Almost every day we receive at least 3 emails advertising cheap “logo design software”. Ranging from $39 to web based flash do-it-your-self logo design software that costs as much as $200. This makes me think.

Wow, if people could just buy this software for under 40 bucks and then get their logo designed then there is no place for professionals such as me who have spent the last few years researching and creating professional logo designs for clients from around the world.

The logo design software advertised are nothing more than applications that help you put together pre-build templates or clip art images and lets you add your company name to make it into a “professional logo design“. It is simple, relatively easy and best of all, it is cheap!

The only things these advertisements and the websites selling these logo design software forget to mention are that the designs that are created from these applications are NOT unique. Any one with $40 in their pocket will have access to the same clipart images that you do. This means that a ton of people and companies can end up having the EXACT same logo design for their company corporate identity.

Secondly they also conveniently forget to mention the fact that the designs produced by these logo-design-software can not be copyrighted nor trademarked. When one applies for a logo design copyright or logo design trademark, they will be rejected by the USCO and USPTO. So when a dispute arises between two companies about the copyright of their logo design, it will boil down to who created the design first using the logo design software.

When you look at the various clipart images bundled along with the logo designer software, you will realize that they are really bad in quality and most of them have some sort of gradient or other drop shadow effect (usually created using software such as Adobe Photoshop), which means the files will be in raster format. This could lead to a nightmare when trying to get the logo printed or made into a sign. They do not scale well and will look really bad when printed or embroidered.

So why do companies such as Logo Design Works charge almost $400 to create a company logo design when a customer could buy a logo creation software for as little as $40? The reason I guess is very obvious. A professional logo design company such as Logo Design Works has logo designers with years of experience in creating corporate identities.

Creating a winning logo design is not simply about the graphics. Graphics are only 50% of the process. The other 50% involves understanding the company, the industry the company is in and underlying core branding principles and techniques.

Professional logo designers spend hours researching a company, trying to get to know it the best they can. They cross reference competitor logos to see the current trends so that they can create a logo that can be in tune with the current trends and yet stand out from the competition.

They strive to create UNIQUE designs that will stand up to copyright or trademark registration. They strive to create an identity that the customer will be proud of.
The various things that professional logo designers take into account when creating the designs are:

• Where will the logo be most used? What kind of medium?
• What kind of marketing strategy does the company have for the future?
• Who is the target audience and market?
• What kind of core identity message does the company have?
• What is the competition and what are the industry trends?

Based on the above factors and many more that have not been mentioned here, these professional corporate identity creators build from scratch logos that will stand the test of time and are very effective in terms of delivering the core message of the company.

You can expect to have any of the above happening when you create a logo from a logo software which uses pre-built clipart and template images. Think about it.

Branding is such an important aspect of business that even apparently boring products such as pharmaceutical products, drugs and medicines become interesting and exciting.

Pharmaceutical industry branding is immature compared with the consumer and business-to-business segments, but that is largely by choice. For decades, a pharmaceutical company’s brand success formula was simple: discover a drug that was needed, introduce it to the doctor via a sales rep, and watch the prescriptions get filled. What is more, the products themselves, secured under a decade of patented protection, were almost guaranteed to generate large profits. Integrated brand strategies were unheard of and unimportant.

A scientist whose role was discovery and development, not marketing directed the corporation.
Gone are the days when companies used to release products with out much thought to branding, especially pharmaceutical branding. Now pharmaceutical companies are are starting to work on developing the pharmaceutical brand even before the product is fully tested and ready for production.

Pharmaceutical branding is an important way of creating awareness among the public to the potential benefits of drugs and medicines. The marketing process and branding give the public ready knowledge of what the product is about and thereby induces them to buy that particular product from among many other similar products in the market.

As more and more pharmaceutical companies start realizing the importance and the power of brands. So how do companies brand their products to stay ahead of the competition? To start with a good name is important. In fact a great name is very important! A great name can increase the value of a product brand and in turn the revenue, where as a poorly chosen name can lead to disaster for the product.

Marketing teams are spending more and more resources on getting the name of the pharmaceutical product right. However naming a drug or medicine is not the same as naming an electronic consumer product. Careful thought and consideration to all important factors is required for a pharmaceutical product.

If the product is going to be sold internationally then the name should not be wrong when translated into the local languages.

The second most important part of pharmaceutical branding is the product logo design. The logo has to be in tune with the target market with the exact font and colors. Iconic pharmaceutical logo design or illustrative logo design can create a great impact on the consumers.

Then comes packaging. The packaging of pills and other pharmaceutical products is very important. Like the name, the packaging and pill can’t look like other products that may sit on a nearby shelf.
Also psychological issues are carefully examined. Take the pill shape and color. If a pill is large, and might seem difficult to swallow, dark colors such as black will be avoided because they make it seem even larger. If the pill has high toxicity levels, then a “hot” color such as red is avoided because it subliminally gives off a feeling of threat, experts say.

Pharmaceutical branding also heavily depends on the marketing and promotional materials. Every thing from brochures to the product leaflet has to be crafted to reflect the brand and appeal to the target market. Pharmaceutical products for children should have bright colored cut outs and packaging to appeal to children.

Pharmaceutical branding is more prevalent than many consumers realize. When you think about it, it becomes pretty apparent. There is no way that a drug company could sell a product by the scientific version of a drug’s name, such as Sildenafil. Who could possibly market a name that you can’t pronounce? You can’t, so they give a drug that is generically known as **** a name like ****. One that is easily recognizable.

Pharmaceutical companies are not foreign to branding, in fact, they have been doing it for years. They have been giving away free samples to doctors as well as free pens, notepads, file folders, and even scientific models of hearts, lungs, feet and other body parts. These are all promotional products and they all bear the name of their corresponding drug proudly. Not only do they brand themselves well, but they personally market the drugs as well.

Pharmaceutical representatives are sales reps and marketers at heart. They love to go out and meet new people and doctors and push their products. That is what they do best. They entertain and wine and dine just to sell their products. Everywhere they go, they are leaving little “goodies” behind and most nurses are always happy to see the pharmaceutical rep because he or she always has lunch and free pens. This is the way they make their sales and its an excellent brand building strategy. Friendly people, with free stuff and medicine that help people feel good.

Pharmaceutical branding exists even farther beyond the sales rep and the free promotional items. Now, they are adding the Internet to their mix. For those doctors that don’t make it to lunch, the branding exists in the form of a website. The website provides all of the relevant information on the drugs and tells the doctors just what they need to know. Even if the doctor doesn’t regularly use a site, they know it is there for future reference or if a patient has a question that he or she can’t answer.

Pharmaceutical companies also know that a catchy name is nothing without a good image. They work with marketers to develop names, logos and even pill sizes and colors. These are all important aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. People need to be able to recognize that the little blue, diamond shaped pill is **** or that long, white on one side and tan on the other side pill is ****. These characteristics are how people know what pills are which and which pill is for what. People depend on imagery and easy to remember names and drug companies are providing just that.

Ok. Now that you have decided to get a logo designed there are a few things that you need to be aware of so that you can get the most out of your logo designer at Logo Design Works. Please note that these tips are relevant when you are working with one of our logo designers and might not be applicable to other companies as their process might differ.

Logo Designer Schedule

When a milestone is assigned to your logo designer, please note that the deadline is valid till the end of business on the day of the milestone. Once your designer posts the initial logo concepts or the revisions on the studio floor you will recieve an email and you can login to review the designs. Our logo design process is highly streamlined and we try our best to ensure that milestones are achieved on time.

Think through your revision requests

When requesting revision, either via email or the studio floor, please make sure you spend some time thinking through the kind of changes you are looking for. If you have a printer then print out the concepts and show them to focus groups (friends, family, associates etc). Try to get a feel for the design that seems to create the right impression. Ask your focus group to rate the concepts on a scale of 0 to 5. Then use your final vote to select the concept to go forward with and request for revisions. However please make sure you do not fall into the “design by community” trap which might lead to a really bad logo.

Fax sketches of changes required

If possible take a print of the concept that you have selected and try to draw or write the changes on the paper pointing to the various areas of the design that you want the changes done. Then fax this sketch to our fax number at 614 388 5573. This will help your logo designer come up with accurate revisions.

Be prompt in your logo design change requests

Please make sure you respond quickly to any revisions posted on the logo design studio floor. If you do not reply back to a revision round for more than 12 days then the project will be de-activated and you would need to get it activated again to continue the process. This is because your logo designer would be moving on to other projects and we would need to schedule your project again.

If you have any questions on this article or the process of logo design please call us toll free on 866.910.5646 or on our regular line at 614.917.2177 and one of our designers would be happy to talk to you.

When engaging a logo design company to design your company logo, the first thing to be sure about is weather you will have direct access to a logo designer. A lot of the online logo design companies do not give access to their logo designers. Customers have to talk to “account managers” who in turn would communicate with the actual logo designers.

The reason these companies do this is because 9 times out of 10 they employ freelance designers.
With Logo Design Works, you can be assured of contacting and communicating with a real logo designer at any stage of the logo design process. We give our logo designer’s direct phone numbers to our clients.

The client can then call and talk to their designer about concepts, changes they want, file formats and after sales support, including lassoing with their printers if need be.

So what are the things to look for in a good logo designer?

First and foremost, a good logo designer should be willing to “listen” to the clients. He/she should ask the right questions. He/she should also spend some time on researching the company, the industry and any competitors before putting pen to tablet.

Yes, you might wonder. How can our logo designers spend time on research and analysis when we charge so little for creating logos?

• We have a very strong system in place that enables us to pay good salaries to our logo designers and still manage to keep the business profitable.
• We cut out a lot of over head associated with traditional design firms because all our business is conducted via the internet.
• We have flexi time system so that designers can work on projects in a more efficient way.
• We do not have to pay for expensive or fancy office space.
• In fact our design studio is very low key and the only money we invested was in cutting edge hardware and comfortable working desks and seats

Secondly a good logo designer should a lot of experience creating corporate identities. They should also ideally have some sort of formal qualification in graphic design or fine art. Most of our logo designers are graduates in graphic design with some having degrees in computer science. Our recruitment process is very vigorous and we take great care to filter out designers who consider graphic design as a hobby. There is nothing wrong in having it as a hobby but we look for passionate designers who aspire for a rewarding career in corporate identity development.

Third, a good logo designer should be communicative. When he/she comes up with the logo concepts, they should be in a position to explain to the client the theory behind the concepts. This helps the client in making a selection and also in understanding how the logo related to their company identity.

Next week we will talk about the logo design process and what goes into creating a logo. In the coming weeks we will also be studying and reviewing some famous logos.

It is really tough to put your trust in an online company and hope they come up with the right logo design for your company. So we decided to put together a small list of 5 things you should know about before choosing a logo design company. This is more like a check list that would help you evaluate a logo design company before engaging their services.

#1: Does the company have an impressive and exhaustive portfolio?

Most of the time logo design companies that you find online are run by one or two individuals who design logos as a part time vocation while keeping regular day jobs. Such companies have a very limited portfolio. Since this is a part time thing they do, it is likely that full professional attention is not given to your project.

Make sure you check the portfolio thoroughly.

#2: Are the rates too good to be true?

A lot of logo design companies online charge so little that it is really ridiculous. Logo designing is a skill that takes time and talent. It is unlike any other type of graphic design. The designer is essentially creating your company identity, which means that they need to understand how corporate identities work, what kind of messages they need to give out with the logo and the industry their client is in etc. This level of knowledge, experience and skills costs time and effort.

If some one is offering to design your logo for $50 or less, think how much effort they will put into getting the right image for the right price for you?

If a company is offering professional designers with multiple concepts and unlimited revisions for as little as $50 then it makes one think how the designer is able to apply his creativity and years of experience (if he/she has any) to the project for such a small fee?

Yes, agreed. We also have a very budget oriented option - Bronze Package - for $197. However if you look carefully at the package details you will see that we only offer 3 concepts and 3 rounds of revisions. Furthermore the level of illustration we offer in the Basic package is limited. Full illustrative logo designs require the Professional package to be selected.

Then who is this Basic package for? It is for clients who are in a hurry and are looking for an affordable and quick start to their corporate identity. They are probably not looking for a comprehensive design solution at this point in time. Perhaps all they need now is get a professionally designed logo to start marketing their company effectively.

#3: Can you contact the logo designer directly?

Many companies online either do not have a direct phone line or would not allow their customers to speak to the designer directly. They usually have people called “account managers” who deal with the clients and act as intermediaries between the client and the designers. They most likely employ freelance designers. If you can not pick up the phone and talk to your designer then how can you make sure your designer understands what you want both in terms of concepts and changes and revisions?

Make sure to talk to a real logo designer before committing your project.

#4: Does the logo design company have a physical address?

A lot of the online logo design companies do not post their physical address on their websites. This is a warning signal. They usually have an email form that you can use to contact them. Other times they would just have a voice mail system set up and they promise to return your call. A genuine company should show their company address on their website. Membership with the local BBB is a good indication of the company’s authenticity.

Verify the address of the company before engaging their services.

#5: Does the company have a refund policy?

A company that offers 100% or at least a part refund of the fees shows that they care about the customer and are confident of their ability to deliver on their promises. The company is willing to shift all the risk associated with buying online away from the customer and on to themselves. That shows commitment and confidence in their services.

Since the creative field is very subjective, a customer must have the option to ask for their money back if the company does not look like they can stand up to the challenge of high quality designs and creativity.

Make sure there is some kind of a refund guarantee before buying a service.Make sure you don’t sign up with a company that refuses to issue refunds.

At the end of the day it is really important that you engage the right logo design company to create your corporate identity. After all it is not every day that get your identity created. Your logo should last at least a couple of years before it has to be updated.

It would be a waste of time and money if you realized your logo was not right for you after you had put effort into making signs or stationery etc and had to get it done all over again.

Another issue you need to be aware of is to make sure you do NOT get designs that have been copied from other company logos or created using clip-art.

If you have any questions on this article or the process of logo design please call us toll free on 866.237.5973 or on our regular line at 614.917.2177 and one of our designers would be happy to talk to you.