Kriszha » Logo Design Tips

How much to charge for a logo design?

kris — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 09:13:48 +0000

Quoting price is a very uphill task for any freelance logo designer. He/She not only has to satisfy his own expectations, but also has to meet client requirements. To add to that, the most challenging aspect of logo design is that you cannot quantify it, which makes the pricing of logo design work a puzzling task? The nature of work is completely different from all other types of work where you can simply count or measure the amount of work because it is mostly regular and repeating in effort.

The most common ways that are used by freelance logo designers include charging on hourly basis and on project basis. But these methods hardly satisfy the purpose. Hourly charging method can be vague and even the hourly effort may not be consistent in all projects as the job is not mechanical. Project based charging also does not work completely as you may not be able to judge the amount of required effort at the start of the project. So, you can’t actually find an exact formula.

The best way to find an appropriate pricing is by experience. As you get to work on different projects and with different clients, you will be able to reach a pricing process by quoting and correcting the quotes.

Photo: SKPY

10 Taboos for Company Logo Design

kriszha — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:08:25 +0000

Every logo design is an art and a science. It is not purely art because it is need based, its a visual representation of the image of an organization, person or an idea.

For a prospective client and upcoming graphic designer here are some pitfalls to be avoided.

1. Its not an exhibition of your font collection. So don’t use more than two different fonts.

2. The world is neither multicolour nor monochrome. Avoid using more than three different colours unless you want a rainbow.

3. If you are still using clipart or photo, then it means that you still use Windows3.2 with your dotmatrix printer , or else you come from the era when air was clean and sex was considered dirty.

4. People love symmetry. Scientific study has shown that beautiful people have a symmetrical face. So avoid creating a visually imbalanced logo.

5. A logo has 0.1 millisecond to make its impact on the customer. So avoid making unrecognizable company logos which are either mirrored, resized or inverted.

6. Follow the golden rule of KISS( Keep It Simple Stupid) Avoid using symbols that are irrelevant or unrelated to the business of the client.( If your client is in nuclear business no need to show trees and children)

7. Some symbols are cliché, so avoid them. Like symbols of handshake, Globe etc.

8. A Logo without a concept is like hiring masons to build a house without any engineer or architect.You will build a house in the end, but not many guests. Always better to start the logo design process with a brainstorming session with the client and sketch out your ideas with a pencil and papers.

9. Imagine watching two different movies in two separate screen. So unless your target clients are Siamese twins avoid using distracting effects over logo.

10. Imitation is not the greatest form of flattery. Besides the legal hassle its also shows your company logo in poor taste. Only imitate logos if your client is into selling counterfeit products.

How can you tell if a logo is truly effective or not?

kriszha — Sat, 10 May 2008 08:08:40 +0000

A great logo makes a company memorable.

Its general fact, What I think is a logo should communicate the company’s identity. A logo is an essential part of an organization’s identity. A great logo will be attractive but will also have a functional purpose as a business too. A great logo is more than ART. Get the logo right and you will establish a brand loyalty.

Here are the few TIPS to make a logo GREAT

1. Use meaningful colors

Light colors, shadows and gradients don’t fax or copy well. Make sure you have a solid color or black and white version of your logo. logos built from cyan, magenta, yellow and black (cmyk) are of best print results.

2. Choose appropriate fonts

Choose only one or two fonts for your logo. Choosing 2 fonts that compliment each other can make your message stand out. Use fonts that are clearly legible from further away.

3. Try to make it simple

A logo is difficult to reproduce at different scales if the logo is to complex. For example, a 12ft banner may look great but how will a 200px image look in a website. A simple logo is easier to reproduce and resize. And use relevant graphic symbols.

4. Effects

You shouldn’t introduce a special effect that you can’t recreate. Effects like drop shadows, reflections, lighting effects and so on can look great on a webpage but are impossible to recreate on a hardcopy documents unless you are prepared to go for a high quality prints.

Simply, a logo is effective when:

# it allows the immediate recognition of the company,

# it express the company’s character or attitude,

# it conveys a feeling of familiarity and credibility,

# it becomes a guarantee marker.