10 Don’ts of Hiring a Logo Designer Online

Posted by LogoBlogger

November 6, 2007

Don’t assume that price indicates quality. On the Net anyone can grab a share of the market, including a guy in India or Africa where labor is cheap. With their low overheads these guys can compete very effectively with logo designers operating from 1^st world countries. Biz-Logo.com is located in South Africa – and it shows. They’re able to offer value for money that’s difficult to match.
Don’t settle on the first logo designer you find. There are many, many logo designers on the Net. Compare. It will save you money now and headaches later.
Don’t assume that so-called “shelf logos” or “pre-designed logos” are sold only once. Some design firms resell logos as templates – and they don’t always call them “template logos”. If the site does not explicitly state that their logos are unique, then assume that they are not.
Don’t assume that you will receive the final logo in al the correct formats. Less experienced designers sometimes work in PhotoShop, in bitmap format. That’s a problem. You want someone who works in Illustrator or in Corel, in vector format. Vector format is required for most printing applications.
Don’t order without viewing their examples/portfolio.
Don’t believe everything you see in their examples/portfolio. Less experienced logo designers sometimes publish concept designs to create the impression that they have worked with many clients. It’s hard to tell them apart. You could try looking for examples of logos that include a URL, then type that URL into your browser to see if the site actually displays the logo. That’s not definitive though because the company might have closed down or changed its name since the logo was designed.
Don’t be fooled by the i-got-more-designers-than-the-next-guy syndrome. Having multiple designers working on your logo sounds good, but it rarely is. On the contrary, it often creates problems. Most companies who make impressive statements about the number of designers working on your logo hire freelance designers whom they have little control over.
Don’t order without contacting them. It allows you to test your chosen logo designer’s response times and their ability to communicate in English. Ask them something and see how they do. That guy in India or Africa might be cheap, but you won’t get far unless you can communicate with them.
Don’t be too prescriptive in your design instructions. Give specific instructions, but leave enough room for the designer to surprise you.
Don’t go in there with an “I’ll know it when I see it” attitude. Find examples of logos that you like and spend some time thinking about the look you’re after. Do this before you place the order and you are guaranteed a smooth ride to the perfect logo.