Or: The Case Against Quick and Cheap Logos for your Brand

I can’t stress enough the importance, and extent, of branding for anyone in business. I’ve been inspired (by the existence of crowdsourcing websites that deliver cheap and fast logos) to write a series of posts detailing branding for business. I’m going to write about its importance, how not to do it and why to avoid those websites like the plague, how the Pixel Foundry approaches the design process, and how to get by without solid branding until you can afford to hire a professional. Obviously too much to write in one post.

What is branding?

Branding for business goes beyond a mere logo. It involves typography choices, colour palettes, layout and design style to create a mood surrounding your company. All these pieces come together to create an impression your customers are not likely to forget. A good brand is engaging… without even talking to a sales person, a potential customer or client should already have an idea of your company’s personality, professionalism, and overall identity.

Branding extends to the interior design of your office, retail location, or place of business; the colour of your company car; the advertising campaigns you run… these are things that should be carefully considered if you really want to make an impact.

Consider the fake banners I’ve posted below. Neither of these have the company name or logo on them at all, but anyone living in Vancouver will likely instantly recognize the brand!

Most people just think branding involves getting a logo created for them, though.

Which is where the cheap logo design crowdsourcing websites come in. You can set a price for the “winning” design, and ask for hundreds of submissions from designers around the world, and pick the best one. The average logo price on these websites appears to be around $250.00 – not bad for an hour’s work in Illustrator or Photoshop. This probably sounds like an attractive deal to the small business starting up, compared to agency/studio rates in their home town.

What’s wrong with this picture? Aside from the dubious quality of the design work (anyone can create an account and upload submissions), these hopeful designers know next to nothing about your company except your name. They don’t know your brand’s personality. They don’t know the kind of customer/client relationship you want to aspire to. They sometimes don’t even know what your business actually does. This is logo design at its worst: completely irrelevant to the client’s needs. Save your money and spend it on a nice font instead, is my advice.

So how should the logo design process go? In my next post, I’ll tell you how we approach it at Chestnut St. Pixel Foundry.