Your logo is often the first thing people will see of your business. It is your unique differentiator: your company’s identity.
When it comes to logo design, there are countless options available. You could hire a freelance designer, an agency, or do it yourself. But be warned; you typically get what you pay for.
Take Calgary businesses as an example. There are at least three separate properties being developed simultaneously with the exact same logo style; Nest, The Block on 4th, and The Fifth on 17th Ave. Having a logo that is almost an exact replica of your competitor is like telling potential customers that you are interchangeable.
Your logo should be personal and convey your company’s values and mission. You are NOT interchangeable with your competitors. Your product offerings have unique benefits and features that only your business can provide. This should be reflected in your logo design.
The main benefit of hiring a freelancer over a graphic design agency is the cost savings. With a quick Google search, you can find a multitude of logo design services online such as 99Designs, Fiverrr, or even your local classifieds that will get you a logo for as little as $5.
The difference in quality, however, can vary greatly. An agency that specializes in graphic design and branding has professional and highly skilled designers who are able to create a logo that is far superior to that of an overseas freelancer or amateur designer who scraps together a logo using Photoshop or worse, Powerpoint.
Agency designers will take the time to get to know your business and brand whereas a freelancer will likely jump right into designing. Oftentimes when you use the sites listed above or a freelance designer, sooner or later, you will likely come across a very similar logo to your own on the web. Templated logo designs are common when working with an online designer.
Think of your logo as you would home renovations or building a home. You could always save a chunk of change by finding an independent contractor online but do you really want to leave that to chance just to save a few bucks now?
The results of home renovations gone wrong could be disastrous and leave long-lasting damage. The same can be said for your company’s logo. Your logo will be showcased in everything you do. If you realize later that you don’t like it, changing it will be a painful and costly process. Now, knowing that your logo is invaluable to your business, do you really want to cut that corner?
The cost of a brand redesign can be crippling. Businesses will typically choose to rebrand after several years once they realize they have outgrown their logo. By this time, their logo has been deeply embedded in their company culture and every single document, email, social media account, billboard, web page, and office building. Replacing the logo is a time-consuming and expensive project. A brand redesign can cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars compared to a few thousand at the beginning to design a really great logo and brand.
Another major concern with using an unknown freelancer is that there is no guarantee of design integrity. They could easily plagiarize or rip off a logo design from anywhere on the internet. You likely wouldn’t know until the original company reaches out to you or you see it online later down the road. In the rare case of a lawsuit, it would be very difficult to track down the designer again and hold them accountable. With a local agency, you know exactly where to find them and they have their reputation on the line.
Your business deserves a custom-designed logo!
Graphic design agencies have professionals on staff who are skilled in using the right software to create a high-quality vector logo. Vector art is extremely important for logo design because it doesn’t have pixels that can lead to blurry images when scaled. Vector art is completely scalable because it uses mathematical equations and geometric primitives (points, lines, and shapes).
Programs like Photoshop and Powerpoint create images that are rasterized, or pixelated. This is fine if the logo is already sized perfectly for your website or print materials, but if you try to change the size of the logo later on, it will result in low-quality, fuzzy images. Graphic design agencies know to use programs like Adobe Illustrator to design logos and to save it in the correct format so that it looks great on all mediums.
Another main benefit of using an agency for your logo design, is the brand strategy. Agencies will typically take a holistic approach to branding and create a logo that fully represents what your business is all about. Most agencies will hold an initial “discovery meeting” where they will get to know you, your business, and your industry before they even think about logo design.
With online logo design services like Fiverr, you typically get a text box to quickly describe your business and logo requirements. A designer who is concerned with a fast turnaround likely won’t ask any follow-up questions. They will design something as quickly as possible so they can move onto the next project.
MORAD Creative Agency is a Calgary creative agency specializing in branding, graphic design and web design. We have in-house graphic design professionals that put in the work, do the research on the company and spend the time to do it right. Our graphic designers will always provide a few logo variations to choose from. We will typically take 10-20 hours on a logo design project compared to an hour or two by a freelancer. The difference this can make to the end product is evident in our work.
We aren’t just interested in what colours you like and what fonts you prefer, we want to know how your business operates and what direction you would like to take your company in the future.
We also take the time to test the logo concepts and how they would work on different media types (print, digital ads, signage, clothing etc.) so that there are no costly surprises as your company grows and you need more from your logo in the future.
Your logo is your brand’s identity and therefore, a long-term investment. It will stick with you through the ups and downs and growing pains of your business. While it might seem like a good place to save a few bucks at the outset, it will be well worth it to get it right the first time. Given the high visibility of your logo in everything that you do, you will want a logo design that you absolutely love.
Investing in a good logo design is an investment in your business. By starting with a strong brand foundation, you are setting your business up for future success. Not only will you save yourself a major headache and extensive costs associated with a rebrand later down the line, but you will create a brand that people will be proud to support.
A strong logo is essential to your business. Especially if you plan to have your business for many years to come.
Categories: Branding, Graphic Design,
Creative Agency
