mediums: business cards, vinyl decals, billboards, signage, websites and more. You need that usability factor in your logo to make sure you can get your image out there and that you get the most for your money.

Does it Make Sense?

This is a biggy when dealing with logo design. Does your design actually make any sense? Is it a dump truck with clowns on the back of it for a cake shop? If so, it’s probably not making sense. While a little whacky is fun, you don’t want to go so far out there that no one can understand what you’re trying to say. You also want the colours to make sense as well, since each kind of business has positive and negative connotation colours.

If you have problem areas with your logo, you need them to be addressed by a professional design team (like us!) who will be able to help you capture the essence of your business with an effective durable logo. With the right application of colour theory, geometric shapes (very few businesses need non-geometric shapes incorporated in the logo) and custom lettering you can have a logo that will get you the results you need.