The internet has heralded in a new era of lost cost outsourcing options. From data entry to admin to on demand consulting. Small business owners have access to a wide range of affordable, specialist services to help grow their business. But when it comes to outsourcing logo design low cost, high turnover companies might just end up costing you more than you think.
Just because logos are small doesn't mean they're easy to create. Much like a website can look simple on the surface, but be complicated behind the scenes, a small logo can convey a complex message in a very unique way.
Here are three reasons why cheap logo designs are best avoided.
#1 - The Focus is Quantity over Quality
When a freelancer or company is selling logo designs for $5, they have to focus on volume. Your commission for a new logo is put into a quickly moving conveyor belt of orders that need to be completed as quickly as possible in order for a profit to be made.
For a freelance designer to make a decent minimum wage they may need to produce 2 - 3 logos per hour. That's less than half an hour dedicated to your logo design!
To truly come up with a great design, the designer needs to know what the company is trying to convey and find a way to put that company's purpose into something small and simple. A good designer can spend several hours, or even days creating a draft design. When the designer doesn't have time to do that work, you're going to get a poorly executed, generic looking logo design.
Think of the Nike swoosh, created in 1971 by a graphic design artist Carolyn Davidson. Even though this logo was a simple design, a lot of work went into it. There were at least six other designs look at before the swoosh was picked. That simple swoosh went on to create a brand that takes in more than $19 billion annually.
#2 - Lack of an Impactful Brand
Although small, logo design has a huge impact on creating a brand. Branding will differentiate a business from its competitors by establishing a memorable and unique identity. Taking the time to carefully select a great custom logo is a pillar of an effective online marketing strategy and key to establishing yourself as a high quality brand.
People are 27% more likely to buy from a brand they recognize and trust. When they remember a logo, they remember the company. By helping your clients to build this familiarity with consumers, you in turn build a sense of trust that influences their likelihood of buying from you again in the future.
Designs created at low cost logo sites rarely create this impact. These designers simply don't have time to get to know your business and the details of the overall website development project. They don't know which colors send the right message, where the logo is likely to be used or what competitors' logos look like.
More often than not the basic elements of a company name are paired with a stock graphic that relates to the business industry and a generic design is created. This formulaic approach lacks the creativity and insight that is needed to create a logo that will make an impression.
#3 - High Risk of Getting a Plagiarized Design.
Generic, mass-produced logo designs aren't only ineffective, they carry an inherent risk of being so alike to another company's logo that you face legal issues.
Whether the similarity is a coincidence (highly likely when stock elements are being used) or a deliberate copy by a lazy designer doesn't matter. If a brand sees the logo that "you" created, and realizes it looks too similar to theirs, they could sue for violation of a trademark or copyright and take legal action against you to recover any incurred expenses and damages.
It's often very hard to tell if you're getting a plagiarized logo from one of these sites. If you can't guarantee it's originality you are using that logo on borrowed time. The $5 you initially paid for the design could turn into thousands of dollars in legal costs.
Even if legal action isn't taken, the best case scenario is pretty grim: a total rebranding project. Expensive, time consuming and degrading to your brand.
Invest in a logo that will create a real impact, and who knows, your business might even be responsible for creating the next iconic brand.
Read more online marketing advice and information at the Magicdust website, we are a Sydney web design company specialising in small business.