A professional logo design can help you tremendously.  It can create a curious buzz about your business when done right.  If you desire a successful business, one way to achieve that is with a memorable logo.  Think Pepsi, Nike, Sony, McDonald’s and you will get a bigger picture of the possibilities a properly branded logo brings you way.  It helps people remember who you are, what you do, and even how and why you do it.

When you think of many of the large companies out there and consider their brand – the logo is usually the first thing to come to mind. Why is that?

Simply put, logos are the focal point of any company’s image and can reveal a great deal about that company.  A quality logo design is one of the easiest ways to expand credibility for your business and communicate professionalism right from the start; which is when you need it most.

Not only can an effective logo design help sell whatever products or services your small business offers, but the beauty of a logo is something that can be a source of satisfaction for you.

As you consider your logo, please note that a logo design must effectively represent the company it serves.

Why does a Professional Logo Design Matter?

When designing a logo, a designer’s objective should be to capture the vision and mission of your business, while creating a symbol that your target audience will easily recognize. You want to make sure that the designer you choose has the necessary design skills, creativity and experience to ensure the most effective representation is created for your business.

Here are some examples of logo designs that we have done for our clients:

Here are Four Reasons why a Professional Logo Design is Essential:

1. It will reflect your business. Remember that your logo captures the heart of your business.  It will share what you stand for, your objectives, goals, and aspects of your business.  It is a great marketing tool to help your key customers distinguish your small business or products.

2. It offers consistency. Your logo is universal, meaning it will be used in all communication channels related with your business. It will be on your online site, business cards, stationery designs, receipts, invoices, and more.  This again is another way to keep your business on the mind of prospective clients and customers.

3. It creates a professional image.  No matter how small your business is you can’t afford to look cheap, unreliable, or confused. Your customers might interpret this as lack of concern or expertise in your industry.  A logo design gives you the professional appearance you desire for your small business.

4. It represents stability.  The bottom line is this: Using clipart pictures and lousy do-it-yourself logos can hurt your business more than help.  A high quality logo design shows you are sincere about your small business.  It also shows others that you are credible in your field and want them to receive the very best!

As you move forward with the idea of creating a professional brand through a custom logo design, note that it is a great means to conveying your message to potential clients. When you want to reach your market in a unique way, a one-of-a-kind professional logo is the starting to point.

We would be happy to help you with a custom logo design for your business.  Check out our extensive portfolio of custom logo designs.  Our prices are very reasonable.  Feel free to Contact Us today to discuss your next project!

When people find out how much I charge for logo designs, they are usually pretty shocked.  Logo designs can be hundreds of dollars, especially if they are custom designed by a digital illustrator (which I am not – though I would love to be someday).

For now, I keep things simple and reasonably priced for those who have small businesses and cannot afford all the fancy stuff.  I CAN provide a professional and still affordable logo design for only $125.

My process is to have each client fill out a design questionnaire with the following questions that helps me to get a feel for who the client is, what their business is all about, and what they are envisioning.

•   Description of Company and Services
•   Color Specifications – What color palletes do you prefer?
•   What colors do you NOT want used in the design?
•   Do you want the logo to match an existing website?  If so please include the URL
•   Images / Graphics – do you have an image or icon in mind that you feel would best represent your business?  Please specify
•   Wording to include (Business Name/Site Name) and please specify if you want a tagline included
•   Font - is there a specific font style that you like?
•   What overall message do you want the logo to convey?
•   What logo designs appeal to you and why? Provide links if possible

Here are some examples of some of my recent logo design work with a little explanation about each one…

This first design is for a coach for “women executives, professionals, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs who want to bring their vision to life. ”  At first the client suggested using a big screen so I created a couple ideas utilizing that along with a couple other ideas.  She chose this design.

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This design was done for a newborn care and nanny placement company.  The client mentioned that she liked colors such as black, blue, green, burnt orange and gray, but she was concerned that they would not go well.  But she wanted to stay away from the typical babyish color pallette such as soft pink and blue.  She wanted  the design to be “confident, warm, and fun”.  At first I used orange as the main color, but the client ask for me to come up with a couple other color schemes.  She agreed to this one.

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This one is for an inspirational speaker who helps teach parents about how to give their children “License to Shine™ by loving who they are, not who you want them to be”.  The client specified that she wanted a design that conveys “shine, brilliance, and light”.  Her colors of choice were red-violet and orange.

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For this design, the client had specific instructions on what colors she wanted to use.   She even provided the color codes.  She wanted to keep things simple (simple designs).  She also shared links to other designs that she liked.  I researched ideas on one of my favorite stock image sites http://Dreamstime.com and found several options.  The client wound up choosing this one for the final design.

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This last logo design is for a return client of mine who is starting up a new “journey” to lose weight and get healthy”.  She wanted a logo that is feminine and promotes health.  She provided a couple graphic / icon ideas that she had in mind and I went from there.

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I really enjoy being able to take a person’s ideas and bring them to life.  And as you can see the examples above, each design is unique and I really try to work with the client and their thoughts and vision in order to come up with a design that they will truly love.

Hire me to design YOUR Logo by filling out the Graphic Design Questionnaire today!  I would love to work with you!

Once your design is finalized I provide high resolution image files in .png (transparent background) and .jpg (white background).  I do not provide editible files such as .ai, .psd, and vector files.  If you need changes or edits to your design in the future, I can provide that for a small fee.

A custom logo design can be quite an in-depth process, especially when a client comes to us with little or no direction.  Sometimes a client will know EXACTLY what they want and provide us with LOTS of great info and thorough answers to our questions.  But some clients have no clue what they want.  Every client is different.  Either way, we are here to help.

Logo Design Questions:

When a new client comes to us with a logo design request, we start by asking the following list of design questions.

• Description of Company and Services
  
• Color Specifications – What color pallets do you prefer?
• What colors do you NOT want used in the design?
  
• Do you want the graphic to match an existing website? If so please include the URL
• Images / Graphics – Do you have an image or icon in mind that you would like to use in the design?  Or are you open to ideas?
• Do you prefer something more simple? A text only graphic
• Wording to include (Title / Tagline)  Please specify if you want a tagline included
• Font - is there a specific font style that you like?
• What overall message do you want the graphic to convey?
• What designs appeal to you and why? Provide links if possible
• Please fill us in on any additional details. (The more detail you can give me, the better)

These questions are essential so that we can better understand what our clients are envisioning.  The company description helps us to get a clear picture as to the type of design that would be the perfect fit for that particular business.

Color Palette:

Color specifications are also important.  Some companies already have a website and want us to match the colors accordingly.  But for others, we are starting from scratch, so asking about the client’s color preferences are key in coming up with a color palette that the client will be happy with.

Here is an example of a color pallet that we worked with while coming up with logo design concepts for one client.

A great place to create custom color schemes is this site:  www.colorschemedesigner.com.

Design (Illustrations, Fonts, Layout):

We do not do digital illustration.  We do not create custom illustrations or icons from scratch unless it is a simple geometric design.  We mainly use images that we find from stock sites such as dreamstime.com or istock.com and customize them to fit into the overall design (colors, layout, etc).  The purchase of one image or illustration is included in our pricing.

We can change colors of some illustrations.  Here is an example of that.  This client had a color palette in mind so we adjusted the illustration that we found to match the color palette.

Here is an example of 4 logo design concepts that have different fonts and icons included in each.  But as you can see, they all have the same layout and orientation.

Here is an example of a logo design concept with three different layouts, but using the same icon.

Concepts & Revisions:

Our logo pricing includes 3-5 different logo design concepts to choose from.  Once a design is chosen, we allow for one major revision on the design of choice.  Each additional revision is $25.

Logo Image Files:

The final logo image is provided to our clients in a high resolution .png image (transparent background) and a .jpg image (white background).  We do NOT provide editable files (such as .psd or .ai) In the future, if you need changes done to your design, we would be happy to provide that for you for a minimal fee. If you need your logo as a vector file such as a .eps or .svg, we can vectorize the logo for an additional $25.

Let us help you build your BRAND!

When a client comes to us looking for a logo design, we do our best to come up with ideas and concepts that will best fit the creation and evolution of their “BRAND”.  As you can see from our extensive Logo Design Portfolio, our designs are all simple, unique and very different.  We GET what the client is trying to represent and our designs show that.

If you or anyone you know is interested in a custom logo design, please Contact Us Today.  We would be happy to work with you to come up with a design that would best fit your needs.  We look forward to working with you!

With any project there is always a lot of back and forth between me and my clients before I can even begin to start coming with a design plan.  The difference between me and another company is that I work one on one with my clients.  I prefer to work through email so that way I can have access to all of the correspondence quickly and easily.  I can go back to an email and bring up things that a client may have mentioned and implement that into the design.

For this client they wanted the works – a logo design, wordpress design with custom header, and a twitter background.

These are some of the requests and ideas from the client:

• Wants design to tie together with 2 of her other sites (use of green)
• Likes fresh and clean (use of white) and possibly gray
• Incorporate a pop of color
• Doesn’t want dark colors
• Wants design to be consistent (discussed re-branding)
• Incorporate Headshot

I also asked the client about herself and her business to get an idea about what would best represent her and her brand.  She shared that she is “professional (but SO not corporate), funny and pretty sarcastic, direct – with my clients, and in life, optimistic, motivating/inspiring, great at the big ideas/possibilities, goofy/silly, savvy, genuine, authentic, a go-getter.”  She also shared that her business focuses on:  coaching and consulting, offers business/personal branding services, targets women entrepreneurs, includes coaching, consulting, programs, products etc…

She also included site designs that she liked and what elements she wanted to incorporate from them.  All of the above information  really helped me to visualize her ideas and then take it from there.

I always start with the logo design since everything will pretty much revolve around that.  Because the client was very focused on the topic of branding the first thing I did was take a look at her other websites.

The main theme on the sites is the color green and the dragonfly, so I thought it would be appropriate to carry the same theme into the design I would be working on.  The only reason that I would suggest  starting with a new design would be if the client was going to be changing their other sites as well.  But the client was not planning on doing that.  And since she was very concerned with her branding and being consistent – I let my client know that it would be best to just use the dragonfly logo design that she was already using.  The only problem was that she did not have access to the original image files or the designer who had created it.

So I had to start from scratch and re-create the dragonfly.

It looked nice, but there was something missing – a POP of color.  So I decided to add some. 

Much better!  I then added the title and tag line and here is the final logo design:

The next step was to work on  the WordPress site design.  My client was using the Headway WordPress theme which is one of my favorites because of the ease and simplicity of use.  You really do not need any knowledge of CSS to make color and layout changes – it is great.

Anyway, I proceeded to create the header design.  I knew I wanted to incorporate the logo, her headshot and possibly some elements from the the header on her other site.  This is what I came up with first, but there was still something missing.

Much better!  Love the swirl and flower design

The header is really the starting place for a website design.  I like to install the header first before I start my WordPress customizations.  I then grab the colors and tie them into the overall design.

The colors flow nicely.  I brought the green into the navigation.  I even used the gray / taupe color from the flowers and swirls and used that for the background color.  Now you can see that there is definitely a uniformity between all of her sites.  And the dragonfly design will represent her brand throughout all of her websites.

Lastly, I created her Twitter background which was a no-brainer.  I just took everything from the logo, header, and website and brought it together.

Another happy client!  Yay!

What do you think of the design?  I always love to hear feedback!

I always enjoy meeting new friends and building business relationships through Twitter (my all-time favorite social networking site).  When I first started with Twitter 2 years ago, I never imagined the great benefit it would be for me and my businesses.  It was a slow start at first but it became a catalyst to take my business from part time to full time, from mediocre to now very successful.

To me, Twitter is not just about business, but it is also personal.  I call it “Relational Marketing” – building relationships that help market your business because you get to know people on all different levels.  They begin to trust you because they can see who you really are through your daily communication.

I now have almost 10,000 followers and the number grows each day.  And out of those people, I closely follow about 100 to 200 who I have categorized as friends.  I have a column in my Tweetdeck where I can follow their tweets and keep in touch with them aside from my complete list of followers.  In that list I have all different people from fellow blogging mom friends to long time clients and fellow entrepreneurs.

One of my mom friends, named Alaina, otherwise known as @AlainaFrederick on Twitter who I have known for quite sometime requested my graphic design services.  We have worked together on projects in the past.  She came to me about creating a logo and header design for her blog which she recently moved to a new domain as well as new theme on WordPress.  I asked her my usual list of design questions.

These were a few of her specifications for the logo design:

• Want design to mimic fresh start
• Love colors in Hummingbirds & Dragonflies (maybe use that image)
• Simple / Plain
• Elegent with a hint of fun

I came up with a few different logo drafts for her to choose from.

Alaina and her husband both liked the last one with the hummingbird.  I then created a WordPress header graphic and a 125×125 button to match.

I got specific instructions that she wanted a transparent header design with no background color so that it would work seamlessly on her site.  This is what the logo and header design look like installed on her WordPress blog.

I think it looks awesome, don’t you?  Another happy client!  Thanks Alaina and thanks Twitter for another great business connection!

I always love when previous clients come back to me for other graphic design projects.  This client, I worked with last year on her blog header.  And I guess she was pleased, because now she has come back for more.  Gotta love a happy client!

This client’s requests were fairly simple.  She needed a logo and header design for her new Virtual Assistant business called FPE Services Online.  She specializes in WordPress and Social Media Maintenance.

These were a few of her specifications:

• Some sort of Socialable Icon representing social media maybe?
• Colors – blue and silver
• Graphics in the header to represent social media platforms

With not much to go with, it was really up to me to come up with a design that would best suit her business.  When I plan a design for any graphic, whether it be a logo, header, or even a button ad – I always first take a look at what the business or website is all about.  So, for this graphic, I took the idea of a social icon and came up with a couple different option for her to choose from.

I let her know that my personal favorite was #4.  And she also asked opinions from some of her friends and family and that was one of their top choices as well.  So she decided to go with it.

My next project was taking the logo design and creating a website header for her.  I thought a lot about how to incorporate the different social networking and media icons into the header and then decided to tie in the site’s title “Social Community Organizer”.  When I think about organizing in business, I think about file folders.  So, I decided to create file folder images with the social icons on them.  I also incorporated the circle design from the icons into the background of the header as a faded finish into the blue.  Great opportunity to play with the image fade in one of my favorite (free) design programs called Gimp.

My client was very pleased with the outcome on both the logo and header designs.  Can you believe I didn’t even have to do any revisions?  I LOVE that!

I am not usually one to do pro bono projects, but I was asked by one of my Twitter friends if I could help them by creating a logo & header for their new Social Media Conference that they were putting on Illinois.  I am a BIG FAN of Social Media, so I agreed.

They gave me the title & tagline and pretty much gave me full reign to come up with the design.  I love that!  So here is what I came up with:

These first 2 images are drafts, so you will see that the images are not clear and the stock watermark is visible.  When I create graphics, I do not purchase any stock images until I get approval from the client.

The client liked the first logo image the best.  They said that the second one looked too close to the Coca-Cola logo.  They also said that they wanted the emphasis on “New Media” instead of “Media Market”.  So here is the final logo design with the tagline added:

One the logo was complete, I had to incorporate that into a header design for their Thesis Themed WordPress Site.  I decided to take the logo graphic of those jack looking things and use them within the background of the header.  I used soft transparent colors so they would blend into the design.

My final part in the project was to get Thesis set up for them.  I installed the header, added a nice blue colored background and then finished it off with customizing the navigation by incorporating the colors from the header.

So, there ya have it (as I always say).  A pro bono project that wound up being a winner.  My client and her team love the design and I felt good for helping them out.  They are planning on adding me as a sponsor, so that will be some nice recognition and possibly opportunity for new clients in the future – love that!

So, what do you think?  Do ya like or what?

This client came to me with several different ideas for her logo design.  In all of them she wanted to incorporate a puzzle piece and a heart representing how love fits into the complex puzzle that makes up this special disorder.  I did some research and found a few great images that would work. I then came up with a couple different designs with just the colorful puzzle pieces.

She loved the first one with the darker lettering, but decided she wanted to go with a different image.  So, this is the final outcome.  Can you see the little hearts on the guys holding the puzzle?  I added those – nice touch right?

Your logo is something that can be used on web sites, banners, and printed materials such as letterhead, business cards, flyers, and more.   However in having a custom logo created for you, there are a few essential elements you need to consider.  Following the tips provided will help you to create a memorable brand.

Your logo should also look great in color and in black and white.

Color It Correctly – Color is another essential element for your custom designed logo. Make sure that you are using colors that help to identify your brand. The colors you choose will also be used on all elements for your visual identity. This includes things like your custom website banner or header, button ads, promotional materials, media kits,  and every facet of your branding efforts.  Your colors must be cohesive and they have to be pleasing to the eye as well. When you choose your colors, choose wisely and correctly.  A graphic designer can help you through the process of choosing colors that work well together and will help you promote your business and brand effectively.

Images & Text – Many logo designs include both images and text. It is almost imperative for your brand that you include some sort of image, especially at the beginning of getting your brand out there. However with the right font, you can create a powerful logo that will be memorable and recognizable. One question to ask yourself in choosing an image is if people will be able to identify and remember the logo as it relates to your specific brand.

Make Your Logo Flexible – Your logo design should be flexible in several respects. Your logo should be able to reproduce in both color and black and white. While color is vital due to branding, the shape and form of the logo is pertinent. The bottom line is that if it will not work in black and white, it will not work in color either.

You also want your custom logo to be scalable enough so that it looks equally good in many different sizes, whether it is on a small business card or on a giant IMAX cinema screen.

In conclusion, remember that your logo design will tell your customers who you are, so make sure that you send them the right message. This can only be ensured when you follow the essential elements and tips shared in this article.

Click here to see examples of our logo design work.

Why Do I Need A Custom Logo Designed?

Making a good first impression is key in gaining prospective clients.  Chances are, you won’t get the opportunity to sit down with them over a cup of coffee and convince them that your company is the best fit for their needs, especially if your business is mainly online.  Referrals are great.  A website is great.  But more importantly, you need to capture the client’s attention through a logo design that truly represents your business in a memorable and professional way.  A well-designed logo is your way of having that cup of coffee with the client and gaining their trust and respect.

• What does your company “Look” like? “Feel” like?
• What is the personality of your company?

You want your customers to know right away what your company stands for and how they’ll benefit from your services. All this is accomplished through a well-designed custom log0.  Your logo should take those specific business personality traits and convey them visually in a way that the client will understand.

Logo Creates Identity and Branding

If you are a start up business, you really need to have a solid logo to create awareness that you have plunged into the market. Launching new products in that case would be backed up by an image which is your identity and which makes your business and your products or services stand out positively. Of course, quality of your products or services holds prime importance, but your logo plays a vital role in giving those products or services instant recognition and credibility among your target market.

Your prospects don’t need to know right away that your company consists only of you, or that you just started up two months ago, what they really want to know is, “Can you get the job done?”  If you really can get the job done, then make sure they feel confident with your company at first glance. It can be love at first sight with the right logo. A well-designed logo that relates your company’s personality and professionalism will establish rapport between you and your prospects, and will in turn boost business.

A custom designed logo, has the ability to convert itself into a powerful brand which is recognized by all. Think about the popular companies like Nike, Coca Cola, and McDonalds.  They each have logos that are recognized worldwide.  We know Nike by the swoosh.  We know CocaCola by the unmistakable red.  We know McDonalds by the arches.  And the list goes on.

Through a custom logo design, you can be the business that others will remember – the one that stands out against your competition.  So, if you do not have a properly designed logo, you may be missing the chance to be truly identified.

A logo also represents your business on company letterhead, website, brochures, ad campaigns, business cards, emails and more.  So, if you do not have a logo or you are not pleased with your current logo design, we can help!  We can take your ideas – your vision – your brand, and create an individual identity that is all your own through one simple graphic logo.