When it comes to marketing materials, nothing is more vital than a well-polished logo. A brand logo serves as the foundation for your entire marketing identity, as it will be used for ads, business cards, your website, and many other elements.
But where does a logo come from, and how can you design one for your business? Let’s discuss four primary options and whether they will work best for your needs.

Host a Logo Design Contest

As the saying goes, two heads are better than one, so why not put together as many heads as possible to generate a new brand logo? Hosting a logo design contest is easy to create, and these contests can also serve as promotional material for your business. That said, if you want to be successful in finding a high-quality logo, you should follow these tips:

• Know where to promote the contest – While you should have notifications on your website and social profiles, you also need to go to places where graphic designers will see your posting. Gig work websites and graphic design forums are a great place to notify potential contestants about what you’re looking for and what you’re offering.

• Give good prizes – If you want high-quality work, you need to offer high-quality prizes. Cash is always appreciated, but you may be able to offer other incentives like free merchandise, discounted services, or other goodies that contestants may want (i.e., a laptop or paid membership for the Adobe Creative Suite). Also, excellent prizes will generate more buzz and ensure more submissions.

• Be clear with your parameters – Even if you just have a general idea of how you want your logo to look, you should still be able to articulate your vision to prospective designers. Otherwise, you’ll get wildly different interpretations, meaning you have fewer viable options to choose from when picking a winner.

Pros

• Get lots of creative ideas
• Can find high-quality talent
• Serves as additional advertising for your brand
• Can use secondary logos for other purposes

Cons

• May be hard to get contestants
• Results might not be exactly what you want, lengthening the process
• Prizes may cost more than the price of paying a designer directly

Use a Logo Maker Tool

 

Technology has come a long way in recent years, and artificial intelligence is enabling businesses to workshop ideas and come up with logo designs based on a few details and ideas. When you’re designing a logo, trying a logo maker is great because you can usfe it repeatedly for ideas, and then pay for the final design that looks best. You can even edit and upgrade the logo to be closer to your vision, ensuring that the design is ready to go immediately.

That said, while such tools are ideal for generating ideas and seeing lots of options, they also have limitations. For example, most of the graphics and icons available are stock imagery, meaning it’s hard to get something unique or customized for your specific brand. However, some sites that offer these tools can also put you in touch with human designers, who can take your basic design and turn it into something incredible.

Another advantage of logo makers is that they allow you to see what your logo will look like in different situations. For example, you can see the logo on different web pages, business cards, t-shirts, mugs, and more. In most cases, visualizing what the logo looks like in three dimensions can tell you whether it’s right for your brand or not.

Pros

• Free ideation software so you can generate tons of different logo ideas
• Compare and contrast designs between different tools
• Edit and refine your final design, so it’s unique to your brand
• Some tools can connect you with a designer for a more polished version
• See your logo on 3D objects like shirts and business cards

Cons

• Limited font and graphic libraries
• Much harder to develop custom or specialized logos
• Not ideal if you have a specific vision in mind

Try Your Hand at Logo Design Software

 

For many years, the best way to do any graphic design was via Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Online tools were severely limited, so you had to shell out big bucks for an Adobe license. Fortunately, graphic design websites and software are far more commonplace, and you have access to many tools that were reserved for professionals in years past.

The great thing about these programs is that you don’t have to be a master graphic designer to make a high-quality logo. When you use logo design software, you can access different fonts, icons, photos, and other design elements to create something visually striking from scratch. While there is a bit of a learning curve, it’s far easier to create a design today than it was before.

That said, if you’re not sure what you want for your logo, it can be hard to build something from scratch without some artistic knowledge and talent. Otherwise, you may just wind up with a mishmash of disparate elements that don’t really work as a cohesive design. Overall, this option is best for companies or individuals who feel comfortable with bringing their ideas to life via a digital platform.

Another advantage of graphic design software is that you only have to pay one price to design as many logos as you want. Plus, you can create additional design elements for your marketing, including ads, print materials, landing pages, and many more. Basically, a one-time investment enables you to be creative in perpetuity.

Pros

• Relatively cheap software options
• Less of a learning curve than you might expect
• Access to tons of design tools and graphic options
• Can make additional marketing materials, not just a logo
• Can add designers to the program for collaboration

Cons

• Not ideal if you don’t know what you want
• Some programs are harder to master than others
• May take longer to design a logo from scratch than to outsource to a professional

Hire a Freelance Graphic Designer

 

Finally, the best way to get a customized and polished logo is to work with a freelance graphic designer directly. Deciding to hire a logo designer allows you to connect with designers of all skill levels and budgets. Plus, you can browse portfolios and connect with a professional who matches the style you want for your brand.

The primary downside of hiring a graphic designer is the cost attached to the project. While you can save money by using designers from budget websites, you may be limited in what kinds of logos you’ll get in return. Overall, if you want high-quality work, you’ll likely have to pay multiple billable hours on top of the price of the logo itself.

That said, another advantage of working with a graphic designer is that you can develop an ongoing relationship. In some cases, you may even be able to pay a monthly or quarterly rate to get consistent work for different marketing needs. For example, if you like how they designed your logo, you can have them design landing pages, social media ads, infographics, and much more. There’s no limit to what you can achieve when you have a talented designer on-hand.

Pros

• Fully customizable logo options
• Can find designers with industry experience
• Browse portfolios to see which designers match your brand’s style
• Develop an ongoing relationship to create other marketing materials

Cons

• Costs more for high-quality work
• Some designers may flake out or not deliver what you expect

As you can see, designing a polished logo for your business is much easier than you might have realized. Also, each method has its ups and downs, so you can figure out which option works for your budget and the complexity of your logo design. Even better, you can sample logos from multiple sources to ensure you’re getting the best design possible. For example, you can generate ideas with a free logo maker and then take those to a freelance designer to turn them into something unique to your brand.

No related posts.

This Post was Last Updated On: March 30, 2023