Logo Designer

First of all, although it may seem obvious, you need to know what a logo is, what characteristics a professional logo must have and what objectives it must fulfill, in order to be able to choose with criteria and differentiate a professional logo designer from someone who is not.

A professional logo must comply with the following:

– It must be vectorial. That is to say, it must be drawn with a vectorial design program. This means that the drawing is made up of vectors and is, therefore, scalable to any possible size without losing quality or pixelation. A logo delivered to you as a JPG, in a Word, or similar things, will never be vectorial or professional. For this, it must be delivered in vectorial formats (SVG, Ai…) and be designed in this way. For example, many illustrators make logos as if they were illustrations, and these do not have the proper format for a logo, since you will not be able to use it at other sizes larger than the one in which it was drawn.

– It must be, of course, original and unique. I have worked for many years in a marketing agency, and you would be surprised by the number of clients who have needed a logo because they have had problems with the previous one they had, since they have been denounced or they have not been allowed to register it as theirs, as it does not comply with any copyright or intellectual property law because it is too similar to that of other registered trademarks. To avoid this, I always recommend my clients two things, first of all that they work with a professional. Just because a person is in the logo design business, it does not mean that you are a professional or have been properly trained in it. Check references, work, talk to the professional and make sure that he/she informs you of everything and, in short, can deliver what you need. And, secondly, I always recommend registering the logo once it is delivered, to avoid future problems derived from its possible copying.

– Simplicity and representativeness. A logo is not the same as an illustration. A logo must be simple, it must be, by definition, a simple graphic representation of something complex (a trademark). When representing a brand, it must therefore transmit its essence, and represent its values and philosophy.

– It must be catchy. This means, having the quality to capture attention visually and favor its recall and differentiation over the rest of existing brands in the market and, especially, to generate value and recognition over the competitor’s brands.

– To be timeless and enduring in time. A logo must always be timeless and designed to last in time. It must be graphically simple and not be subject to fashions and temporary trends. If in one, two or three years, you need a redesign, it is because the logo was not too good, and it has not “endured” a short period of time and it was not thought for a possible growth of the brand.

– Be relevant within the market and, especially, within the brand’s sector. But, above all, it must be relevant to the target audience that the brand is targeting and wants to target in its sales.

– To be a marketing product. For all the above, the logo is one of the most important factors in the marketing and advertising of a brand, since it will have a direct impact on its relevance and distinction in the market, the sector, towards its target public and against the competition. And since it will define the main lines that the rest of the brand’s identity and, therefore, the rest of its graphic design and advertising elements must follow. Therefore, it is important that a logo designer is also trained in marketing.

– It must be able to be applied to any future support needed in an optimal way. For this, a professional logo designer must provide different variants of the same logo. The minimum variants are the logo in positive (with its original colors), in negative or white (to be used on dark dominant backgrounds or images) and in grayscale. A professional logo must be designed to work in one color and/or grayscale, and still be legible. Sometimes, other types of variants are also made according to the advertising use of the logo, for example, a variant accompanying the logo with a descriptive subtitle of the brand name (e.g.: Main logo: maseuropa. Secondary logo: maseuropa, travel agency), variants that also include the website (e.g.: Main logo: maseuropa, Secondary logo: maseuropa.es), more horizontal and more vertical variants, to be applied differently according to the format of the support. In the case of logotypes (the most frequent type, you can check here the existing logo types), variants are usually made where only the logotype (text) or only the accompanying icon (isotype) is used according to its use; and where both options work for certain contexts.

– It is advisable that it be accompanied by a brand manual, even if it is minimal or basic if the brand is small or the business has just been born, where the philosophy and values of the brand are established and the graphic lines of the brand identity are defined, which must be followed and respected in the rest of the future design elements to be elaborated, regardless of the professional who does it. This manual explains the good use of the identity and the logotype so that, whoever the professional (designer or not) who is in charge of any application of the same on any support, can respect a line that maintains the coherence of the brand and, therefore, does not lose its strength. The brand manual establishes guidelines and simplifies the work of design, marketing and future advertising to all those who come after, so that everything goes together, in the same direction; so that everything adds up. It will also be advisable that this brand manual grows in the future, as the company has bigger design needs, but always respecting the clear lines marked at the beginning. Here you can also read the aspects that should be included in a professional brand manual.

I explain all this so that, regardless of the logo designer you choose for your project and whether it is me or not, you are informed and can choose and assess the quality of the designer’s portfolio and what each one can offer with criteria; as well as demand what you deserve for the service. That you do not need to redesign your logo in two years, that it continues to serve you even if your brand grows, that you do not have copyright problems when registering your logo because it is a copy of another one, etc, etc, etc. As they say, cheap is expensive. This doesn’t mean that my service is expensive, so don’t be afraid to ask, since the budget is without obligation and you don’t lose anything. 😉

• First of all, in order to give you a personalized quote tailored to your business, I need to have a brief written communication (by email) or through a telematic meeting or call with you. I will ask you to answer several simple questions to better understand the scope of the assignment and the needs to be covered. If you don’t know how to answer a question or you are not very advanced in the business process, don’t worry, I will advise you every step of the way.

• After our meeting, normally in 2 working days approximately, I will send you a personalized and NO COMMITMENT quote. If at this point you decide that the investment is not worth it, for whatever reason, there will be no problem. I will be happy to wish you the best for the future of your business. If you have any doubts and you want to solve them, I will also be available for you to tell me, with total confidence, your questions or concerns. If the price fits you and you are interested in moving forward with me as a designer, I will be happy to get fully involved in your project and start working with you to offer you the best of me.

• In about two weeks or a month, depending on my schedule (I will let you know beforehand, of course) and your hurry with the project, I will send you the professional proposal for the brand identity of your business. I will always work with you in the process so that the brand identity is adapted to your tastes, needs and values, as well as those of your brand, your target audience and the sector you are targeting.

• Logo design (1 or several proposals).
• Redesign of logos and brands.
• Design of complete brand identities.
• Creation and adaptation of brand manuals.
• Graphic design elements associated to the identity: stationery (business cards, envelopes, folders, letters…), posters, advertising, merchandising elements, websites…
• Illustrations associated with brands.
• Advice and audits for brands, design and creative direction.
• Any other: consult us.

Check the information here if your assignment is more related to graphic design, illustration, web design or presentation design.

Unfortunately, the answer depends. In order to give you a budget, first I need to know what kind of business you have, what magnitude it covers, what needs you have at brand level, what is your sector and the public you are targeting, who is your competition, etc.

But, Tania, if what you are doing is a logo, doesn’t it take you the same time to make the logo for a big brand as for a small one? No. And I will explain why.

Designing a brand identity is much more than making a graphic with the name of your company. The brand identity defines your business. It has to be oriented to your target audience, reflect your differentiating factors, what makes you special and stand out from the competition, as well as favor the recall of your business. Brand identity is visual marketing.

Creating a brand identity involves building a graphic communication line for your business. This graphic line will revolve around the main visual element: the logo. But, around it, the identity (branding) will be built. Therefore, the design of a logo is always accompanied by a brand manual. The brand manual will be shorter or longer depending on the needs of your brand and the scope of your business and, therefore, it will take me from weeks of work to many months.

So, what main features will I take into account to establish the price of your logo?

– What graphic services do you need: Just the logo + brand manual? Or, do you want to include other elements in the order, so that the same designer can take care of everything and reduce the costs of doing it separately, such as the design of the business card, folders, letters, envelopes, etc? This will make me send you a “packaged” quote, which will increase the total cost, but will reduce the price of each design element separately.

– The number of logo proposals. The higher the number of proposals to choose from, the higher the cost (although the increase is, obviously, proportional).

– The urgency of the delivery: Of course, the urgency you need to deliver the project will increase or not the final budget.

– The media where the logo will be used: This is the main factor that determines the cost of a brand identity. The most common supports for most businesses are: website, social networks, business cards, internal and external documents (letters, envelopes, invoices)… However, depending on your sector, you might have other requirements and media where the logo would be used: T-shirts or other merchandising products, restaurant menu, store front… This affects the budget, first of all, by needing to design a logo (and variants of it) that fit each medium. For example, maybe in some media, for marketing purposes, your logo should be accompanied by the URL of your website and, in others, it should appear isolated. Maybe in some media it is necessary to have a variant of the logo in a single color (to be printed on T-shirts, for example), in black and white, variants to differentiate sections or different audiences of your business, etc. Secondly, this affects the budget because it may be necessary to define in the manual how the logo is used in each support; and thus ensure that the graphic line is uniform and coherent. For example, the minimum size at which a certain logo must be used for it to be visible is not the same in printed support as in digital support.

In any case, do not be afraid to ask for a quotation. Don’t even think that it will be excessive, it will depend on your needs and those of your business. The budget I will give you will be, of course, without any commitment on your part, so you don’t lose anything for asking.

Here are some tips to speed up this process so that you can receive a personalized quote as soon as possible. Try to indicate in your email when contacting the information you have on the following aspects. I recommend you to copy and paste this, and answer as much as possible. Answer only what you know. I will advise you on what you can’t or don’t know how to answer, without any problem.

– Business name. If it has any meaning, please indicate it too.
– Type of business.
– Product/s or service/s you offer.
– Target audience of the business (who is your ideal customer).
– Brand names of direct competitors.
– Philosophy and values of the business, differentiating aspect of the brand…
– In which media and applications the logo would be used (all of them).
– Do you need any additional graphic design element in addition to the logo (and the basic brand manual that goes with it) and associated to the brand identity we build? Such as: stationery designs (business cards, letter, American envelope, folders, invoice, menu card…), icons or illustrations associated to the identity (in this case, let me know which ones you need), website or online store design, elements for social networks (icons for featured stories, templates for social networks…), etc.
– Any requirements you have in mind for the logo, if any (colors, fonts, any specific graphic or something you want to represent, any element you want to move away from, etc).
– If you have any preference regarding the number of proposals for the logo (understanding that the more logo proposals, the higher the cost).
– Any requirement, if any, regarding the brand manual associated to the logo. Normally, the basic brand manual that I develop with any logo includes: construction of the logo, logo variants, corporate fonts, corporate colors, reserve area, reduction test and correct and incorrect uses of the logo. But this manual is expandable according to the needs of each brand.
– Indicative budget you want to invest in the identity design. Of course, the cost of my time does not vary from one client or from one budget to another, but I can offer more or less development: less logo versions, a smaller brand manual, etc for smaller budgets, and the opposite for larger budgets: make a more elaborate manual and add elements such as iconography, illustrations, templates for networks, stationery…, that enrich the brand identity.
– Deadline (if any) by which you need to have the project (the cost may go up with shorter times and greater urgency).
– Any other comments you want to add.
– Any reference you want to attach with logos or images to know you better.