I bid on logos often, and it amazes me the expectation of cost for a logo. Something that has helped devalue the cost of a logo in many people’s minds are the websites that offer low-cost logos. It used to infuriate me that after all the years of training and work, that I have people competing with me that would sell a customer a logo for as low as $18. It’s as easy as searching for “cheap logo”. Now I have come to believe in the low-cost logo, and here is some advice to dealing with your designer to make sure you get the cheapest logo possible:
Start by finding an inexperienced designer, the best ones are in design schools, art colleges, and high schools. If you ask around, you can even find a friend or relative who dabbles in something artsy. Don’t go to people with credentials like folks with bachelor or masters degrees in design, they just aren’t as reasonable.
Low-ball at first, tell them that you can buy one on the internet for $18! Oh yeah, and insist that you will need to get the logo tomorrow, that always ensures that you will get the highest quality for your money.
Don’t waste their time with letting them know more about your company or competitors. They shouldn’t really care about your products or customers, they should just get designin’.
Ask for a bunch of different logos to choose from, the more choices means the designer will stand a chance at making something you’ll like. Avoid professional designers, they have opinions about logos that may be different than yours, and they usually want more money when you increase your demands.
Make lots of changes. Just like whittling a spear, the more you work it, the better it gets. This is a good time to bring in a focus group of people to help you steer the designer in the right direction. Enlist the secretary, sales people, accounting department, your spouse and people you meet at Starbucks (baristas are creative people, the one at my coffee shop can make hearts in the cream on top of a latte). The more opinions you can take back to the designer will help them streamline their process.
Remember that your logo is the personality of your company that the public sees, so it should have lots of colour and cool effects like drop shadows, bevelled edges, starbursts and should glow too. Ideally it should be very detailed too, this shows off the fact that your company is detail driven.
And last but not least, refuse to pay for the logo and tell the designer you’re NOT satisfied (even if you like it, after all this is business). This is an excellent way to get the price reduced, it works in restaurants and can work with your graphic designer too. Reputation is everything with them, and they will fall on their sword to protect their reputation, even if that means working twenty hours for twenty bucks.
Don’t ever give them a deposit, this is a great motivator to get them to give you exactly what you desire. This way, you can have them create designs till you’re satisfied or they won’t get paid a red cent.
This should help you get the best logo possible for your $18 and will be the cornerstone of your branding and marketing strategies.