What logo Not to buy

May 16, 2009 | 2. Blog, Articles, Buying logo | Matas | 6 Comments

Do you run a contest? Can’t decide on what logo to choose? Or maybe you ordered a logo and someone let’s you choose from the concepts? Do you see an eye-catchy logo but still in doubts whether buy it or not? Well, there are some rules for a logo to see if it is good for you.

Firstly, even if the logo is very simple it has to have a link with the company. Many of the logos might be done only just to look good, but there is no benefit for you to have only a good looking logo which is not even relative to your company? Think of what will people think when they see your logo for the first time and have no clue what is your company doing.

Then, look at the logo carefully. Check it’s details and see if they are well done. I mean look if the logo looks professional. Sometimes people buy a cheap logo with a cool concept. Well, you might think there is nothing wrong but they are mostly made by a beginner which doesn’t know some of the techniques and make the logo not to look professional. They make some mistakes that are visible and that is not good for you.

Designers mostly put very common icons like leaves, globes, arrows, people. Well, if you want something more original then you should choose something else even if the logo looks quite ok. Try to look for alternatives. But if it is okay with to have a very common sign in your logo then go for it.

The other thing you should check is the text part in the logo. People show you enlarged logo to see the details clearly. But the buyer doesn’t always imagine how the logo would look when it’s sized-down and placed on web or somewhere else (i.e. t-shirts, stationery). I think the most common problem is that text becomes illegible when you make the logo smaller. If you use a tagline, imagine what can happen with it this way!

Okay, this step is quite important. You have to be very careful if you choose a logo from contest. Some people try to rip other logos and submit them to you. They aren’t original so if you buy such a logo then you are in risk to have a problem with recognition from people and you might copyright problems with that company. My advice: try to type in search engine keyword like FF for let’s say Friends Finder company. This is what many of the “designers” do. They also sometimes use clipart so you should search for these too.

6 Comments for this entry

Yvonne Dobbins
May 24th, 2009 on 12:49 am

I am a fashion Designer that would like a logo created for my name. I have looked for a several hundred logo ideas, but have yet to see something that catches my attention. I have some ideas for T-shirts and would like the logo to somewhere on the t-shirt. My idea is to create the letter V or Y ( which is part of my company name)into a Silhouette shape of a funky diva-lious female. Any suggestions of where I can obtain a good graphic artist?
Matas
May 25th, 2009 on 8:24 pm

Hello, there are many good companies that provide a good service. This actually depends on your budget, I personally would recommend http://logobox.ro He is a really really skilled designer that will never let you down on the designs. He is not my friend or so, I just admire his logos. I hope that will help you to get a great logo, have a good day!
Vinnz
June 11th, 2009 on 12:52 am

Hi there

i need to have a logo made

how much do you charge and how should we go about starting to do this ?

please advise.

many thanks
Internet Marketer
October 20th, 2009 on 1:07 am

I Like your work.

What are your costs?

How do I order?

Contact me via my blog

Thank you

Simon
V
December 16th, 2009 on 5:47 pm

HI,
Ethical question..I asked a friend to work on a logo if they wanted to while they were doing other work for me. I told them what I wanted it to look like. They pencil drew it, then told me that since they made their own font. It needed to be converted, they gave it to me in a Jpeg format. After all of this they told me the bill would be $350. I offered to pay $400. They have since asked for shares in my company instead. I am not comfortable with this. Also it is not in a vector format. They have architectural background but no logo design backgrund. How do I make this right for both of us? I am not going to use the logo, but I am still going to comission someone to do a new one for me.

Thank You
Matas
December 30th, 2009 on 1:26 am

Hello,

In my opinion, it is their fault that they did not talk to you about the shares they wanted, you might could have decided not to have a logo from them. If you feel generous, you can pay them and that is all. Someone does a job and you pay them, simple. So if they want your shares, you go and discuss about that.
I am not sure if I helped you but I hope it was useful.

Thank you,
Matas.