When owning a business, there are certain things you’ll need such as a logo. Depending on your business, you may also need additional printed materials including business cards, brochures and flyers, letterhead, postcards and more.

You basically have one of two options. You can either pull out your computer and put something together yourself, or you can hire a trained professional graphic designer to design a custom logo that truly defines who you and what you can offer. We currently offer custom business card designs starting at $50. Get started here.

Many graphic designers have spent years working with businesses and have learned how to use a creative approach that allows them to speak to their current and potential customers. Graphic designers can create a piece that is visually appealing and allows a business to proudly display their brand everywhere the business goes.

When researching your designer:

• First, view their portfolio. Every designer should have a website or some sort of digital portfolio available that you can browse through and get an idea of their style. Look through each piece carefully. If you don’t care for the work on their site, you probably won’t care for the work they create for you. View some of our custom designs here.
• With the digital world we live in, don’t be afraid to look outside your neighborhood. There are thousands of amazing graphic designers all over the country. And through email and/or phone calls, you can easily work with a designer in another time zone.
• Look for recommendations. Ask other business owners who designs their pieces. If you see a business with an amazing logo, they probably can recommend the designer that created it. Read some of our print reviews.
• Pay attention to price. As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” If a logo design cost seems cheap, it probably will look that way too. Graphic designers usually charge between $50-$125 per hour. That may seem expensive, but think of this as an investment into your business. Not only is it tax deductible, but an amazing logo and business card is going to stay with your business forever. Postcards, brochures, etc. may need to change depending on your message, but once you have an initial design, it’s easy for a designer to pick up the design and alter it slightly to fit the new message. It’s much faster than creating a design from scratch, and it also helps brand your business by tying everything together. At Primo Print, we offer graphic design services, and we keep the files to help with the quick edits and changes.
• Learn up-front what you get for your money. A good designer should have an outline as to what they will provide you when creating your design. For example, $250 for a logo may include 4 initial logo concepts, 3 rounds of revisions and the final logo provided in 4 different file types that you can use however you need. Also, make sure your design is one-of-a-kind and that the designer will not use the design again in the future for another company.

Once you have chosen your designer, it’s important that you think about what you are looking for. Designers are creative ,and they can usually come up with beautiful work with little direction. But if you have something specific in mind, make sure you express it to the designer upfront. There’s nothing worse than having a designer spend hours creating a logo he or she thinks is perfect, and then the client coming back later and telling the designer there’s something specific they want as the design.

 

Each designer will have their own process, so read their emails carefully and make sure you answer each of their questions to the best of your ability. Sometimes it’s best to to give more information than what you think is relevant, but make sure you keep it focussed and to the point.

 

Logo Design: Prepare for your Designer:

• What is the name of your business?
• Is there a special meaning behind the name?
• Why did you name it this?
• What is the main purpose of the company?
• What do you make, sell, or provide?
• Do you have any specific images in mind?
• Any specific colors you’d like to see used?

Are there any logos or artwork that you like or would like the designer to reference? Feel free to list links. You obviously don’t want to copy a design, but if there are logos that you like the look of, the visual reference helps. Feel free to create a Pinterest board and share it with the designer. Any other information you feel is important may be helpful in the design process.

If you are have a designer create a postcard, business card, brochure, etc., make sure you put together all of your text and photos before you give them the job. It is really helpful to have all the pieces before you start laying the project out. Additionally, if you can provide text that is as close to 100% complete as possible, that helps the designer too. Also, the more pieces you provide in the beginning, the less time you will be charged in the end.

Working with a designer should be fun and shouldn’t be a stressful process. With as many designers as there are out there, I’m sure you will be able to find one that you feel comfortable with and who will feel like they are a part of your team. Let us help you with your next print project. Contact us, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions.

 

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