How much can a logo design cost? The correct answer to this popular question ranges from nothing to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Saying you get what you pay for would be true most of the time, but not always. Unless you work with trusted professionals, logo design can be hit and miss. There are many instances where companies have spent a lot of money and gotten bad designs, and instances where companies have spent little and got fantastic results.
The meaning of the price
Price is often the first thing people think of when looking at different logo design options. It’s great to get a good deal on a cheap logo design and try to save a little money, but stop and think for a moment how important a logo design is to your business.
Because your logo appears on your stationery, website, building signage, advertisements, and even vehicles, it’s often the first aspect of your business that customers encounter. Within seconds, consumers will subconsciously examine your logo and get first impressions of your business. Those first few seconds are very important in getting them the right message, and the quality of your company logo can, in some cases, go a long way toward winning those customers over to the competition.
Your logo is an integral part of your organization’s marketing plan and a reasonable portion of the company’s budget should be allocated to it, just as a healthy budget is normally allocated to other marketing activities.
The free model
There are many do-it-yourself logo design templates available online at prices ranging from free to around $30 or $40. You can create a basic design with some clipart or buy a ready-made template, customize the name to suit your needs, and you’ll instantly have a logo for your business.
Some companies give you the ability to browse through hundreds of generic designs suitable for different industries and then order one, which is often available for immediate download.
The downside of these options is that some of the components that users can incorporate into their logo design, like shapes, icons, and clipart, are unoriginal and used by many other companies. Without any design experience, users usually end up with amateurish-looking logos, and sometimes even need to put a small note on the logo that links to the site that created it.
Logo design software
You can now get some pretty sophisticated logo design software that can help you create professional looking logos on your home PC. The downside is that the better software packages can be expensive, there is some learning curve in terms of using the software properly, and these packages still require some artistic input on the part of the user. Why bother with just one or two logos if you’re not a design pro?
Custom logo design
This option is the one I recommend above all others. By having a logo design tailored to the needs of your business by a graphic designer, you can be assured of an original, professional-looking design that meets your needs. Your logo designer does all the design work while you, the client, still get a significant amount of input into the design process. Most reputable custom logo design companies ensure that their work does not infringe other companies’ trademarks, so you can be guaranteed ownership of your logo.
Design competitions
There are now several websites that allow you to run a logo design contest. First, you come up with a price, which usually has to be between $300 and $400 or more, and a brief for the designers to understand the project. Then designers from all over the world submit their designs and you pick a winner who takes the prize money (after the site deducts their commission).
Traditional design offices
For larger companies with huge budgets, meeting with designers in person is still the preferred method. However, this is the most expensive method as it usually logo kaufen involves multiple meetings and discussions with designers in their offices. Prices for this type of personalized service typically start at around $500 and can cost much more depending on the company and the importance of the project. The great thing about online design firms is that they can reduce costs by avoiding coffee with clients and being able to work in cheaper offices instead of fancy design studios.