Best logo designs?

Tayla

Hi, I was just wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for a logo design company......a lot of the Irish ones seem to be very expensive with only 3 or 4 concepts and that is it, I wouldn't mind paying a bit more if I knew that they would design a few more concepts until I was happy with the design but they don't seem to offer that option.

I was thinking of trying a company in the uk called i-design.net because they let you pay a £25 deposit and will design 4 concepts and make amendments until you're happy and then you only have to pay the balance at the end, I haven't been able to find any reviews about that website but I thought even if I can get some basic concept from the £25 then at least I would have a basis to go to another designer with.

Any opinions?

paddylonglegs

Tayla wrote: »

Hi, I was just wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for a logo design company......a lot of the Irish ones seem to be very expensive with only 3 or 4 concepts and that is it, I wouldn't mind paying a bit more if I knew that they would design a few more concepts until I was happy with the design but they don't seem to offer that option.

I was thinking of trying a company in the uk called i-design.net because they let you pay a £25 deposit and will design 4 concepts and make amendments until you're happy and then you only have to pay the balance at the end, I haven't been able to find any reviews about that website but I thought even if I can get some basic concept from the £25 then at least I would have a basis to go to another designer with.

Any opinions?

Why can't you pay the uk company to design and complete the design?

peejay1986

Tayla wrote: »

Hi, I was just wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for a logo design company......a lot of the Irish ones seem to be very expensive with only 3 or 4 concepts and that is it, I wouldn't mind paying a bit more if I knew that they would design a few more concepts until I was happy with the design but they don't seem to offer that option.

I was thinking of trying a company in the uk called i-design.net because they let you pay a £25 deposit and will design 4 concepts and make amendments until you're happy and then you only have to pay the balance at the end, I haven't been able to find any reviews about that website but I thought even if I can get some basic concept from the £25 then at least I would have a basis to go to another designer with.

Any opinions?

I really am stunned by this post. It's an insult to graphic design as a profession. I'm not having a dig at you personally as you may not be knowledgable about design but let me asure you the way you are going about things is 100% WRONG if you are genuinely looking for a good end result.

I could write an essay bout why this is wrong but let me sum it up in one sentence:

"Quality over quantity."

OctavarIan

Tayla wrote: »

Hi, I was just wondering if someone could point me in the right direction for a logo design company......a lot of the Irish ones seem to be very expensive with only 3 or 4 concepts and that is it, I wouldn't mind paying a bit more if I knew that they would design a few more concepts until I was happy with the design but they don't seem to offer that option.

I was thinking of trying a company in the uk called i-design.net because they let you pay a £25 deposit and will design 4 concepts and make amendments until you're happy and then you only have to pay the balance at the end, I haven't been able to find any reviews about that website but I thought even if I can get some basic concept from the £25 then at least I would have a basis to go to another designer with.

Any opinions?

A good designer will go through hundreds of concepts and designs before selecting the best handful to show you. That's why the cost is higher. You're getting to see what the designer feels are the strongest concepts for your business, after many many hours of research and work on their part.

The cheap-as-chips designer will show you the first handful that happened to pop into their head. Little to no regard given to your personal needs and those of your business.

The difference is one crowd will show you the best four concepts out of hundreds, while the other crowd will just show you four concepts.

Tayla

I would of course pay them to complete the design if they designed one I liked.
Basically I need something to do for now, hopefully in a few months I can pull out all the stops and I will have no problem paying a considerable amount for logos and branding etc but for now the money is not there and I need something as cheap as possible right now.
As I said some of the logo design companies in Ireland only offer 3 concepts for €400 and apart from alterations if you don't like them then you are stuck with them.
I'd also like to clarify that the logo design cost in the Uk is not £25, it is only £25 deposit and if you don't like the designs then that's all the money you would lose, If an Irish company even offered €100 deposit deal and pay €400 at the end then I would do that but none of them offer that deal.

Pixelcraft

It's nothing to do with irish vs uk. Anyone who only charges a £25 deposit in any country should be avoided - you simply cannot run an honest design business like this. How they do is this - Most of these cheap logo shops use stock art for the basis (and sometimes) complete logo, which can lead to complicated copyright problems down the line.

Design is a service industry, it's not like buying a packet of crisps. You need to seriously rethink your approach and if it's worth it at this time. If you've a tiny budget, leave it until you can afford it. Simply use a nice typeface with your business name, rather than a cheap logo.

Tayla

Thanks pixelcraft, They say they don't use stock art and that it is all original, maybe that's not true but it's only £25 so if at the very least I got a few ideas out of it then I would be happy. if I didn't get a design I liked I wouldn't use it and I would indeed just use my business name on the letters instead and wait before paying for a logo.

Pixelcraft

Honestly it'll be a waste of £25. Go to a printer, say you want your company name in a typeface, whatever you like - Sans serif(think apple) Serif (Brown Thomas) etc and spend a small amount getting those files done.

Getting a load of ideas is not how to go about sourcing a logo, what's typically done is you provide a detailed brief, the designer(s) then show you sketched concepts (very early on & basic) and get your input for the direction, then typically one or two concepts are explored

Tayla

I'm not trying to offend people by suggesting that they will be just as good as a bespoke service but there's no use in people just insisting i'm going to get a rubbish logo just because it's cheap, my partner repaired a car the other day for €300, a job which had been priced at the cheapest garage near us as €1200 so you can imagine how much the dearer garages would have charged and when he finished the job was 100% perfect.

Maybe I will get good ideas from them, at the moment i'm clueless but if I had a starting point then I would feel much more confident in approaching another company for logo design when they don't offer a money back guarantee.

peejay1986

To be honest you asked for people's opinions and you are brushing it aside. I completely agree with Pixelcraft. There are reasons why these people charge so little for designs and it is usually because their designs/concepts are substandard or quite often, a rip off of other's ideas.

If these designers had any ability they would be asking for a lit more for their service. Take Pixelcrafts advice - if you don't have the money to pay a proper designer then just use a typeface. Anything else could really damage your company's profile and image.

Tayla

peejay1986 wrote: »

To be honest you asked for people's opinions and you are brushing it aside. I completely agree with Pixelcraft. There are reasons why these people charge so little for designs and it is usually because their designs/concepts are substandard or quite often, a rip off of other's ideas.

If these designers had any ability they would be asking for a lit more for their service. Take Pixelcrafts advice - if you don't have the money to pay a proper designer then just use a typeface. Anything else could really damage your company's profile and image.

I accept that I asked for opinions but I also actually asked for someone to point me in the direction of a good company with a good deal as I said I wasn't happy paying for a design where I would only be offered a few limited concept and if i wasn't happy at the end I would still have no choice but to pay.

No one has advised on a company, everyone would rather just moan about the cheap price.

I think you've taken me up wrong because I didn't come on here asking what peoples opinions are on cheap logos
I said I wanted to maybe get some ideas first from a cheaper company before going to a more expensive place to get it fully made so that should explain to you why i'm brushing it aside.

The complete price is £120 and while low I don't think it is so low that they should be completely disregarded straight away.......read my last post about the car.......price these days is not as much an indicator of quality as it once was.

Pixelcraft

Your criteria for selecting a designer is solely on price, so we really cannot advise on any more than that. You have not mentioned portfolio once.

Read my post about it being a service industry. It's not a tangible item.

I'm more than happy to recommend a few different logo designers, but to be honest they will be nowhere near your budget, so I'd be wasting my time, your time & theirs.

Tayla

Pixelcraft wrote: »

Your criteria for selecting a designer is solely on price, so we really cannot advise on any more than that. You have not mentioned portfolio once.

Read my post about it being a service industry. It's not a tangible item.

I'm more than happy to recommend a few different logo designers, but to be honest they will be nowhere near your budget, so I'd be wasting my time, your time & theirs.

Solely on price? don't think so......I would be willing to pay an Irish designer now if I knew I would get more than 3 concepts.....if I don't like those concepts then i'm stuck with them, that's not a good deal. That's the reason I wanted to have a couple of ideas before I went to them.

I wanted ideas that I could have went to another designer with and said this is what I like and this is what I don't like.
If I had found something good in the meantime then that would have been a bonus.

Pixelcraft

As I said, you haven't mentioned portfolio at all. Anyway, best of luck

Tayla

Pixelcraft wrote: »

As I said, you haven't mentioned portfolio at all. Anyway, best of luck

Noone asked, and obviously I would have liked their portfolio if I presumed that I would have got some ideas from them.

LostCovey

http://www.tweak.com/

Android 666

LostCovey wrote: »

http://www.tweak.com/

Ha. Create a logo in 60 seconds! I looked at that and it is a bunch of balls. If you're happy to go ahead with something like that then fair enough but its not going to help you stand out from the crowd.

Good logo design is important, in conjunction with branding, in helping your business differentiate itself from your competitors. A logo design by itself is not a magic bullet. It needs to be taken as part of an overall approach to your business. Having a good logo on poorly designed material is not going to be of any benefit to you. Also if you don't advertise effectively then the logo is of no use to you either.

If you mistrust designers before you even start means you're not going to get the full benefit of their expertise. They're are many, many highly skilled designers out there with years of industry experience who will be able to help you to effective communicate your company and brand and there are also many cowboys out there too. The best advice I could give you is to look at the websites of the more well established design firms out there to get an idea from of what they are about and get a quote for what you would like to get designed to see if it's within your price range.

tricky D

LostCovey wrote: »

http://www.tweak.com/

Excellent example of getting what you pay for:

• Minimal thought or research put into forming your identity, so the very important first impressions risk being poor.
• No refined choices
• No feedback and drafting
• Client with no actual design experience is the sole decision maker and thought processor
• Only two formats produced
• Fingers crossed that there's no colour issues
• No banner version, might work if you're lucky
• No black and white version, might work if you're lucky
• No reversed version, might work if you're lucky
• No biz card version
• No letterhead version
• Might work at small sizes if you're lucky
• Might work at large sizes if you're lucky
• No icon version, might work if you're lucky
• No style guidelines or media pack

A good logo takes a lot more than many people seem to appreciate. It's a core aspect of branding and identity and forms much of the first and subsequent impressions. They are also harder as while they need to communicate, they also need to be simple enough to be memorable enough to identify with the brand. None of this trivial or done in an hour or two or automated on a website.

peejay1986

Tayla wrote: »

Solely on price? don't think so......I would be willing to pay an Irish designer now if I knew I would get more than 3 concepts.....if I don't like those concepts then i'm stuck with them, that's not a good deal. That's the reason I wanted to have a couple of ideas before I went to them.

I wanted ideas that I could have went to another designer with and said this is what I like and this is what I don't like.
If I had found something good in the meantime then that would have been a bonus.

I don't know why you're assuming that Irish designers have a set limit on the amount of concepts they will design for you.

The way I work, I take a deposit up front and then discuss with the project with the client. From this I learn what you're after and I have a better understanding of what concepts you may like/dislike. After this I would create a range of concepts based on this initial (and my own) research. If the client doesn't like these I will take other actions to try and find the solution that the client is looking for.

I don't think any decent designer will simply do 3 concepts and then say "F*ck you" if the client says they doesn't like any of them. You would work with the designer and build up a process that will eventually lead to a successful end result.

You need to stop looking at this in terms of numbers. If you hire a designer to create a logo for you, that is what the designer will do. Only in extreme circumstances would ties ever be severed mid-process.

I can only speak on behalf of myself in saying that I don't necessarily have a 'limit' on how long I work on a project. Each project is different and designs can come quicker on some projects than others.

I'd gladly discuss your project with you if you like, but based on the fact that you are aware of how the process works with my projects. I don't think it's anything abnormal or vastly different to how others work.

natsuko

freelancer.com

If you dont mind wading through the rubbish bids and paying online. You can set your own terms (unlimited concepts) in the project details.

vincecreative

www.DoCreativeSanDiego.com
Hello, I create logos and my pricing is dependent on the client. Non-profits get a deep discount, as do Start-Up entrepreneurs, but Corporations pay the most. Check out some of my work here: www.DoCreativeSanDiego.com. I have been published in 2 of the LogoLounge publications as well. If you are interested in getting as sweet new logotype, I am your man. thanks for you time.

Ovideo

Logoworks.com, logomaker.com, tweak.com or any "Get your logo here" type sites are ideal for a market that is not addressed by the professional designer, a market that would rather rummage in the logo bin online to see what "will do" for their business.
Designing a logo is an involved process between the designer and the client helping them visualise their product, service or business and I can never imagine any of the well known logos of successful businesses ever arising out of such stock logo sites, such homogeneous designs can only translate in to a less than adequate branding solution and as a consequence of that, a business doomed to failure, surpassed by competitors whose design focus is much more market oriented arising out of the relationship between the client and a professional designer.

Clients of these sites also do not realise that they can have no exclusivity with their designs and these designs can not be trademarked either, thats nice to know after all that advertising and printing spend.

Moo has recently joined with Hp logomaker (gonna lose alot of design clients for that) and as for the name tweak.com? I thought this was for tweaking your computer or games console, etc, why not ShareaLogo.com, designs4all.com...

Tayla

Thanks everyone for all your replies, I actually designed one myself for now which I quite like and will do for the next couple of months, I designed it with smart draw but I was wondering if I sent that to someone to print then smart draw files might not scale up very well or am I wrong there?

John_Rambo

As long as it's vector and not raster you should be fine. Post it up here and show us, if it's as perfect as your partners repair job on the car we should be very impressed.

Tayla

I don't really want to post it up here because the companies name is in it and I am quite happy with it for now.
re. the paint job, I was simply saying that someone charging more does not mean that their work is superior than someone who charges less like a lot of people were suggesting.

John_Rambo

Sure stick it up, it's your company, if anything you will raise the profile, if you are happy with the design you should be proud of it. If anything, you may get some business out of it.

Plus, you did infer that Irish designers were somewhat overpriced, you made a comparison to your husband painting a car and being just as good as the professionals. You came on looking for advice, you got loads of helpful advice, the least you can do is show us the results of your work.

tricky D

Tayla wrote: »

I was wondering if I sent that to someone to print then smart draw files might not scale up very well or am I wrong there?

SmartDraw is raster so scaling up well might be a problem. The other problem is do many printers use SmartDraw default formats?

John_Rambo

If it's a flattened raster it's most likely useless.

Tayla

John_Rambo wrote: »

Sure stick it up, it's your company, if anything you will raise the profile, if you are happy with the design you should be proud of it. If anything, you may get some business out of it.

Plus, you did infer that Irish designers were somewhat overpriced, you made a comparison to your husband painting a car and being just as good as the professionals. You came on looking for advice, you got loads of helpful advice, the least you can do is show us the results of your work.

Em he is a professional, he did his apprenticeship at one of the top garages in the country.......they had to be perfectionists in that garage and so still now he would put his all into a job no matter how cheaply he priced a job....that's my point

John_Rambo

Tayla wrote: »

Em he is a professional, he did his apprenticeship at one of the top garages in the country

Em, right. Where did you study design?

I'm not being smart, but you logged on here claiming that Irish designers are overpriced, got lots of advice, reckoned you could do just as good and now you won't show anyone your work? From the sounds of it you have designed the logo in a program that makes the logo unworkable.

Tayla

John_Rambo wrote: »

Em, right. Where did you study design?

I'm not being smart, but you logged on here claiming that Irish designers are overpriced, got lots of advice, reckoned you could do just as good and now you won't show anyone your work? From the sounds of it you have designed the logo in a program that makes the logo unworkable.

You suggested my comparison showed that I was suggesting non professionals were as good as professionals....I simply showed that sometimes prices can be deceiving.

Unworkable it may be but it could easily be redone by a printer in a more workable program.

I also didn't reckon I could do just as good but I said I designed one that I liked.