Alright folks! I have seen quite a number of posts advising you, Tom, Dick and Harry to run as fast as Usain Bolt in order to get away from cheap logo design offers as if they have an STD attached to them. So, I wondered why would a graphic designer tell someone to jump ship when it comes to cheap logo design and look for a graphic designer who charges more instead. Sounds absurd, doesn’t it? Some folks think so.
Of course, we know that there is something magical about telling a story without even mentioning a single word. This what a logo is supposed to do and then some. That is what a picture represents—you know the saying, “a picture is worth more than a thousand words.” That is why the work of a professional logo designer should be valued respectfully. With that said, shall we because of the catchy nature of a picture pay an arm and a leg for something as “simple” as a logo? Come to think of it; there are indie graphic designers and illustrators everywhere who can easily create a reliable and nice looking image that will capture the attention of your target audience for a really cheap price. But wait a minute; not all logo designers are professional graphic designers. I repeat, not all “logo designers” (yes, I put it in quotes) are PROFESSIONAL (yes, the caps lock was on) graphic designers. In fact, the price that an artist will charge you for your logo will depend on the quality of that logo. You heard that right. Quality is the key, and there is a reason why advocates of professional logo design state that any logo designed by a professional logo designer shouldn’t cost less than $600. That number might sound arbitrary, but you get the point.
So, in this article, we are going to make a case for the top 3 reasons why logo design shouldn’t cost less than $600, unless of course, you’re only interested in the image, not the quality behind it. So here we go, ladies and gents!
- Quality Differs According To The Graphic Designer’s Knowledge
Are you aware of what you are buying at all? I have to ask because; everyone can claim to be a graphic designer, but not all are professional graphic designers. Let’s be real, anyone can claim to be a logo designer, but are they really? The cold hard truth is that not every artistic person who calls themselves a visual artist or graphic designer out there is capable of giving you a top quality logo.
There is a logo for every price you can think of, and the earlier you realize this fact, the better for you to avoid being disappointed for not getting the quality you want. Knowing this is very important because so many folks outside the illustrator and graphic design industry aren’t much conversant with the nuances of logo design. As such, they become so confused by the prices put forward to them.
Now, listen! Price variations in logo design go beyond the epic ‘civil war’ raging between graphic designers in such a crowded space where one creative artist tries to outdo the other independent artist in the course of getting the clients attention. Yup, that’s right! You have the amateurs groups in the graphic design business. These are the students, hobbyists, and anyone else in between who have invaded the industry to make a mockery of the work of professional graphic designers by charging stupidly cheap for a logo design. You will understand this set of so-called graphic designers better by the time you paid Fiverr a visit. But that is not to say that all graphic artists on Fiverr are amateurs. That’s absolutely what we are not saying. There are professional graphic designers on Fiverr, but you would have to vet them properly.
So why are some of these people classified as amateurs? It is simple; they don’t actually work on your logo. They NEVER did design any emblem for you. What the likes of those $5 gigs on Fiverr give you are not logos at all. Instead, what you get from such offers are blatantly plagiarized graphics that is simply positioned on a white background (and that’s if you are lucky to have that), and this makes them virtually useless for any meaningful and strategic purpose.
That said, there are also other sets of logo designers such as graphic design agencies, indie graphic designers, professional freelancers, self-employed or full-time graphic design entrepreneurs with many years of experience. The knowledge of these sets of artists will significantly determine the quality you will get, which also covers the price charged.
One of the many differences between cheap logo makers and professional graphic designers is the time they commit to the entire process.
True professionals take their work seriously, and this shows up in the quality of work done. In other words, if you pay cheap, you will get cheap. You’re playing yourself if you think otherwise.
When a real professional logo designer creates your logo, the quality is not only visually appealing but goes a long way in defining your brand and your business.
Another difference is that a graphic designer is indeed professionally qualified to create logos that have a highly enduring quality that will stand the test of time. An actual logo design artist does thorough and time-consuming research, performs branding, sketching, and come up with unique ideas and concepts that never did cross the minds of the amateurs. In most cases, you can only find such outstanding qualities in the price range that is not less than $600 (there goes that arbitrary number again), and that’s the reason you shouldn’t really go below this cost. Notwithstanding, you get what you pay for.
- True Quality Comes From Years Of Informal Knowledge Acquisition And Use Of Advanced Software
As genuine professional logo designers, the bulk of us went to school and spent years, time and resources in acquiring the professional principles of outstanding graphic design. From various universities, design schools, trade schools, etc., true professional logo designers sacrificed time, money and pleasures to work with and acquire the very best and most expensive industry standard and state-of-the-art equipment. We mastered the very best in the Adobe Creative Suite, whether it be with Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, and more. That is why the logos created by professionals always conform to industry standard software and tools.
For instance, a logo with a price tag of $600 or above will:
- Maintain its quality and a high degree of resolution even when blown to any size
- Maintain and convey the same meaning, even when reduced in scale to the size of an app icon or a stamp
- Always be useful for different media purposes such as in print, digital, embroidery, engraving, and more
- Remain the only one of its kind—there are no other companies or brand name using the same graphics logo designed by a professional
On the other hand, logos created by amateurs, hobbyists and cheap logo makers using cheap and inferior apps, end up being useless and lacking in quality, since they cannot sketch nor conceptualize.
Again, another thing you have to be aware of is that if a cheap logo maker or an amateur designs your logo, it will cost you more money to fix or redesign it by the time you discover how useless it is. This is another reason why you should consider the price tag on any logo offer before going for it. You will always find solace in a logo design offer that is not stupid cheap; for that’s where the genuine and everlasting quality lies.
- True Professionals Run A Legitimate Business With Operating Cost
Unlike amateurs or cheap logo makers who spend between 1 to 3 hours (if that) on a logo, a true professional who operates legitimately will devote time to his/her work. A professional will first create a design brief, after meeting with the client. They then follow that up by creating a proposal, and then research the company of the client, its competition, and its target audience. After that, the professional designer starts brainstorming, generates ideas, looks for inspiration, sketches out some rough samples, comes up with the real logo ideas itself, and presents them to the client. After that, depending on the feedback he/she will receive, they go back to do some revisions (if that’s the case) before finalizing the perfect logo design. Then they start by choosing a suitable typeface and complimentary color palette, and the designing process continues.
As you can see, there is a whole lot that goes into the logo design process, and all of these take time (more than just a few hours), and as we all know time is money. Artists, whether they are an indie artist, small business or agency, need money to pay bills along with things like health, life, auto and/or business insurance. In some cases, professional designers like a graphic design agency with a storefront or an office will have to pay rent, and because they spend so much time and energy to give you exactly what your business needs, it’s always normal that they will charge a price that not only compensates them for their time, energy and efforts but will cover the costs of their business.
Hopefully this article helps anyone out there who is in need of a logo for their business. The quality of your logo design is extremely important. It doesn’t matter if you’re a big business, small business or individual, you need to do your due diligence to find the right person or company to design your logo. The person or persons you find could be a graphic design agency or an indie graphic designer or freelancer; just make sure they are professional! With all of the cheap apps that can be downloaded on any smartphone, anyone can create a bullshit ass copy and pasted logo. It’s understandable to want to cut corners when it comes to money, but you need to ask yourself what is best for your business. What we do know is that what’s best for your business is not cheap design.
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