The one and only reason why a good logo shouldn't cost $25
I often like to write blog posts that include numbers (even though I’m terrible at math — hopefully you learned that from last week’s post.) I mean simple numbers, though. Numbered, bulleted items to be exact. I like to provide specific tips and tricks around topics that involve not only design, but also business, creativity in general and inspiration. When I was planning my blogging calendar for the month of July and I planned to write the post for this week, I knew that I wanted to keep it short and sweet. When you have a good message to put out there, it needs to just be said. No extra fancy language, fluff or BS around it. No super long post to read through and wonder what the point is. And for this week’s topic, I don’t need to tell you 4 or 5 different reasons why a logo needs to cost you more than a few bucks — and why at the end of the day, you should more often than not, hire a professional. Why, you ask? Because, there is only ONE. One reason alone why a good logo should cost you more than $25.
I am guessing that we’ve all seen them — the random websites that pop-up advertising that they have a huge team of designers across the U.S. who will create your logo for under $99. I literally came across a site today that said they would do it for $24.99. $24.99! Seriously?! $99 is bad and cheap enough. I kid you not, I almost fell out of my chair. Do not get me wrong, I completely understand and respect the fact that a small start-up business or individual might not have the budget to hire a professional designer to do their branding right away. Maybe someone reading this has even used one of these sites and been satisfied with their results. That’s good and fine, but I am speaking to the reason why budgeting for professional design is SO important (please trust me on this) and that I hope if you’ve ever had to use one of those cheap sites, you never have to do it again. And, I would advise that for someone who is looking for a “less-expensive” logo, there is nothing wrong with hiring a college design student to do it. If they’re skilled enough, have the proper software and can create the logo in an original vector format for you, go for it! You might not even have to pay for it. A lot of students don’t mind doing free work because they’re building up their portfolios. (But word to the wise: at least pay them $100 if nothing else. They will appreciate it and think it’s as good as $1,000. I used to create a lot of artwork 10 years ago for $50-$100 and I learned a lot along the way.)
So, with all of that said, let’s finally get down to it. Why should a good logo not cost $25? Let’s be honest — why should a good logo not cost less than even $200?
1. It will be generic, cheap and not memorable.
Plain and simple, like with anything else in life or business, you get what you pay for. I have no problem buying off-brand things and being a budget shopper from time to time, but when it comes to professional services, I know that I need to hire the person who is right for the job. I don’t hire a plumber to cut my hair. Do you? Of course not. Designs that are created by these cheapo websites often use regular system fonts and an icon or color palette that looks like everything else you see in the world. Generic design looks cheap and cheap design is not going to be remembered by the audience that you’re trying to reach and impress. A cheap logo is also not going to attract any sales.
Instead, when you hire a professional (or at least hire someone to design it for more than $200-300) you are getting something that is unique and customized. You are also getting different file formats that you can use for small and large-scale print and digital purposes. To that, you will get a vector version of the logo that is scalable — which means that you can proportionally enlarge the logo to be as large as you need it and it won’t lose its quality or resolution. Have you ever asked for someone to send you a logo and the best that they can provide is an image that they pull offline, which has a resolution of only 72 dpi and the moment that you even try to make it larger, it looks fuzzy and pixelated? I’ve been there, too many times. There is nothing more frustrating!
It’s also super important to keep in mind why good logo design does cost what it does. Each professional designer is different and charges less or more than others, but do not be surprised to not spend less than $300-400 (just for starters) on something that is solid and nice. Other professionals charge upwards of $600-$1200 and others, still much more than that. There is a lot of time, talent and work that goes into creating your special mark and identity. And, those aren’t the only values to be accounted for. Think about the years of education and training that a professional designer has had and is bringing to your project. Also know that the software used to create your logo is alone $600 to keep and maintain for just a year. A lot of important things are factored into a strong and professional design. Sometimes, these things are easy to forget or clients have no idea they even exist. Designers should communicate all of the values and make sure that that client on the other end understands what they’re getting, when and why. Please do yourself a favor and if you don’t have the budget at all, hire a college student. But if you’re a professional yourself who understands the importance of a good investment in your business, then take the leap and hire a professional. You will never regret having an amazing face to your brand that people are drawn to and endlessly compliment.