You might already have a crystal clear vision for the amazing product you are about to develop. But the minute your vision has a logo, it becomes far more real. Making a good looking logo can be a daunting task for founders who aren’t familiar with the world of brand design. Designer or not, your job is still to figure out how to make it happen.
Depending on your budget and available time, there are quite a few ways you can get your logo designed. This is Fluid UI’s rundown of the available options depending on your budget.
Developing a logo for your early stage startup is a must, but as a bootstrapping founder, you probably don’t have the budget or time to work with a pricy design expert on an expensive and exhaustive brand design process.
If you need to just get something done, try starting with one of the logo generator sites below, which can pump out a suitable logo in anything from a few minutes to a few hours of your time (plus a few dollars if you want to get higher quality exports).
| Advantages: | Quick, easy and you know exactly what you will get. |
| Disadvantages: | Many use pretty standard icons, resulting in a lack of uniqueness. Very little unique customisation. |
| Time: | A few minutes or hours of your time. |
| Price: | $0-$50+. |
Fluid UI’s picks for the best online logo design tools:
| Basic: | $20 |
| With assets: | $65 |
| With assets and customisations: | $195 |
| Basic: | $20 |
| With assets: | $65 |
| With 1 hour of expert designer time: | $195 |
| Low quality PNG: | Free |
| High quality PNG: | $19 |
| Basic: | Free |
| With assets: | $19.99 |
| With full copyright: | $39.99 |
| Basic: | $19 |
| With assets: | $64 |
| Designer-retouched logo: | $162 |
| Basic: | $37 |
| With assets: | $37 to $97 |
| Complete branding solution: | $199.88 |
Freelancer websites allow you to work with a real person to create a logo for your brand. The quality will depend on the amount of time you pay for and the ability of the designers you are working with - though often the responsibility falls on you to pick and choose a designer to work with that you like the style of.
| Advantages: | A real person to talk to and work with. |
| Disadvantages: | The results can vary in quality, and you may still have to pay for them. You will also have to find the right designer to work with to capture the style you want to achieve. |
| Time: | 24 hours to a few days |
| Price: | $5 - $500+ |
Some of the top freelancer and crowdsourcing sites include:
The third option is to work with an agency that is specialised in graphic, brand and logo design. When working with an agency, they will have a complete process to ensure that your brand and logo gets the best possible treatment - but of course this can come with a fairly hefty price tag.
| Advantages: | A team of experts focused on building your brand with you. |
| Disadvantages: | Prices might be a little high for a bootstrapped startup. |
| Time: | A few weeks or months to complete the process. |
| Price: | $2,000 - $1m+ |
We can’t say for sure whether this level of expenditure is a valuable use of your limited startup cash, so instead we asked 3 best in class design agencies to make the case for why you should consider getting a logo designed by them:
A logo is meant to represent your brand, it should be something that businesses and consumers recognize and may be the first thing that someone notices about your brand. Your logo should be original, creative, professional, and accurately represent your brand. It is something that should be strategized with professionals, and not a branding aspect that should be overlooked.
A logo design must communicate a clear message about a brand and continue the story of the brand. This requires a thorough discovery of the brand story, research, brainstorming and then coming up with creative directions that convey the right message. This typically takes a skilled and experienced designer or a team of designers dozens of hours of work. If you are serious about your brand image and the impact it has on your market, then you must invest in an agency or even a design professional and allow them to spend the time required. If you pay less, then you can not expect a designer to spend that kind of time and effort. You know what they say - you get what you pay for. ~ Mash Bonigala, Master Brand Builder
When making the decision between getting a logo designed by a boutique design agency over a quick online solution, you need to consider that you are not just paying for a ‘logo’ but intelligent design. Working with an agency ensures that you pay for access to a team that listen to your business needs and goals. An agency team will always collaborate and work with and alongside you so that you always get the results you paid for - and more. An agency will spend time understanding your brand but ultimately your audience, so that your logo successfully communicates who you are, sticks in your customers minds and helps send you in to the stratosphere!
Look, we don’t recommend it, but it’s always possible. You could always break open an image editor do it yourself depending on your artistic talent. Beware: results can vary - but - it can be a way to start, as shown by Google’s first logo (drawn by one of their founders).
So they are the different options you have when considering getting a logo developed. Whatever you choose, good luck with the venture, and don’t forget to sign up for Fluid UI to create your first prototype.
