The Secret Revealed in 11 Points
Steven Selikoff (Experienced Project Manager and Niche Market Import Entrepreneur) wrote eleven valuable points working with a freelance logo designer. If you hire a freelance logo designer to do your business logo, then you should consider yourself reading this article.
1) Hire a graphic designer that will initially create your logo in freehand/sketch instead of software. Off course they should complete it by using software, but starting by sketch helps ensure a unique design.Why? See the next point below.
2) Beware that there are many logo design software packages that offer pre-packaged logo elements. A graphic artist can crank out many designs for many clients using such software, but your “personal” logo may end up looking eerily similar to someone else’s down the road. In my case, a logo for a product I launched a few years ago looked strangely like an ad for a plumber that I saw a year later posted in a Printer’s catalog.
3) Establish upfront how many rough drafts you will get, how many reworks/revisions of the chosen design, and what file types and variations you will get when complete.
4) Establish upfront whether or not the freelance graphic designer can use your logo in their portfolio. If your company is pre-launch you may want to give them a publication date.
5) Find logos from other companies that you love for their style, size, shape, colors, and image whatever. Share them with your logo designer. This will help visually communicate your desires to your designer. I was a fashion photographer for 12 years and even the most gifted art directors showed me images (tear sheets.) Do not underestimate how difficult it is to effectively communicate a visual idea.
6) Share your product or service with your graphic designer. From their outside perspective, they may see a visual element of what you do more clearly than you do, since you are neck deep in your business every day.
7) Tell your designer how you will use your logo. A logo on a business card has different needs than a logo which will be built into a lighted sign on the outside of your factory.
8) Look at your competitor’s logos to make sure you differentiate yourself.
9) Talk to your printer, find out their technical specifications and make sure your graphic artist is delivering to meet those specs. If they do not, (or worse, if they will not,) then drop the designer. Most graphic artists use similar software programs such as Adobe Illustrator CS5. Make sure they deliver your images both in VECTOR format (example: AI, EPS) as well as a hi-res and lo-res traditional rasterized formats (example: JPG, PNG, PSD) so that you can see the final result on your own computer. In addition, always ask for a high resolution PDF. You will be amazed at how often having that format will save the day.
10) One of my favorite sites is Misspelled Tattoos. If you add a tag line, always double check the spelling. Do not depend on your graphic artist as your spellchecker. (Even more important if you like me, hire artists from all over the globe.) The results may be hilarious to others but devastating to you.
11) Finally, don’t ignore your heart when choosing your final image. It is way too possible to over analyze the design. A good logo design should communicate quickly, so use the passion you have for your company as a gatekeeper and make sure that your heart is as happy as your head with your final choice.
(taken from explore B2B)