Selecting a logo designer is never easy pickings for clients. Since a majority of business owners who want corporate logos are not familiar with the design community, they tend to stick with the first logo designer that they easily find. Usually, they end up with someone who is not capable and talented enough.

Finding a logo designer can be a very hefty and difficult task for business owners who are not well aware of perfect logo designers’ attributes. Sometimes, in order to avoid the burdensome process, many small business owners either make their own logo design (often amateur) or get it done from their relatives (mostly school-going kids).

The Decisive Factors:

The design world is flooded with logo designers varying in the level of experience and capabilities. For clients, it is never easy to hire a logo designer that can render them suitable business logos. In order to save time in selecting a logo designer, clients will benefit if they keep the following factors in mind while looking for a logo designer:

• Always inspect the design portfolio of the logo designer; a strong portfolio signifies a strong designer.
• Logo Designers should have adequate marketing skills; brand knowledge is crucial in logo designing for corporate logos.
• Avoid favoritism while choosing a logo designer for your corporate logo; never risk your business over personal preferences.
• Look at the identity of the logo designer; creative logo designers will have creative logo designs for their own identity.
• An experienced logo designer will effectively communicate with their clients; it is important that the logo designer understands what the client requires.
• Speedy client response is the hallmark of a dedicated logo designer.
• Read the testimonials of previous clients of the logo designer; also the referrals from other designers add to the credentials.
• Professional logo designers always work on formal contracts; both the designer and the client are provided guarantee through contracts.

Points to consider for a logo redesign:

Business without a corporate logo is like an entity with no unique identity. Logos deserve particular attention and before a logo is redesigned, one should know why the redesign is needed. Following things should be considered before redesigning corporate logos:

• Analyze what the existing company logo lacks.
• Remove unnecessary features from the previous logo design.
• Try to single out a striking feature of the logo to work on.
• Fill in the gaps left by the previous logo design with creative thoughts.

Over the years, we have witnessed many famous brands who have tried to refresh their corporate identity with a logo redesign. Today, I have selected 22 of the most famous logo redesigns of 2009 that came under immense limelight.  

Segd

Movistar

City of Melbourne

Master Card

Audi

Good Humor Ice Cream

Toys Rus

Play Station 3

Skittles

UEFA EURO

Peugot

Missile Defense Agency

British Petroleum

Quicktime

Argos

Blackwater

Msn

Kraft Foods

Telecom

AOL:

FireFox

Many shrewd businessmen who argue that logo designing for business is a futile practice, own a short-termed philosophy. They ignore the fact that corporate logos can leave a grave impact on your expenses but it also opens the gate to myriad long-term benefits. To put it in a nut shell, logo design pays off!

How your corporate logo builds your business future?

Even though experts have continually advised small-business owners on building a brand for their small business and start-ups, they often do not provide substantial reasons for the same. This is the exact purpose that I wish to serve through this post. Over-smart business owners who believe they can manage without a visual identity are often blinded by the fact that the competition is fierce to be easily recognized. While it is true that avoiding a corporate logo can save you a small amount of money in the beginning, but it leads you to short-term and unsuccessful business. Your customers and investors need to be assured that you are serious and intend to remain in the business with a future outlook. Serious business is not done without a corporate logo.

Business logos enables our products and services to be prominent and memorable in the market. It is a known fact that people are more likely to remember what they see rather than what they read or hear. Hence, people who think they can build their business image on personal PR are mistaken. Having a logo that is consistent across all business promotions (business cards, stationary, and website) will help in constructing a visual clip of your company.

Don’t take a risk!!

There is a misconception which mostly small-business owners tend to follow… a delusion that logo designing is a useless business expense. In definitive terms, opportunity cost is the cost of forgoing one thing in favor of another. In economic terms, it is the opportunity cost that you forgo for the value of high customer retention in future. It is amazing that businessmen readily invest in stock exchanges and other investments which do not even guarantee sure-shot returns, while they overlook logo design, which is an investment that guarantees immeasurable returns in your business.

Correct use of fonts is a very significant part of logo design that many of us overlook. The job of a logo designer is to make the message in the corporate logo design appropriate for the targeted customers. In order to do this, the font used in the logo design should be functional and meaningful. Several famous corporate logos are identified only because of their specific typography. Think of valuable corporate fonts like Coca-Cola and Walt Disney for instance. These corporate giants have logos with stylish and elegant fonts. Only their typography has made it a successful corporate brand.

Logo design is the primary building block of any business. It epitomizes the essence of your small business in a very effective way. Although everyone wants the best possible start for your small business or start-up business, but sadly do not have the resources to make their dreams come true. This is where the use of online logo design comes into play. With the advent of the internet boom, things have become effortless for all fields of life. So is the case with design industry. Online corporate logos can aid you in saving both time and money, especially when you are starting up a small business. All you need to do is go on the Internet and you will be able to find a wide array of affordable online logos in no time.

I can tell you this because I run my own business and utilized online logo designs for my business logos. Through a click, I was able to get in touch promptly and effortlessly with many sources that were able to help me. While the entities varied greatly in their logo design abilities and fees, I was not eager to pay as much as they were charging. Hence I diverted my search to free online logo designs. I actually came across a great deal of services.  

Merits of Online Logo Designs:

• Online logo designs saves valuable amount of time to create.
• Saving money is the best part of using this facility.
• Designing your logo online gives your small business a quick start that it needs.
• They are all modifiable so that you may customize them according to your needs.
• Saves you trouble of using expensive and complex graphics designing software.

Demerits of Online Logo Designs:

• Choices are limited when it comes to selecting online logo designs.
• You cannot create a really detailed, professional looking logo, as the online process is built to be very basic.
• There are more chances of finding counterfeit logos online.
• Relying on online logo design may curtail your creativity.

Of course, one should not compare a basic online logo design with the work of a professional logo designer. Both have their own significance. But then again desperate times call for desperate measures. Many small business owners simply do not have room in their budget to get an expensive professional logo made. When you just cannot afford the price, you can always fancy using online logo designs.

What is your opinion on the use of online logo design? Is it helpful for the small business owners who cannot afford expensive logo design? Or does it unethically hurt professional logo designers?

It is a common reality that we underestimate the requirements of a small business. By underestimating the requirements we actually undermine the flow of our small business. While there are innumerable small businesses established all over the world, only a handful of these small businesses manage to survive in the competitive world. Those who do not live on are the ones without a powerful corporate logo. Small business owners need an identity strong enough to compete with the corporate identities that have been operational in the market for years.

1. Make your mark in the industry:

A corporate logo confirms that you are dedicated equally to your business and your customers. It also gives your small business the appearance of an established entity and has been around for quite a while.  

2. Magnetize your customers:

Each time a customer is searching for big business, he/she looks for a well-defined company. Some clients are simply dazzled by professional-looking logo design, so your corporate logo may impress them into preferring you.  

3. Credibility booster:

A corporate logo formulates an experienced and professional look of your small business. It directly makes your business appear credible. In order to be recognized as an expert in your industry, you need to build credibility. A corporate logo serves that purpose well.  

4. Make a distinction from your competitors:

A logo design can help you stand a class apart from your competitors. A well-designed corporate logo can tell the story of how you do business, including the things that make you stand out from the rest of the pack.

5. Become memorable:

Being remembered is a key to long term success in any business. A majority of people remember what they see, better than what they read or hear. No matter how much you verbally publicize your small business, without a corporate logo you will be forgotten one day. So, having a visual identity in the form of a corporate logo for your business makes you more probable to be remembered.  

6. Spell out your company name:

Sometimes your company name contains unfamiliar words and terminologies that are hard for the customer to comprehend. A hard-to-pronounce company name may make it tough for your customers to recall your company. An attractive and compelling corporate logo can assign visual meanings to the company name. As mentioned earlier, people easily recall symbols than they do words. A logo design helps in clarifying your company name.

7. A symbol of stability:

It is not always necessary that you require a decade or century worth of presence to make your mark. If you have an effective corporate logo, it can go a long way toward building the all-important trust.  

8. Visual Clip of your business:

If your business is in an unconventional or a complex industry, a logo can help to explain exactly what you do by presenting a visual allusion. Sometimes it is hard to explain in words what industry you belong to. A graphical representation of what your business is all about is an easier way to express than in words.  

9. Conformity to industry standards:

Sometimes, you just cannot afford to start a small business without a corporate logo. The rules and regulations of some industry compel you on adopting a logo for your small business. Like in the graphics design industry, owing a logo is considered industry standard.  

10. Sense of Pride:

Even if you think that a corporate logo will not help the cause of your business, do it for yourself. Having a corporate logo will increase your confidence, and you will have something to show in front of your friends and family. The success of a corporate logo gives a sense of pride of ownership.

Is it always necessary for corporate logos to be complex, detailed and typically computerized? Think again! We have witnessed the best of corporate brands emerging out of simple handwritten logos. With the likes of famous logos Ford, Disney, Davidoff and Smirnoff it is evident that corporate logos do not always have to be stimulated with graphics design to be successful.

A handwritten logo design can work as a simple, effortless and above all, inexpensive means of rendering your business image. Sometime the power of the pen triumphs over computer graphics. Now don’t get me wrong. I am not against the use of computer stimulated graphics design for corporate logos. What I am trying to convey is that if your hand possesses the ability to craft something novel, let it!!!

Even the majestic Leonardo Da Vinci himself said,

Here are some truly inspirational handwritten logos which will immensely inspire you for your corporate logos.

Mike Meyer

Sunny shade up

Hope

love hate

Hegel Toys

Theo chocolate

The Portable Baby

Baby Apple

We Save the Children –Will You

Paul McCarthey

Wynn Resorts

Thrill

Sigur Ros

Sur la table

Rosanna

La griglia

Cockhat Industries

Mithic

Paul Reed Smith Guitars

Heavy Pedal Bicycles

Mirage – Las Vegas

MODE

The Portable Baby

Smirnoff

Leo Burnett

So pick up a pen and start doodling out your artistic faculty into an inspirational corporate logo of your own. Likewise, if you have created your own handwritten logo design, please do not hesitate in sharing it here. And do tell which of these handwritten logos inspired you the most.