It’s common to take a do-it-yourself or DIY approach to graphic design, especially with the availability of products like Adobe Illustrator. Other small businesses may opt to rely on a family friend or lower-cost graphic design service. The overall goal of both approaches is to save money and reduce your company’s overhead cost.
If you’re researching and vetting different logo design firms, you’ll find that many charge similar amounts for their services. Identical price ranges are normal in the industry — it’s usually the services they offer and the quality of those services that differentiate the best logo design firms from others.
The services these design firms provide — from revisions and open communication to original designs and in-house graphic designers — make their company stand out from other agencies. They’re also the same factors and features consumers should be considering when looking for the best logo design firm in their area.
Check out our complete list of the five tips used by the top logo design businesses to satisfy customers, as well as help you find the right design agency for your company.
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Avoid Logo Design Templates
Design firms that offer lower prices than the rest of the marketplace tend to have a go-to cost-cutting measure: design templates. Templates allow these companies to lower their prices, which they pass onto consumers. And while customers are drawn to the cost-saving measure, the presented logos are far from high-quality or original.
Logos from these design firms are built from a pre-existing template, which means designers add colors and fonts with only minor adjustments to the default image or logo. If you sell camping gear, for example, they may use a pre-made vector image of a mountain, which they recolor before adding your company’s name. It’s a simple, unoriginal process that’s similar to a factory assembly line.
Many designers at template agencies are burnt-out, which further diminishes your logo’s potential to be more than a pre-packaged product. And because these companies are focused on profit instead of your satisfaction, they rarely exhibit concern for your business goal, brand or personality. It’s an impersonal approach that provides an unoriginal and uninspired logo.
The lack of originality in template designs also goes against the very purpose of a logo. A logo is original and unique to your business. That’s why the best logo design firms avoid templates and pay attention to your company’s goals. You’re a client — not merely a customer.
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Give Unmatched Service and Designs
Design firms tend to feature similar price ranges because they provide a similar product. And the best logo design firms? They create high-quality, original designs that are inspired by your business. Their team of graphic designers works with you one-on-one to learn about your company and what makes it unique from competitors, as well as ask about your business aspirations.
All these details are essential to graphic designers because they provide them with the information necessary to create a logo that’s original and unique and features key elements from your company’s brand. It’s important, regardless of your industry, to have a logo that conveys your personality. It shows professionalism and encourages consumers to trust and view your company with respect.
One of the biggest logo design tips from professionals isn’t linked to designing, but instead relates to quality service. Because design firms distinguish themselves by their offerings and quality of service, it’s essential their service is unmatched. Services can include:
- A satisfaction guarantee.
- A money-back guarantee.
- Unlimited revisions and edits.
- Fixed design package rates.
Whether you choose Design Firm A or Design Firm B, invest in one that follows the essential pro-tip of providing a 100 percent original design and the services you want, such as a satisfaction guarantee.
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Collaborate and Communicate With Clients
You’ll find that the best logo design firms focus on a collaborative relationship with their clients as well as open communication. Logos are personal and unique, which is why it’s key to communicate and build a relationship with your clientele to understand their personal and company wants and needs.
Collaboration with a firm focuses on more than just discussing your company’s role, goals and future. It’s about your design interests and opinions. If your business’ colors are red and green, for example, you want a design agency that’s committed to following that style choice instead of suggesting an overhaul of your company’s visual identity.
Successful design agencies also provide unlimited concepts and revisions to ensure clients receive the logo they want for their company, which is why it’s key for the best logo design firms to have not only talented graphic designers, but also designers capable of listening and modifying their work based on feedback.
Some design agencies also use account managers to meet and talk with clients about edits and then relay that information to the graphic designer assigned to the account. It’s a way to streamline the process and allow designers to continue working on other projects versus handling calls and meetings.
Communication and collaboration is a key tip for custom logo designs because it’s essential for creating an effective logo, which is why the best logo design firms focus on collaborating with clients and implementing any feedback given.
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Offer Design Advice and Recommendations to Clients
One of the leading custom logo design tips from professionals is to have a communication channel with clients that is open and honest. As a business owner, you know your company’s personality, while a graphic designer knows the rules and principles of design.
In certain scenarios, a client may request a design that is unlikely to be successful. The request, for example, may ask for three fonts. It’s important to explain the potential risks to a client while also respecting their choice. Other scenarios may feature a client who is unsure of what they’d like, providing you the opportunity to offer helpful advice or ideas that can shape the logo’s design, based on the client’s reaction to each possibility.
You’ll find it’s a balancing act to support your client’s wants while also offering advice that will encourage their logo to succeed in the marketplace. The best logo design firms succeed here with effective communication that’s guided by their expertise and experience.
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Provide the Logo Design Rights to Every Client
One of the biggest logo design tips from professionals is to receive the rights to your logo design. Original and unique designs often provide your company with the rights to that logo, which gives you safety and security from potential legal action for copyright infringement. Other logos, such as those designed from templates, feature licensing rights that cannot pass to you or your company.
Design firms using templates purchase them from a supplying agency. That agency may create the templates or buy them for as little as a few dollars apiece from graphic designers. Because the supplying company owns the rights to the template — not the original graphic designer or template design firm — ownership cannot be transferred to you or any other design firm’s customer.
Here is where the problem arises in ownership. Templates are typically only modified with colors, fonts and names, which means numerous businesses feature similar logos. Companies with almost-identical logos can claim infringement and take your business to court.
While the courts often can’t determine who owns the design, due to the use of a template, your company is still forced to commit an unnecessary amount of time and money, through attorney and court fees, to fight the charges. What you spend is substantially more than what you would pay if you had used one of the better logo design firms in your area in the first place.
Use a qualified and experienced design firm to ensure you receive the rights to your logo design. It’s a choice that protects you and your company from legal action, as well as provides you with the knowledge that your logo is 100 percent unique.
Say ‘Yes’ to Original Design
The tips used by the best logo design firms are what make them top firms. They provide original, non-template logos that include the image’s rights, which protects you and your company from legal action. The service throughout your design experience is also personalized and invested in your business’ wants and needs — not a desire to finish your logo as fast as possible, as is the case with template design agencies.
Work with The NetMen Corp today to create your company’s 100 percent original and unique logo. Clients have referred to our services as, “The easiest, most professional transaction I have ever done” and have complimented our in-house graphic design team, stating, “They worked hard and non-stop until I was happy.”
If you want to work with one of the best logo design firms for one-of-a-kind and effective designs, contact The NetMen Corp today. You can also submit your design request online through our easy ordering form.
