My last blog post was all about my logo design process - but you’ve potentially got another problem before you even reach that point - “Who do I even go to to get my new logo and branding designed?”

The likelihood is that if you’ve reached this blog article you’re not sure where to start about finding a logo designer. Should you use a freelance designer? Go to a design agency? Or just try to do it yourself? I’m going to break down the pros and cons right now.

1. Design Agencies

Many bluechip companies (if they don’t have designers in house) will have design agencies retained to do all of their creative work from events, social media, branding, PR, marketing etc.

This is the most expensive route your could explore with prices starting in the thousands if not tens of thousands - realistically out of most businesses budget especially if you’re an entrepreneur. But more importantly, it’s not really necessary as these business pay for their many overheads and staff to be able to provide multiple services over multiple sectors.

Pros

• Can generally do anything you’d want them too
• Will have worked with the worlds biggest name brands

Cons

• Very expensive - you’re paying for experience but also some serious overheads
• They’ll most likely have the most clients at any one time which means their attention will be split away from you

2. Generalist Freelancers

You’ll often find more generalist freelance designers on freelance posting websites such as fiverr, upwork or people per hour - honestly I never stop seeing the adverts for them! They’ll submit a ‘gig’ such as I can design a modern logo in 2 days, you pay the fee, fill in some questions online and it’ll be in your inbox within the time stated - job done.

Pros

• Can get the job done in a quick timeframe and some for a very cheap cost - average prices I’ve found is £30 - £150
• Ideal for the person who knows what they want, doesn’t want to invest a lot or build a relationship with their designer

Cons

• Much more of a transactional process and it can be harder for the designer to really understand you and your business
• If they’re more of a generalist, they potentially wont have focused their design within a particular niche, so their passion for your project may not be as hight as someone else’s - no one can love every single industry.

3. Specialist Designers/Small Design Studios

This is the type of designer I would class myself as. Specialist designers will generally have a few things in common: they’ll have found a niche they are super passionate about and have dedicated their design style towards it. They’ll have honed in on their processes to make their customer journey as delightful as possible and building a relationship with each and every client is so important to them to create the most beautiful brand to represent the business.

Pros

• They’ll design for a specific industry or niche, so if you find a designer that does yours, they’ll be so passionate about the project.
• The perfect solution for a business or entrepreneur who’s serious and wants to invest a realistic budget into making their branding unique and iconic enough stand out in a crowed market place. With prices generally ranging from £600 - £2000.

Cons

• Maybe I’m being biased, but there aren’t many.  If you still see this investment at too high of a cost, speak to a designer about their process and the value of proper branding. Spending some time to save in advance will also mean you can look for the right person to collaborate with.
• Specialist designers will want to build a solid relationship so if you’re looking for something more transactional it may not be the best option.

4. Logo Maker Websites

Ok, so this option isn’t even working with a designer, but it’s become so common and popular I felt like I had to mention it. All you’ll have to do is google free logo maker (I’ll save why you shouldn’t do this for another post) and you’ll be bombarded by links and paid ads for logo maker websites. At first it seems like a great deal right? You can get your new logo for your business in 5 minutes, FREE!

Pros

• It’s cheap, that’s it. But you can get some really affordable prices working with actual designers.

Cons

• You’re logo will be generated using stock imagery and repetitive font styles with your name simply replacing the example text, it therefore means there will be hundreds other logos that look the same as yours and they wont be at all unique to you or your brand.
• Touching on the point above, if you ever wanted at some point to trademark your logo, you wont be able to as you wouldn’t own the rights to that design.
• Your file will most likely be delivered only in an image file (JPEG/PNG), so if you want to put your logo on a sign, on merchandise or tweaked for a campaign. Well, you wont, at least not well as these files can’t be edited in any design software.

Final Words

And there you have it, my breakdown of the main 4 avenues you could explore when thinking about a new logo or your branding. I’d be curious to know if there was something you weren’t aware of after reading this, or if you now know which type of design collaboration you’d want to explore further.

If you are interested in seeing the packages I offer, please check out my services page or enquire about booking me for a project.