How do I commission a logo?

January 30, 2012 6:12 AM

How do I hire a graphics person to make a small logo?

I coach a merry little band of chuckleheads who are going to be banding together to play some soccer tournaments this year, and we need a small logo created for our uniforms. I created the logo we used last year from an SVG I found online, but I would like something a little more professional this year. How would I go about hiring someone to do this, and what could I expect to pay?

Is there anything in the graphic design/logo/whatever world equivalent to rentacoder.com, where I could post the job and have people bid on the job, perhaps by providing samples, and I select the one I like best and hire them? Would Jobs or craigslist be viable options? If I were to go either of those routes, would posting it as "send me a sample of what you propose in low-res format" be a reasonable request?

When I commission the artwork, what format(s) should I request the finished product in so that we can get the most of it down the road? SVG?

Normally in a job like this this, do I (the client) get full rights to the final product, so that if we wanted to use it again down the line for something else, or tweak it, or whatever, we would be free to do so?

posted by Doofus Magoo to media & arts (9 answers total)

I encourage you to shop local. Really, there are people within miles of you who would do a good job on this at a reasonable price, and probably with less hassle for you.

That said, Elance and oDesk might also get you what you want, as will jobs.mefi and just about any other posting place with a lot of readers who are designers.

When I make a logo for someone, I provide EPS, .ai, a large .png and a large .jpg. SVG is good too. Just ask for everything -- it's easy to export in multiple formats.

You will own your logo. The designer will retain a license to use it in his/her promotional work (portfolio.)
posted by michaelh at 6:27 AM on January 30, 2012

Is there anything in the graphic design/logo/whatever world equivalent to rentacoder.com, where I could post the job and have people bid on the job, perhaps by providing samples, and I select the one I like best and hire them?

99designs is like that but a bit pricey. A cheaper option might be the Digital Point's Contest Forum. I can't vouch for either. So long as you get the logo in a vector format (svg, eps) as opposed to bitmap (jpg, png, gif) you should be fine as there's a multitude of ways to convert to other formats and enlarge the image without loss of quality. As far as the rights to the image - those are usually transferred to you but you'd need to get this confirmed with whichever service / designer you opt to use - read all the smallprint.
posted by wannalol at 6:27 AM on January 30, 2012

http://99designs.com/logo-design
posted by atlantica at 6:28 AM on January 30, 2012

wannalol beat me to it! I haven't used it myself buy my small (start-up) employer did and got very good results.
posted by atlantica at 6:30 AM on January 30, 2012

Also check out Crowdspring, As the client, you specify what you're willing to pay and provide information about your enterprise and other creative direction. Graphic designers then submit ideas for your review... and if people are off the mark you can refine the instructions and react to common ideas that aren't doing it for you.
posted by carmicha at 6:59 AM on January 30, 2012

Even as a non-designer, I strongly urge you to avoid any sort of spec work.
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:00 AM on January 30, 2012 [11 favorites]

I'm an artist specializing in [not graphic design], but I've done logos for money - I currently get my jobs 1) through word of mouth/friends, or 2) through university emails/want ads.

So if I were you, I'd email the heads of the art department at local universities and say that you'd like a skilled student to do a small job, how much money you'll pay, and what your expectations are (like you want the student to email you a previously-made logo, or that you want a vector-based design, etc.), and obviously your contact info. They will then forward it to the undergraduate (and if you specify, graduate) art students, who will email you if they are interested.

The bonus to this is that undergrads especially will charge peanuts compared to professionals. Grads will charge somewhat more, but the quality will usually be higher as well.
posted by vegartanipla at 8:26 AM on January 30, 2012

There are no "small" logos. There are just logos. You probably want a variety of formats, since what works well as a web logo will have to be tweaked (often a lot) to work as an embroidered logo or a tiny newsprint logo.

When I was doing them, I would offer three rounds of three. That is, I'd give you three designs. You could pick one or ask for three more similar to one of them. On the third round you had to pick one. Cash up front.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:06 AM on January 30, 2012

There are a few logo design posting on Fiverr. I've never tried it but at least you can get a sense of their style from their post.
posted by drug_dealer73 at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2012