It can be hard to find a logo designer when you don’t yet know where to look. Google search is clogged with sketchy design contests, and the design firms that come up first are outside of most new business budgets. I created this guide for new small businesses to find everyday, affordable logo designers like me.
Do a Google search for “Logo Designer Near Me”
Scroll past those initial ad results and pay attention to the names underneath the map. These are the Google My Business results. Odds are, a logo designer listed there is a friend of a friend, and a contributing member of your community. There are always benefits of spending where you live. When you hire a logo designer who lives nearby, you may be making a business connection.
Read the business descriptions and look through their websites. When you find a site and a style that feel right to you, reach out and say hello!
Try Yelp!, too. Your regular, everyday logo designer utilizes these sites because they are free to use and they don’t take a percentage.
Search sites that promote individual logo designers
Here is a list of sites who list logo designers. These companies take a percentage of the the designer’s pay, like an agent. This is the kind of business you want to support. A logo design contest only pays one out of a 100 logo designers, and they take a cut from the winner. But a company like Thumbtack brings work to each logo designer they profit from. With these sites you can look at a logo designer’s body of work and find a logo designer with a visual language that suits you.
Why you should avoid the design contest
The design contest is a lot of extra work for you, the business owner. Instead of combing through a sea of generic designs, spent your time building yofur business. For a fraction of the time, a professional logo designer creates a logo custom tailored to you and your industry. Think about it. Design contest designers have a very slim chance of winning and being paid for their time. They don’t take the time to consider your company’s core values or the image you want your brand to project. They submit the same look to every business who signs up for the design contest. You want a logo- not a gimmick. My clients get a logo at a similar cost and save a lot of time. When you hire a designer whose work you know and like, you have time to hone and fine tune your logo.
Avoid sites offering very cheap logo design
There are other sites that offer logo design for really, really low rates. These sites are going to give you a result similar to that of the logo design contest. A designer who creates a $75 (or less!) logo isn’t making a design for you. If they aren’t using a formula, they still are not taking the time to research your business and the logo culture of your peers. Your logo may register to your potential customers as an icon, but it stops there. A good logo expresses and emotes and evokes. A good logo is like a good painting. It inspires a response, even if you aren’t familiar with the artist.
Maybe your logo designer is me or one of my friends
Want a unique and memorable logo made by an artist with an entrepreneurial spirit? See my designs here.
My friend Jen has 17+ years of design under her belt. She specializes in print and branding design. She her work here.
