How Much Is A Great Business Logo Really Worth?

A great logo can help a business project a positiveadditional presentation of logos due
image while a badto a complete change in direction on the companies
logo can bring a negative impression about apart, there should
company. For manybe an extra fee. An example would be asking for a
companies, a logo is the only identifiable mark ayellow duck logo
potential customer maydesign and changing your mind to a red dog design
ever see, so it needs to be memorable, descriptiveonce the logos are
and easilypresented to you.Adding an identity program to
recognizable. If a logo is the company spokesman,your logo is a legitimate cost. Designing
how much is it reallythe business card, letterhead and envelope layouts
worth?Cheap logo designs are all over the Internet -are normally a
logo designs under $150!higher priced package. You should receive camera
$99 logo designs, $75 logo designs, $49 logo designsready files for each
and even lower!design.There is a standard reference for pricing
You will easily find a wide range of prices for logographic design and corporate
design on theidentity projects. It is Pricing and Ethical Guidelines,
Internet. Be careful of cheap logo design offers,published by the
some designers may beGraphic Artists Guild. Any logo designer can purchase
using clip art. A logo design that includes a royaltythe book. A
free piece of clip artprofessional graphic designer would have a tough
cannot be copyrighted. That same piece of clip arttime supporting a
could be used onfamily and a studio designing all of their logos below
dozens of other logo designs. A designers portfolio$200.I'm not writing this to give exact prices for a
should be displayedlogo design because each
and there should be a wide variety of logo samples.logo designers circumstances are different. Amateur
At $49 each, do alllogo designers
of the logos look the same? Do the majority ofcharge much less to get their feet wet, but slowly
them have block letteringincrease their rates as
and a swoosh?Some logo designers charge one flatthey gain experience and creativity.The standard
fee for a logo with no questionslogo design rates are based on two major
asked. Can you imagine Coca-Cola purchasing a logocomponents,
design for $99?company size and application or distribution size. The
What a deal! Or how about Bob's bait shop payingmajority of logo
$750 for a logo.designs created over the Internet are created for
There goes the budget! All companies are not equalsmall companies and
in size, budget andindividuals with limited application and distribution uses.
usage. All designs are not equal. Does a swoosh takeFortune 500
the same amountcompanies normally pay much higher logo design
of time and effort as creating a detailedrates and use
motorcycle?The confusion doesn't stop there. Someadvertising agencies.My conclusion is that the value
logo designers chargeof a logo should be based on a few
additional costs for extra colors, extra modificationsimportant criteria:
and extra1. Experience of the logo designer
preliminary designs. You have to get your calculator2. Size & budget of the company using the logo
out just to figure the3. Scope and usage of the logo
final cost of your logo. Do you really know what you4. Difficulty of the designAn individual or small
are paying for?How much is a logo design reallycompany with small to average uses should be
worth? Ask Coca-Cola, Polo, Nike,prepared to pay anywhere from $300 to $1500 for
The Hard Rock Cafe, Hallmark or any othera top quality,
company that relies on theirprofessional logo design.What's included with your
logo as their number one spokesman. Not everylogo? The worst part of paying for a cheap
company is as large aslogo is finding out that you were not sent the
these but every company should have a logo that iscorrect file formats for
easy to identify andprinting and web. You will then have to pay another
stands for the integrity of that business.A logographic designer or
design is more valuable to a company than a singleprinter to create the correct files. Be aware of what
spotfile types you will be
illustration. An illustration is normally used once orneeding and ask your logo designer what file types
used for a limitedare included in their
campaign, whereas a logo is used for years and isprice.The most common file types needed are AI
placed on business(Illustrator) and EPS for most
cards, letterheads, envelopes, web sites, vehicles,professional print jobs. These are vector format
buildings andfiles. These files should
products. Do you see the difference in value to abe in a CMYK color format. Vector art allows you to
company? A logo hasreduce or enlarge a
more value than just the hours spent on creating it.design to ANY size without losing detail or clarity.For
It becomes thehome use and some print jobs you will need TIFF
companies identity.With that said, shouldn't a logo beand BMP files.
worth more than just the time involvedThese are pixel files and should have a DPI (dots
in creating it? Professional graphic design ratesper inch) of at least
average anywhere from300 dpi. 600-1200 dpi is best for professional printing.
$30 to $75 per hour. If you see a logo design pricedThese type of
at $125 and thatfiles lose their detail when enlarged but can be
designer charges $50 per hour for design work, doreduced.The last file types you will need would be
you assume thatJPEG and GIF. These are
they spent 2.5 hours on your logo? That price wouldpixel files and are used for web design. They should
include the timebe in a RGB color
spent to contact you, the research done on yourformat. Be aware that not all colors translate well on
company andthe Internet,
competition, the preliminary ideas, the changes, theespecially GIF files. Ask if the logo designer used
finalizing of theweb safe colors. You
logo, the file prep for each different format, sendingshould receive crisp 72 dpi files for the Internet. A
the logo, billing andGIF file should be
allowing you to have all rights to the design. So howtransparent if you do not want a white box around
much time wasit when displayed on
actually spent creating your logo?My conclusion isyour page.Be sure and ask your logo designer about
that a logo is much more valuable to a company thanyour logo colors. Ask them for
athe Pantone PMS color numbers for each color. You
standard illustration so the price should reflect thewill need this
added value. Manyinformation each time your logo is printed. This
professional graphic designers would be hard pressedinsures that you get the
to create a topexact same colors with every printer that you
notch illustration for under $150 let alone a creative,use.Will you get your files over the Internet or will
well designed logo.you receive a CD? Try to
So beware of logos priced under $150, you may getget a CD, it is much easier to take that to your local
what you pay for.There's even more confusion aboutprinter. Ask your
logo pricing. Some designers basedesigner how long they keep your logo on file in
their logo rates on several of these factors:Logocase you lose your
Modifications - You could get charged for each timeversions later down the road.You should also receive
you want aall rights (copyrights) to your logo. Since a logo
change or modification to your logo. If a logois a companies identity you will need to own all rights
designer asks the rightto get a trademark.
questions, does the research and stays in closeAsk for this in writing if you have any doubts.Ask
communication with thefor the background on the logo designer you choose,
client there should be no need for major changesyou should at
during the creation ofthe very least know their name. Do they have a
a logo design. Be a good communicator and explaindegree? How long have
to the logothey designed logos? Is this their profession or a
designer exactly what you want your logo to behobby? Where is there
saying about yourportfolio? Can you contact their other clients? Can
business. As a designer, you should get signedyou speak to them
approval for eachdirectly? With the amount of software available
modification showing that the client was intoday and the invention
agreement at the time.Extra Colors - Printers chargeof the Internet, any sixteen year old kid can start
more for extra colors. If a logo designerhis own logo design
charges more for a two color logo than they do forcompany.In closing let me say that the information
a three color logo, getabove is a personal opinion
a detailed explanation as to why. It only takes theand is taken from years of searching logo design
click of a mouse toweb sites and reading
add an extra color. In today's world there is verybooks on graphic design. The prices and information
little need for colorI have explained
separations so there should be no need for ahere only pertain to the work of graphic designers,
designer to charge by thenot advertising
color.Preliminary Designs - A few choices is good, toagencies. An advertising agency handles logo design
many choices is overkill.on a larger scale
A logo designer should be able to decide for you theand incorporates an entire corporate identity service.
correct amount ofTheir logo design
preliminary designs it will require to create yourrates are many times higher than a graphic
perfect logo. Be leary ofdesigners.Curtis D. Tucker is one of the leading
eight, ten and more initial designs. How much timecartoon logo designers online
could actually betoday. His company, The Curtoons Cartoon
spent on each design? If you don't like your firstCompany, specializes in
two or three designshelping individuals and small businesses create
you can easily request two or three more.If you arefantastic looking
on a committe or a board, I assure you that you docartoon logos and characters. The Curtoons cartoon
not want toportfolio contains
present ten logos to ten different people. You mayover 200 cartoon designs and can be seen at
never get down to acan be reached 7 days a week at 580.977.9947.
winning design.On the other hand, if you need an