420 Creative - Portland Web Design Studio

A logo made for your business

Sep 06 2008

Angie Herrera

Design

Looking through those sites that offer cheap logos, I can sort of see why it would be tempting for a startup to get one of those and call it good. For starters, choosing and buying one of those generic logos certainly takes less time and effort than researching and choosing a designer to create a customized one. Unfortunately, there are (at least) 2 fatal flaws with choosing the cheaper route:

  1. At some point, you or a customer or a prospect, are bound to see a very similar logo on a competitor's site or business card. Or worse, it could be the same logo with a different company name and maybe some color tweaks.
  2. They're generic. So they're not tailored to the heart and soul of your business.

Think back to why you started your company. Chances are, like most people, it's because you saw a void that needed to be filled in your industry. Whatever the reason, you've more than likely decided that you would do things differently, better even. That's a good thing - it sets you apart from the competition.

The minute you decide to go for a cheap, generic logo, however, you lose that uniqueness. While the logo may be made for your industry, it wasn't made for your business. Whatever qualities make your company different won't be demonstrated in that generic logo.

Worse, that generic logo you paid bottom dollar for is probably the same logo some other company bought too. It's been known to happen. So now not only is your company generic, you risk the chance of being seen as an imitator or simply confusing prospects by having them wonder what the difference is between you and the other.

The cost of commissioning a logo design studio or logo designer to create a logo that's tailored to your business greatly outweighs the consequences that could happen otherwise. You'll not only have a better logo that's been custom-made for you company, you won't spend time worrying that someone else has that same or similar logo. (Unless you've hired a cheap or incompetent designer but that's a whole other matter altogether.)

 

Some other resources on this topic: