Logo design companies are plentiful these days and those not familiar with the design process may not know what to look for. This article describes some of the things you ought to look for in a logo design company.
The Process
When you order a logo from a design company, they will get one or more designers to come up with one or more concepts based on what you have told them.
You will select the concept you like most and tell the logo design company of any alterations you require to the logo.
The logo design company will make alterations to the logo as per your request. This process of revisions will happen one or more times before a final logo is delivered to you.
The whole process can take anything from 24 hours to 5 days depending upon the particular logo design company in question and the amount of concepts and revisions that take place.
Do You Just Get A Logo?
On the low-end packages, yes.
On mid-range packages you can expect business cards too and on the higher-rated packages you'll also get a web site design thrown in. All this will be based off your logo design so that the same corporate identity theme runs throughout.
Prices
Before going any further it's probably worth commenting on prices. From a good logo design company, you can expect prices to range as follows:
- Low end, just a logo design: $200-$300
- Mid-range, logo design + business cards: $500-$600
- High-end, logo design + business cards + web site template: $900-$1500
Number Of Concepts
This is the first thing to look for. When you give the logo design company an idea of what you want, they will come up with a certain number of concepts to match that idea. Of course, the more concepts they come up with, the more choice you have.
A good company will give you 3-5 concepts on lower-priced packages and 6-10 concepts on higher-priced packages.
Number Of Designers
When they give you your initial concepts, it is often useful if they have been designed by more than one designer as this will generally add variety to the concepts you get.
The best companies will use at least 2 designers on low-priced packages and 5 or more on high-priced packages.
Number Of Revisions
The number of revisions you get refers to how many times you can throw the logo back at the company and ask them to rework it as per your specifications. Generally the lower-priced packages will allow 2-4 revisions and you usually get unlimited revisions on the higher-priced packages.
Turnaround Time
I wouldn't personally rate a logo design company on their turnaround time, providing it isn't ridiculous. I'd prefer them to take a little longer to get it exactly as I want it. However, most logo design companies will take 2-5 days depending on the package you ordered and the number of revisions you put it through.
Extras
You can expect to receive the completed logo in multiple formats to be used just about anyway you could imagine. You could also expect the better companies to give you gray-scale copies of the logos to be used for faxes and such.
With the mid-range and high-end packages, you can expect additional material from most companies. This usually includes things like business cards and stationary templates and - on the best packages - a set of web site templates too.
Many companies also give you some free business cards too. It's nice to get these but remember that getting the correct logo is the priority here.
Conclusion
What was once a very specialized job costing many thousands of dollars is now within reach of all small businesses for just a few hundred dollars. A logo is the starting point for defining your whole corporate identity and a good logo design company can help you achieve that.
About the Author:
Hugh De Payen have had 3 online companies since 2002, so I have some experience in the area of corporate branding and getting a logo designed.
If you'd like more information about how to get a good logo, please visit my site about the best logo design companies at http://designedlogo.com.