Know-How Exchange : Branding

Let me remind you that you get what you pay for. All of the experts on this forum I am sure can recall a case study about how a super brand was designed and conceptualized. From the signature font to the imagery and style of the logo that burnt a hole right into your subconscious from the moment you laid your eyes on it.

You use these products every day and believe me – these logos and brands were not designed for 3-5 dollars in a foreign country so displaced from the market in which it is going to be dispatched that it becomes completely meaningless. Some of these suggestions are shameful and I would expect more from professional marketers.

Under $200? Get a part time job or something. Go to www.logoloft.com They did ours for $300. and people think we paid thousands. I can't tell you the number of compliments we have recieved about our logo. Don't let them do a web site though that was a disaster.

You want something that is really cutting edge, urban and funky, but only willing to pay $200 for it? As Levon said, you get what you pay for.

Yes you will find people out there who will be able to pull off a $200 logo, and they might even have other satisfied customers, but how many of those "satisfied customers" know any better. A look at your junk mail will be able to tell you, there are a lot of business out there without a clue as to what makes a good logo, or why they need one.

A quick reality check. When you look at these junk flyers in your mailbox, the ones obviously done by non-designers or using clip-art, what goes through your mind? I immediately position them lower on the scale than I would something more professionally presented. Don't fall into the same trap.

Your logo is the visual representation of your brand, and like building a brand, it requires thought, research, concepts and insights into your business and target market. And like your brand, you will only get out what you put into it.

A cheap logo is like a cheap suit. You can spot it a mile away and it does nothing for the person/product wearing it.

One final point, your target audience are teens and college students. A very, very marketing savvy target audience, it takes a lot to win them over, will a $200 logo cut it with them?

Best of luck.

Also: https://www.elogocontest.com/

Have a look at https://logoworks.com/

Go to https://www.worth1000.com/ and run a competition.

Normal winning prize there is 100-200$, for this money you'll get up to 200 logo suggestions from different designers.

A better idea may be to hold your OWN logo design contest - you'll get the added PR / Marketing boost if you promote it correctly AND you'll get the buy-in from your target market. Send out some strategic blogs, (which means you'd better have a web site FIRST), and get the ball rolling with local colleges who have graphic design majors and see what you get. It may just be the ticket to a great new logo and a fresh marketing strategy!

I just checked out the logo contest site that Jay posted. This looks very cool. I did a website for a college that was forming here in Boulder. They had a local designer come up with their logo. It was a tedious process and definitely more expensive than any of the prizes people are awarding at https://www.elogocontest.com/. The cool thing about the contest is that you get many different minds approaching the problem from different directions. With one designer ideas can seem to get stuck in a rut. It seems similar to what happens here with taglines. I disagree with others that you can not get a logo for $200.00. This contest site seems just the way to go. In fact it looks like you took the plunge. for $100 you do not have to worry if it does not get exactly what you want. It will surely get the ideas going.

Mike

Try out a site called www.crowdspring.com. It is a very cool site where you write in your pitch and a whole lot of guys start working on ideas for you. You then choose the best option. You need to be active and give the guys feedback You will get a number of solutions to choose for your $200. Also be specific on the upfront brief...

You can also find them on my site www.brandsintrade.com in the Business Resource centre under Advertising and Design....