Not Your Nephew's Logo
I was talking to a potential client a couple of months back, a business owner who was about 45, who mistakenly thought he wanted to hire me to design his first web site. The conclusion of our business relationship has caused me to author this particular entry.
He'd been in business for himself for some time, and was ready to make the "leap into the future" with a web site. During our phone call I asked if his business had a logo or established identity, he said, "well of course we have a logo, my nephew designed it."
We spoke for a while longer, and it turned out we just weren't right for each other. He hadn't paid much for his logo (I think it was around $100), and when he learned my rates for design work, he became disgusted and told me his nephew had a computer and could design a logo for a lot less than I would. I wished him luck.
So what am I taking up Blog space to write about? There are a lot of businesses out there that can't afford to pay a professional designer to create their logo. So they find someone they know, someone with "a computer", and have that person "design" a logo. What I'm writing about here is my own personal DON'Ts when having your logo designed. These tips are mostly for those people who can't afford to have me do this work for them, but other people can read as well. One thing you might want to do is examine your own logo design, and see how it compares to this list.
And so... here we go...
1. Stop the swooshes. Enough already. Nike made it cool. Now everyone throws a swoosh on a name, and they call it a logo. It's not original anymore. It means nothing. What makes a logo interesting is exclusivity—no one else has it. Even if you LOVE swooshes... stay away from them.
2. Stop with the blues and the crazy random colors. KISS your colors. Keep It Simple S..... I probably don't even need to say anything here. Keep your colors to one, two or three. More, and your logo will probably be a mess. As far as choosing colors, pull out a color wheel, and find colors that compliment each other. Or go down to home depot and check out their paint chip selection. That is a great source for inspiration. Oh yeah, blue. No more IBM blue logos. Even IBM doesn't use IBM blue anymore. In fact, most great designers design logos to work in black and white first—then create the color. If your logo doesn't wow you in black and white, color isn't going to help.
3. Don't make your logo really complicated. Ideally, if you're using a graphic with your logo, it should be an image that has been stylized or simplified so that most—if not all—the specific detail has been removed. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, complex logos don't burn themselves into your customer's brain. Second, complex logos don't reproduce well at small sizes. Like with your colors, keep it simple, but unique.
4. If you run a rugged mountain tours business, your logo should not look like a bank's. What I mean here is that your logo should reflect your business: what it does, what it's goals are, what it's services are, who it's clients are. Your logo should use type and imagery that reflect your industry and strategic objectives—and should not be limited to whatever clip art and fonts your nephew has on his computer. You wouldn't use a script typeface to describe a rugged, outdoors business, and you wouldn't use a heavy, slab typeface to advertise a local ballet.
5. Do not copy another company's logo. I don't care how much you like it. It's stealing.
6. Do not get a logo for free. You get what you pay for.
7. Do not get a logo designed in 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days unless you're in a rush. And if you're in the much of a rush to get a logo designed, you might want to re-examine your business plan.
8. Do not pay $X99 for a logo. That's not a real price.
9. Do not design your logo by committee. Yes, get feedback from people you respect, and certainly potential customers. Work with your designer to find the right balance of input that will result in the best, most memorable and professional logo for your business.
10. Do not hire someone who says this when you ask if they design logos, "Yeah I design logos, I have all the software on my computer." Good logos aren't designed by computers OR software (I don't care what Bill Gates says). Logos are designed by intelligent, experienced people who've spent time learning about your business, and know the right design tools and techniques to communicate your business through imagery.
11. Do not believe that design is a commodity. Yes, there are many people out their who want to be designers. Do your research.
12. Do not "hire" a relative who will design your logo for free. You'll both be disappointed. You won't get the attention your business deserves, and they won't get paid and will become irritated when you keep calling.
13. Research your designer. Look at their web site and/or portfolio. Ask questions like, "what did you do on this project." I was researching logos on line for $69 (wow, that's a GREAT bargain!!!) and one of the portfolio clients listed for logo design was Microsoft. Well, they MUST be good if Microsoft is a client. The title of the project was "Identity Design". Then I read the description of the project, which you can find here: http://www.thelogoloft.com/microsoft.html
It might just be me, but I didn't see logo or identity design in there anywhere. IT services are NOT the same as marketing services. That's why they're different departments in many companies. Just because you host files, transfer files, and host a web site, does not make you a logo designer.
14. Do not hire a logo designer who has random pictures of beautiful people on their site. They're just there to look pretty. They didn't get a logo designed, and they probably aren't doing the designing.
15. Do not believe that a whole team of designers is working on your logo so that you can have a high quality, custom logo in 24 hours for $69. I don't believe that my law firm (who is going to go ballistic when they find out about the link in #13) has a team of lawyers working on my legal stuff so I can have it in 24 hours for $69. MAYBE for $6,900...
16. Do not believe that your logo is your brand. Your brand is made up of a lot more than a picture. It's every piece of marketing material, presentation, point of contact, service, and really—any and all interaction with your customers that creates your brand. A good logo is a good place to start.
17. Don't hire any design service that advertises "starter" "bronze" "silver" "navel" or "web" packages. When you hire a designer you're getting experience, knowledge, technique, and research. If your designer has to promise you "unlimited" revisions, then they're just throwing **** at the wall and hoping something sticks.
18. If you ever see "custom" and "template" together when used to describe a logo for your business, run.
19. Do not use clip art. Microsoft has a lot of lawyers. They were in Europe for a while, but now they're back. They WILL come after you.
20. Do not assume that a well designed logo doesn't matter. When was the last time you left a web site because it was ugly or looked unprofessional? It's the same with a logo. If someone has 2 choices for a company, many times, the "prettier" one—or the more professional looking one—wins.
Well... that's it for now. There are some I've missed, and I'll add those later on. I'll also probably do one or two "don'ts" for advertising, web site design, direct mail, and other design problems. But for now, I'm off to go make some design mistakes of my own. :)
Bill Schick
Bill Schick Design, LLC
Bill Schick Design, LLC
He'd been in business for himself for some time, and was ready to make the "leap into the future" with a web site. During our phone call I asked if his business had a logo or established identity, he said, "well of course we have a logo, my nephew designed it."
We spoke for a while longer, and it turned out we just weren't right for each other. He hadn't paid much for his logo (I think it was around $100), and when he learned my rates for design work, he became disgusted and told me his nephew had a computer and could design a logo for a lot less than I would. I wished him luck.
So what am I taking up Blog space to write about? There are a lot of businesses out there that can't afford to pay a professional designer to create their logo. So they find someone they know, someone with "a computer", and have that person "design" a logo. What I'm writing about here is my own personal DON'Ts when having your logo designed. These tips are mostly for those people who can't afford to have me do this work for them, but other people can read as well. One thing you might want to do is examine your own logo design, and see how it compares to this list.
And so... here we go...
1. Stop the swooshes. Enough already. Nike made it cool. Now everyone throws a swoosh on a name, and they call it a logo. It's not original anymore. It means nothing. What makes a logo interesting is exclusivity—no one else has it. Even if you LOVE swooshes... stay away from them.
2. Stop with the blues and the crazy random colors. KISS your colors. Keep It Simple S..... I probably don't even need to say anything here. Keep your colors to one, two or three. More, and your logo will probably be a mess. As far as choosing colors, pull out a color wheel, and find colors that compliment each other. Or go down to home depot and check out their paint chip selection. That is a great source for inspiration. Oh yeah, blue. No more IBM blue logos. Even IBM doesn't use IBM blue anymore. In fact, most great designers design logos to work in black and white first—then create the color. If your logo doesn't wow you in black and white, color isn't going to help.
3. Don't make your logo really complicated. Ideally, if you're using a graphic with your logo, it should be an image that has been stylized or simplified so that most—if not all—the specific detail has been removed. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, complex logos don't burn themselves into your customer's brain. Second, complex logos don't reproduce well at small sizes. Like with your colors, keep it simple, but unique.
4. If you run a rugged mountain tours business, your logo should not look like a bank's. What I mean here is that your logo should reflect your business: what it does, what it's goals are, what it's services are, who it's clients are. Your logo should use type and imagery that reflect your industry and strategic objectives—and should not be limited to whatever clip art and fonts your nephew has on his computer. You wouldn't use a script typeface to describe a rugged, outdoors business, and you wouldn't use a heavy, slab typeface to advertise a local ballet.
5. Do not copy another company's logo. I don't care how much you like it. It's stealing.
6. Do not get a logo for free. You get what you pay for.
7. Do not get a logo designed in 1 day, 2 days, or 3 days unless you're in a rush. And if you're in the much of a rush to get a logo designed, you might want to re-examine your business plan.
8. Do not pay $X99 for a logo. That's not a real price.
9. Do not design your logo by committee. Yes, get feedback from people you respect, and certainly potential customers. Work with your designer to find the right balance of input that will result in the best, most memorable and professional logo for your business.
10. Do not hire someone who says this when you ask if they design logos, "Yeah I design logos, I have all the software on my computer." Good logos aren't designed by computers OR software (I don't care what Bill Gates says). Logos are designed by intelligent, experienced people who've spent time learning about your business, and know the right design tools and techniques to communicate your business through imagery.
11. Do not believe that design is a commodity. Yes, there are many people out their who want to be designers. Do your research.
12. Do not "hire" a relative who will design your logo for free. You'll both be disappointed. You won't get the attention your business deserves, and they won't get paid and will become irritated when you keep calling.
13. Research your designer. Look at their web site and/or portfolio. Ask questions like, "what did you do on this project." I was researching logos on line for $69 (wow, that's a GREAT bargain!!!) and one of the portfolio clients listed for logo design was Microsoft. Well, they MUST be good if Microsoft is a client. The title of the project was "Identity Design". Then I read the description of the project, which you can find here: http://www.thelogoloft.com/microsoft.html
It might just be me, but I didn't see logo or identity design in there anywhere. IT services are NOT the same as marketing services. That's why they're different departments in many companies. Just because you host files, transfer files, and host a web site, does not make you a logo designer.
14. Do not hire a logo designer who has random pictures of beautiful people on their site. They're just there to look pretty. They didn't get a logo designed, and they probably aren't doing the designing.
15. Do not believe that a whole team of designers is working on your logo so that you can have a high quality, custom logo in 24 hours for $69. I don't believe that my law firm (who is going to go ballistic when they find out about the link in #13) has a team of lawyers working on my legal stuff so I can have it in 24 hours for $69. MAYBE for $6,900...
16. Do not believe that your logo is your brand. Your brand is made up of a lot more than a picture. It's every piece of marketing material, presentation, point of contact, service, and really—any and all interaction with your customers that creates your brand. A good logo is a good place to start.
17. Don't hire any design service that advertises "starter" "bronze" "silver" "navel" or "web" packages. When you hire a designer you're getting experience, knowledge, technique, and research. If your designer has to promise you "unlimited" revisions, then they're just throwing **** at the wall and hoping something sticks.
18. If you ever see "custom" and "template" together when used to describe a logo for your business, run.
19. Do not use clip art. Microsoft has a lot of lawyers. They were in Europe for a while, but now they're back. They WILL come after you.
20. Do not assume that a well designed logo doesn't matter. When was the last time you left a web site because it was ugly or looked unprofessional? It's the same with a logo. If someone has 2 choices for a company, many times, the "prettier" one—or the more professional looking one—wins.
Well... that's it for now. There are some I've missed, and I'll add those later on. I'll also probably do one or two "don'ts" for advertising, web site design, direct mail, and other design problems. But for now, I'm off to go make some design mistakes of my own. :)
Bill Schick
Bill Schick Design, LLC
Bill Schick Design, LLC
Logo Design in New Hamphire
Dog Training in New Hampshire
Direct mail in New Hampshire
Secure Email Solutions
Graphic Design in New Hampshire
Construction Recruiting
Web design in New Hamphire
Dog Friendly Lawn Care
Critical Thinking
Ergonomic Consulting
posted by bill schick design at 7:47 PM
0 comments
