Your logo is your brand’s signature and one of your company’s most valuable assets. It’s the one element that symbolizes your brand more than anything else. A well-designed logo reflects your business and communicates your message. It has to be simple, unique, memorable logo erstellen lassen           , versatile and able to function without color .

go through important steps alone as well as with a graphic designer. In this post, I’ll outline the logo design process and some important guidelines to keep in mind when choosing a logo that’s perfect for you.

For the creation of your logo you are free to choose between a freelance designer, a design agency or maybe an advertising agency. In this post, for clarity and readability, I will use the term “designer” to include any type of company or individual that applies to your case.

Choose a budget

First, you should set your budget for your new logo. They can cost anywhere from $300 to $1500 (USD) and sometimes more. Just remember, you get what you pay for and a designer’s fees reflect experience, client history, and professionalism. Investing in a logo (and corporate identity to go with it) is one of the most important first steps in building a brand. A logo is worth a lot 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 various freelance websites where people offer insanely low prices – like $50. Just be aware that choosing a logo online at a bargain price can be disastrous. Inexperienced designers can take ages, don’t 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.

Look for designers

There are so many places where you can find graphic designers. Choosing the right designer for you is definitely a lot harder (and we’ll get to that in a moment). You can find many candidates using different methods.

• asking around If you know someone with a great logo just ask them who made it. Most of my freelance design work comes from referrals.
• Search the directories of graphic design firms like the one on GraphicDesign.com.
• Browse design galleries and portfolio communities like The Behance Network.
• Facebook by “Logo design” and “Logo development” .

Choose a suitable designer

After contacting a number of designers and requesting quotes, consider more than just price when deciding who gets the job. Consider the designer’s previous logos and the corporate identities they created around those logos. Look for good design presentations because they show how much they care about their own professional appearance. Read the descriptions that come with each of their logo projects, because a logo might look great and all, but it has to meet specific design requirements to be effective.

More importantly, choose a logo designer whose design style matches your own preferred style. That way you will be happy with the logo you end up with and the designer will be happy because they are most comfortable with that style.

You can judge the professionalism of a graphic designer by the following points. These don’t all apply, but look out for at least a few of them.

• They are polite, direct, knowledgeable and efficient communicators.
• They will explain their design process to you and tell you what will be delivered once completed.
• They will ask you relevant questions to understand your business.
• They have to sign some kind of contract or service level agreement before they start.
• They require a certain prepayment before the start.
• Your grammar, spelling and punctuation are at least satisfactory. (As in any industry, bad writing says a lot about a person).

A crucial note here: if the designer presents you with a contract or agreement, make sure that ownership of the logo passes to you upon final payment. If there is nothing in writing mentioning ownership, ask your designer to give you that consent in writing. It is imperative that you own your logo design so that you can legally use it however you want in the future.

Inform the designer in detail

Whether you brief your designer in person or via email, it’s important that you explain in detail what you want. First answer these questions:

• If you currently have a logo, why don’t you like it?
• What does your company do?
• Who is your target market?
• Who are your main competitors?
• How do you differ from your competitors?
• What qualities should your company radiate?
• What feelings do you want your new logo to evoke?
• Do you have a slogan that needs to be included in the design?
• Will your logo be featured in videos? If so, will it eventually need an animated version?
• What specific logos are your favorites and why?
• Do you have a preference for typographic logos (FedEx or ESPN), symbolic logos (Nike or Apple), or a combination of both (Pepsi or Adidas)?

Let the designer know exactly where you want to use the logo. Sure, you have business cards and a website, but will it be featured on billboards and your social media profiles?

Ask if the designer provides a logo usage policy document that specifies how the logo can and cannot be used. For example, which logo variant can be used on which colored background? Finally, ask for a favicon . This is the small image that appears in browser tabs, in your bookmarks manager, and on your computer when you save a webpage. They usually come in one of three sizes: 16×16, 32×32, or 64×64 pixels. Ask for a 64×64 pixel favicon so it looks crisp everywhere.

Armed with all this knowledge, your designer should be able to provide an accurate visual representation of your business. Solidifying your vision before hiring a designer will definitely save you time, money, and headaches in the end.

When I entered the logo design industry, I met some clients who expected me to know all these things and provide a perfect solution to a problem that wasn’t clearly articulated. This inevitably resulted in non-stop revisions to their logo and tired faces all around. That’s why I decided to send out a list of preliminary logo design questions before I even consider a job. If you don’t know what you want at the beginning, you can always change your mind as the project progresses. It’s definitely okay to change your mind, but be aware that the designer will likely ask you for more money before proceeding.

Choose a logo concept

The designer then does the necessary research and experimentation, and then comes back to you with some concept designs. Depending on the order, this takes about two to four days. Ideally, they will present you with three to six hand-drawn sketches. If you are looking at the concepts for the first time, choose a logo that immediately catches your eye. This is usually the one your gut tells you. Continue the decision-making process by asking yourself some essential questions:

• Does it represent my product or business?
• Does it get my message across?
• Is the design simple enough?
• Does the design have enough contrast to stand out?
• it work without color ?
• Will it work if it’s super small?
• Does it look too much like other logos?
• Will it be relevant in five or ten years?

After that you sleep on it. Do exactly the same thing and ask yourself the same questions a second time. Do your answers change? It’s also a good idea to ask friends and family what they think.

Provide useful feedback

After the first draft, your designer might actually come up with a logo that’s very close to what you envisioned, but it’s not often that they hit the nail on the head right away. Therefore, it is up to you to communicate your needs as best as possible. Provide useful feedback to your designer. Simply saying, “I don’t like any of them” doesn’t really help the process. Express why you don’t like something or what you would like to see differently, e.g. B. “I don’t like how rigid and symmetrical this one is. Can you give it more movement or more liveliness ?”

It is necessary to provide a clear direction, but do not try to become a designer yourself. You hired a designer for a reason, so let them do what they do best. When you’ve chosen a good designer who communicates well and fits your preferred style, you can rest assured that they’ll be presenting you with quality work.

accept services

After the final payment has been approved by the designer, you should receive the services promised to you at the beginning of the business relationship. This should include vector files that can be resized, as opposed to raster images, which cannot be enlarged without becoming pixelated (blurred).

You need files that are ready to use on the web (usually PNG, JPG, or GIF). Ask for a PNG or GIF if you want the background to be transparent (no white frame around your logo). You must also get the original source files (usually AI or EPS). You definitely want to have the source files in case someone else needs to change or expand on your logo one day. For example, I logodesign f one day you hire someone to create a video for you, a source file will be needed to insert your logo – a JPG just won’t cut it.

When it comes time to choose a logo that perfectly suits you, be aware that it is not an easy process. It takes a lot of thought about your type of business, your target audience, the message you want to send, the feelings you want to evoke, as well as open communication with your designer.

However, it is definitely worth putting effort into a strong logo design as it is the first thing your audience sees and it will stay with you for a long time.

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