Is Logo Design Magic?

It's true and in fact it is a beautiful thing: a good logo can seem magical. Here is the plain truth about logo design: a good designer will spend tens of hours (or more) in developing a company logo. A respectable logo requires research, brainstorming and a great attention to craft. Design firms charge about $125 an hour for creative and freelancers charge around $75. People must begin to understand the value of good design and the work that it requires. Please go to http://www.logosarea.com to get your Logo designed.It simply costs that much to run the business with good designers, competent support, decent facilities/equipment and come out of it with a fair profit. If hiring a good design firm or freelancer is still too much for you to swallow here's another option – go to a good book store and pick up a good logo book like: "Design Your Own Logo".

Though you might get it for $4.98 but how can one learn a skill that has taken others years of schooling and experience to grasp? Unlike an icon or a button designed to go on your website, a logo is intended to be used on everything a company owns and produces for the next decade or so. It represents the company. It should be clear and simple but at the same time be rich with meaning. It should reference some aspect of the company though at times it may be too abstract for the viewer to immediately make the connection. Please go to http://www.logosarea.com to get your Logo designedA good designer will begin by spending a significant amount of time researching the company, it's industry and the competition. This will be followed by dozens upon dozens of pencil sketches. There's nothing magic about it, the process takes a significant amount of time. In 1986 Paul Rand designed the logo for Steve Jobs Next Computers for $100,000 ( Playing by Mr. Rand's Rules ). That means that he potentially spent 1000 hours in developing that logo. Don't get me wrong, the hours involved may seem long and tedious but a logo to me is by far one of the most enjoyable kind of projects to work on. Most designers go through their own variation of what I believe is basically the same process. It begins with research. Research is crucial -- among other things it should involve learning about the company, finding out who their audience is, what the industry is like and what type of imagery might be appropriate for inspiration.

Following the research I like to just let my brain spill -- I do dozens of really bad pencil sketches, generating as many unique ideas as I can. When I feel that I've explored as many possibilities as I can bear I then select several of my sketches and I turn to the computer to rebuild and refine them. From those I then chose 2 or 3 that I like enough to spruce up and present to the client. These first concepts are designed in black and white only. I feel that this is important, it's a kind of "lowest common denominator" insurance.

Somewhere down the road nearly every company is forced to use a black and white version of their logo for something. If the design is first good in black and white then it can only get better with color (well that's the theory anyhow). After this first presentation the client has to chose which of the 2-3 logos is working or showing promise for them. 2-3 rounds of refinement (add color) and edits follow. Please go to http://www.logosarea.com to get your Logo designedNever limit your design options. Swooshes or any other visual devise should be explored and embraced -- but only if and when they are used in a unique and meaningful way. Designers need to step up and help clients better understand what good design is. Often working with a client means teaching them about craft, making it clear that your design decisions are based on knowledge and boldly expressing your opinion. Design is not magic. It is largely a demonstrable process that takes most designers many years to develop .

A logo is pretty crucialOften it will be part of the first or only impression that someone might get of your company -- on a business card for example. It will be present on almost every product, package, piece of company literature, and property a company may have. Your logo delivers a message to people -- a poorly designed logo can speak volumes about the quality of your services or product.

A bad logo can often mean that your potential customer is much less likely to take you seriously. A well researched and finely crafted logo on the other hand can have a very positive influence on how your audience perceives your company. The quality of the logo is not always proportionate to the quality of the company, product or service that it represents -- but not everyone out there will know that. Please go to http://www.logosarea.com to get your Logo designedSo what are you going to opt for? A cheap, quick-fix short term logo? Or a relatively expensive, well-thought, attractive, log-lasting one? The ball is in your court.