What To Know Before Hiring a Logo Designer

A lot of the clients who come to me need a logo designed. They may have researched a little bit, put the word out on Twitter, or gotten a referral from a friend. Many times, they are confused at the wide range of pricing they’ve found, and have questions about what they need to look for or who to trust. The purpose of this post is to educate the person who is in the market for logo design. I hope you’ll find it helpful.

First, let’s start with what not to do:

• Visit a logo making website and piece one together yourself, or believe that having Microsoft Publisher makes you a designer.
• Get your neighbor, son, nephew, grandma, friend, or cousin to design it… unless he or she is a professional with a strong portfolio, of course.
• Go with the lowest price just because it’s the lowest price.
• Decide it’s not in your budget to get a logo done right now and just go with something “temporary” until you start making money.
• Hold a contest where the “winning” designer gets a nominal amount of compensation, or worse yet: mad props, a link on your website, or a glowing review… sure to bring the winner more work, of course.

Why these things are a bad idea:

• Do it yourself websites and programs will result in a homemade, unprofessional looking logo. Stick with what you do best, and leave designing to designers.
• An amateur may use Photoshop instead of Illustrator to design your logo, which will be cause for major limitations for its use!
• The lowest price (especially one $100 or less) might include a “recycled” logo, or one using clip art or stock imagery. Not only would your logo be unoriginal, but it could infringe upon copyright laws.