10 things to expect from your logo designer
Choosing the right designer is vital. Anyone can design a logo, but not everyone can design the right logo. This article details 10 things to expect from a logo designer, helping you make the right decision.
1. A strong portfolio
Previous identity projects speak volumes about what you can expect. Rather than focus on my own logo design portfolio, here are some others containing nice identity design work.
When browsing different portfolios, look for design diversity, both in client industry and project outcome, ensuring you don’t receive a ‘cookie-cutter’ logo i.e. one created using the backbone of another.
2. Excellent communication skills
Two main points matter here. First, there’s no excuse for glaring typos within email communication. Even those useful spell-checkers don’t pick up on every error, so it’s good practice to re-read important messages before pressing the ’send’ button.
Second, can you rely on your designer to conduct him / herself professionally in a group meeting or conference call? If you’re responsible for the outsourcing, your reputation will be in the hands of your chosen individual or design company.
Creative teams also judge potential clients on their communication skills, and can just as readily say no to a large budget.
3. Attention to detail
Changing smallest detail can greatly alter the impact of a logo. This is particularly relevant during a logo refresh, as opposed to a new logo design. Take a look at these 10 successful logo refinements for an appreciation of the little details.
4. Great customer service
How fast can you expect a response to your questions? If you’re communicating via email, you shouldn’t expect to wait longer than 24 hours between Monday and Friday, unless you’ve been given prior notice. Telephone communication should be available during normal working hours, so don’t hesitate to ask for a phone number if one isn’t already provided.
A designer should respect their clients, and value their intelligence.
Any time you ask customers to self-segregate, they will put themselves in the best line. Seth Godin
What about after the logo handover? Does your designer disappear into the void or will they remain on hand to help with any printing questions or filetype issues? Any self-respecting designer will be keen to help after supplying artwork. This may involve additional compensation, which should be discussed prior to commencing the project.
5. Trustworthiness
How much do you know about the designer responsible for your brand identity? Do they have a successful track record? Are they a ‘new kid on the block’? If the latter, be more wary about proceeding, but don’t think new design companies or designers won’t provide a great logo.
Young designers don’t lack experience, they just lack opportunity. Bob Aufuldish
Blogs play an important role in overcoming sales objections. The regular publishing of design articles shows a passion for the subject, and communication skills become evident through how comments are responded to.
Here are five easy steps to building trust online, complete with a few further resources.
6. Good time management
Deadlines are a vital part of the logo design process. You may be waiting on a designer to finalise your identity before you roll out an ad campaign, or install your office signage, so the last thing you want is to have the agreed timeframe pushed back through no fault of your own.
Questions to ask your designer include:
- When will the logo project commence?
- When can I expect to receive initial ideas?
- How long will I be waiting between revision rounds?
7. Positive references
References — or client testimonials — can offer a great insight into previous customer satisfaction. Legitimate comments should be accompanied with a web address, but if not, don’t be afraid to request client contact details from your designer so you can ask questions.
8. Flexibility
No matter how detailed the initial design brief, there should always be room for flexibility. Things can change during each stage of the process, requiring a different outlook from that first anticipated. The logo designer should accommodate some movement, although may request additional compensation where drastic changes occur.
9. An informative website
You can expect to learn something from your logo designer before paying them a penny, and their online presence should satisfy this requirement. More and more designers are adding blogs to their static portfolios, thus helping with search engine optimisation. In my case, my blog is my portfolio, and each new logo design is showcased by an individual feature, looking at the design brief and taking client comments into consideration.
Informative websites help on a number of counts.
- Trust is built through communication in blog comments
- Attention to detail can be seen according to the initial design brief
- Positive references might accompany portfolio entries
- Communication skills are evident through proper grammar
10. Common courtesy
…there’s a huge gap between what people are willing to pay for nice (a lot) and what it would cost businesses to deliver it (almost nothing). Smells like an opportunity.
To reiterate, 10 things you can expect from your logo designer include:
- A strong portfolio
- Excellent communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Great customer service
- Trustworthiness
- Good time management
- Positive references
- Flexibility
- An informative website
- Common courtesy
There’s obviously some overlap, as great customer service goes hand-in-hand with common courtesy, and positive references breed trustworthiness, but I feel that each point deserves a mention on its own.
Your thoughts
If you’re a design client (past, present or future) is there anything you’d expect from your chosen designer that hasn’t been covered?
If you’re a designer, do you have additional pointers on what clients can expect from us? If so, I’d love to know about it.
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30 spot-on reader comments to “10 things to expect from your logo designer”
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Thanks for posting the article, was certainly a great read!
We are in the process of a logo re design, I am employing my nephew to do the job (I would be interested in views on employing family!) and having read your articles and some by Mr Cass on client designer relationships it has become very clear that in order for both of us to get the best outcome, we need to formalise the process, this will be my nephews first pro logo design, and the first time we as a company have commissioned a logo design. I cannot think of anything to add to this list, but there is plenty here I had not yet considered, thanks for this excellent resource.
Steve’s last blog post…Fundraising Tea Towels for Schools
The Picture on number 5 is FUNNY…. I like the irony…
@topic
Logos really is a big part of a COmpany’s/website;s Identity, it may be small but it actually speaks for the organization as a whole… nice guide Sir David.
Irvin Ryan’s last blog post…Fake Coins? FTW!!!!
I haven’t read all of the text yet (printing for the road) however the 10 headings you suggested are spot on however were you suggesting that these were in order by ranking them 1 to 10?
And I look forward to seeing your nephews logo design Steve… you should get him to document his process.
Anyway by the looks of things this is good post :P Look forward to reading it.
Jacob Cass’s last blog post…How To Write An Effective Design Brief
David, another good article - particularly regarding a strong portfolio, although a lot of the work we do we don’t put in our portfolio, which can leave clients thinking there’s only a limited range of styles we undertake . Leterme/Dowling’s work is impressive - hadn’t seen it before.
Good article David.
The thing with good time management, is that in essence you will never know how well a designer is at meeting strict deadlines etc, and as for point 7, you will be surprised how many designers invent testimonials!
Acuity Designs, London’s last blog post…What is Usability?
Great article!
Just as an aside - there’s always one person who’ll do this, I’m sorry - but “… no excuse for glaring typos … so it’s good practice to re-read important messages ” under #2 is followed by “…proper grammer” in #9. The irony always brings a smile to my face. :D
One item that really hit home with me is #3 - Attention to Detail. It’s that critical eye that knows it’s a nice logo, but not a great logo, and a subtle nuance or tweaking can change that feeling. Nice work, great links. Thanks and keep ‘em coming!
Some great tips there. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the sites that allow multiple designers create mock-ups of a logo from the clients specs. This is a win-win for clients as they get to see what they are paying for upfront and don’t have to deal with the many obstacles you mention in this post.
Very informative article, david.
Time management plays a very vital role. For which, the designer needs to identify all the possible risks which may lag the schedule beyond the deadlines.
I personally prefer dedicating at least 10% of my project time (mostly for web-design works) for estimation and risk analysis. What do you say?
Chaitanya VRK’s last blog post…Alas… Adobe CS4
Really good article. Some of the points mentioned are just common sense, these should be expected from anyone in business, not just logo designers.
BUT! My gosh how many people I’ve come across already in my limited experience in industry who fail to tick many of these boxes. In fact I’ve dealt with, and have worked for, and lost money to people who portray no more than 2 or 3 of these characteristics, yet who have actually had the audacity to dictate MY business ethics!
Anyways, no-one’s perfect. But I know a few people who could certainly benefit from reading this article.
Cheers David!
Nathan Beck’s last blog post…Accessible web design - The Whats and Whys
Hi David, what about a logo style guide? This can cover all aspects of the logo design, including logo-application, logo options, proportion and positioning, clear space, alignment and colour configurations, etc.
Do your clients ever request one?
This is really an important blueprint!
I think all logo designers should check it if they care to stay in competition, as well as customers who are looking for a quality design.
Thanks david for this useful post!
Love the difuse design portfolio some really excellent and professional work in there. The layout of the actual graphic / logo design portfolio is very appealing as well and definitely worth a visit. Thanks for thr post.
All the best with the logo process. I’d like to know how you get on. Working with family members shouldn’t be much different from non-family. It’s just as important to understand what to expect (on both sides).
Jacob,
There was no significance behind the numbering, as I could’ve spent an age determining what I thought was right. It’d be extremely subjective, but there’s no denying the great importance of portfolio entries.
Richard,
That’s a relevant point about not all work being included in the portfolio, though it’s still possible to vary the content, even with omitting a number of projects.
Mel (Acuity Designs),
Inventing testimonials is an all-too-frequent occurence, I agree.
Black Eye,
Ah yes, the old “don’t show typos” followed by a glaring typo routine. Thanks for pointing that out. ;)
FeedZa,
You can read my thoughts on spec work here:
Spec work in the internet age
Chaitanya,
It’s understandable that you allocate a large chunk of time towards cost-estimation. There’s a big difference between the scope of a logo design project compared to that of web design, so I don’t do likewise.
Nathan,
Thanks very much. You’re right, a lot of the points listed are common sense, applying to many different industries.
Andrew,
Yes, a style guide is certainly something you could expect. Nice addition. With that said, most of my current clients don’t choose to have one created, mainly because of the additional expense. There are a couple of ongoing projects, however, that will need one.
Sherif,
No problem whatsoever. I hope Design Interval is growing nicely for you.
This applies to anyone in business and not just designers.
A blog is a great way to show off your portfolio and tends to build trust AND remove doubt as to whether the “testimonials” you feature are “real”. It’s easy to create a static website and fill it with phony testimonials and work you haven’t done.
Unfortunately, I hired a graphic designer who did just that years ago! What a disaster!
On the other hand, it’s hard to fake expertise over a hundred or more blog posts! Designers have an added “advantage” as they can display their latest work via their blog!
Thanks for yet another great post!
Hi David would just like to say Great post, as always you touch on many points and a lot of them help.
Cheers
Mali
Mali’s last blog post…Design News Weekly. Fireplays
Good points here David, I asked a question on a forum the other day relating to “What do you want your Graphic Designer to offer you” and some interesting answers came back, some of which are in your post! Cheers, Gareth.
Gareth Coxon - Dot Design’s last blog post…How to get a job as a Graphic Designer
I am thinking about a logo redesign and this helped me get some of the kinks out. My last designer gave me 3 different choices and I picked one and they then further worked on that one. Being able to see the range of logos was what made the sale with me. Cheers
Some great advice there David. Any graphic guy can make a logo but not many can create ones that work.
Here’s a question that partially relates to point 5 on your list. Perhaps you can answer it for me. Forgive me for this being a bit long, simply for a comment, but you do give good advice and perhaps it will help others too.
I did some work over the Summer redesigning a large European company’s website. Although I was paid and the final mockups were presented, they ultimately decided against going with the new site. Instead, they chose to simply rejig their existing one.
Because at the time I thought the job was a done deal, I put the new design up on my portfolio website, along with a screenshot of their old design to compare. It’s been there since May. However, today, I recieved an email stating that the mockup must be removed because “it is confidential and copyrighted”. Additionally, they’re asking me to remove the *screenshot* of their *live and existing* website. Again, because according to them, it’s “Confidental and copyrighted”.
You may know of BOLTgraphics’ redesign of the Akzo-Nobel logo and how he provided an excellent write up of his development process. I went there today hoping to find it as an example of a similar situation, only to find that he too has been forced by the client to remove the images.
I’m wondering if you have any advice for such situations and if you’ve had any situations like this yourself and how you dealt with them. Thanks!
Hi David,
I’m starting a job on monday as a web developer for a small company and while I freely admit that I’m a newbie I just wanted to let you know your blog has been a great source of inspiration.
cheers,
Jackmo
jackmo’s last blog post…Nubtub Goes Dofollow - Get Your Free Links Here
Great post David. A strong portfolio is definitely at the top of the list.
Really enjoy your blog!
Fantastic post David, I think you have summed it up extremely well. I really enjoy reading your articles, and as a designer myself, gives great inspiration.
There are indeed many traits that cross into all business practices, common courtesy being one of the most important.
Mali, Joshiah, Annette,
Thank you kindly for stopping by and taking time to comment.
Gareth,
Out of interest, what forum did you post your question on?
Neil,
Don’t apologise for the long comment. I’m glad you contribute to the discussion. With all new clients I make them aware from the beginning that all design work may be presented in my portfolio. There have been a few cases were I’ve kept designs confidential, mainly when I’m used as a sub-contractor for a design agency, and as long as I’m aware from the beginning, that’s fine.
So my advice is to ensure clients know from the outset that you reserve the right to showcase design work in your portfolio. I hope that helps.
Jackmo,
Best wishes for the new job you start on Monday. Here’s hoping it works out brilliantly.
This is a really good list, and I agree with the other commentators that many other businesses, not just designers, could do with reading it.
The areas that most businesses tend to fall down on is trust; failing to meeting promises and deadlines, and also customer service; failing to be sufficiently responsive to enquires and again … not meeting promised timescales.
I feel that poor time management is the culprit for a lot of businesses offering an unnacceptable level of customer service, and that the two are strongly linked.
Personally I highly rate good customer service in any provider I select and will pay a lot more for a provider that can deliver high standards of customer care compared to other providers of a similar standard.
As designers our customers are exactly the same - if your service standards are much higher than others, there are a large percentage of customers that are willing to pay more for that.
Of course there are always the penny pinchers who just want a cheap provider, but you don’t need to cater to them and personally I feel it’s plain rude to offer bad service and constantly break service promises. My upbringing alone wouldn’t allow me to do it!
Amanda Vlahakis’s last blog post…Fashion Boutique Logo Design
Great article, David. It would be interesting to read 10 things to expect from a web designer, just to see the differences between the two in expectations.
Just curious - did you start in logo design, or were you once a full fledged web designer as well? Do you do any web design/css/xhtml etc?
Jordan Joseph’s last blog post…Understand your visitors with Analytics Software
I agree with all of these points that you make although I think flexibility is right up towards the top. When egos get in the way creativity and business suffer. Flexibility and egotism do not go along.
Bruce Kersten’s last blog post…I Didn’t Think I Needed a Depression to Make My Point But…
I’m completely behind your mention of poor time management being strongly linked to poor customer service. If a service provider doesn’t have the time to deal with everything when they should, they either need to cut down the amount of work they take on, or hire help / outsource. Thanks very much for adding your thoughts to my post. You always make a lot of sense.
Jordan,
There’d be quite a lot of overlap between these 10 points, and those you should expect from a web designer. In fact, having just looked over the 10 titles, I’d say they’re exactly the same. Wouldn’t you?
As for my design beginnings, I started out in print design, before moving to logos. I’ve done some web work (a few clients and my own website) but find it more enjoyable working with brand identity.
Bruce,
Like you, I place a lot of emphasis on flexibility. You never know what might change half-way through a project, so it’s important not to have everything set in stone.
Just like to touch on one of your ten items … communication. Designers who do not ask the right questions and expect the clients to furnish all relevant information might inconvenient or even jeopardize the creative process and alienating the client in the end. I have many designer-friends who lamented about the idiosyncrasies of their clients. Probing deeper, I realized that it is as simple as misalignment in communication. The most common being the designer didn’t think to ask while the client didn’t think and answer. Communication is never 1 way, it will forever be 2-way.
Vivienne Quek’s last blog post…Free is Not Free To Steal
Thanks for your addition, and how very true. Enjoy the weekend.