Help me find a good Logo!
February 26, 2008 11:15 AM Subscribe
My church is looking for a new logo. Help me find a good designer
Looking through previous threads, it seems the consensus for finding a good designer is to look locally. However, in the middle of Iowa, options are limited. How do I find a good firm online?
What I really want is someone who will work closely with us to craft a logo that fits us well, and not just a mix and match of some clip art they have laying around.
I suspect our threshold of pain is around $1000 - is this reasonable? I'd also like to avoid just picking a company at random from Google, but would appreciate a reference of someone you have had a positive experience with
Looking through previous threads, it seems the consensus for finding a good designer is to look locally. However, in the middle of Iowa, options are limited. How do I find a good firm online?
What I really want is someone who will work closely with us to craft a logo that fits us well, and not just a mix and match of some clip art they have laying around.
I suspect our threshold of pain is around $1000 - is this reasonable? I'd also like to avoid just picking a company at random from Google, but would appreciate a reference of someone you have had a positive experience with
I am not a designer, but I play one on the internets (and in my mind ;P
Do you have any concept/sketchs/ideas of what exactly you are looking for in a logo? Colors? what feeling it expresses? old-school or new/trendy?, other logos you like or want it similar to.
I would imagine its akin to shopping for a tattoo. You need to give the artist something to work with and I would think they could 'gen' up a few ideas fairly quickly .
posted by jmnugent at 11:23 AM on February 26, 2008
Do you have any concept/sketchs/ideas of what exactly you are looking for in a logo? Colors? what feeling it expresses? old-school or new/trendy?, other logos you like or want it similar to.
I would imagine its akin to shopping for a tattoo. You need to give the artist something to work with and I would think they could 'gen' up a few ideas fairly quickly .
posted by jmnugent at 11:23 AM on February 26, 2008
I'm an architect and graphic designer. Feel free to e-mail me anytime.
posted by AnyGuelmann at 11:33 AM on February 26, 2008
posted by AnyGuelmann at 11:33 AM on February 26, 2008
I don't normally do this, but a friend of mine runs this company that specializes in church communications. I think they may be what you are looking for.
posted by internal at 11:33 AM on February 26, 2008
posted by internal at 11:33 AM on February 26, 2008
I haven't used this firm - but I have heard good things about them. They farm out the work to a network of designers, and they seem to work cheaply. That said, I think you should definitely give any any interested MeFi member the first shot.
posted by COD at 11:34 AM on February 26, 2008
posted by COD at 11:34 AM on February 26, 2008
Check my profile for a link to my site. Heck, I'll even throw-in a MeFite discount.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:40 AM on February 26, 2008
posted by Thorzdad at 11:40 AM on February 26, 2008
Start a jackpot contest at Worth1000 - it's the best photoshop site on the net. For a few hundred bucks you can choose from tens of logos by experienced designers.
posted by Psychnic at 1:06 PM on February 26, 2008
posted by Psychnic at 1:06 PM on February 26, 2008
offhand, here's what i'd look for in a logo designer's portfolio:
1. RANGE: Some designers have a single look; you want someone who can grasp what you want to communicate and make it into an icon, not just some dude who turns out stuff that 'looks cool'.
2. ILLUSTRATION SKILLS: a logo really needs someone with some illustration ability. Photo composts are not going to cut it.
3. PRINT EXPERIENCE: your logo has a VERY good chance of being printed, in many different sizes. Did the designer anticipate this? Are there two treatments if necessary? Did you get an EPS or vectorized format? If a designer has zero or limited print experience, it's almost guaranteed there will be something wrong with your deliverable.
BONUS: MARKETING SKILLS: With your limited budget I'm assuming you don't have a PR or marketing guy. It would be useful to find someone who could help you figure out exactly WHAT you are trying to communicate (ie, are you looking for something that says "hey, we're a hip, edgy church', or are you looking for something that says 'we are very formal'?).
I think $1000 is a reasonable budget to have someone create a logo, but not nearly enough to have them create a brand. It may benefit you to read up a little on branding and marketing so you can make some informed decisions about what you're looking to get.
posted by fishfucker at 1:27 PM on February 26, 2008
1. RANGE: Some designers have a single look; you want someone who can grasp what you want to communicate and make it into an icon, not just some dude who turns out stuff that 'looks cool'.
2. ILLUSTRATION SKILLS: a logo really needs someone with some illustration ability. Photo composts are not going to cut it.
3. PRINT EXPERIENCE: your logo has a VERY good chance of being printed, in many different sizes. Did the designer anticipate this? Are there two treatments if necessary? Did you get an EPS or vectorized format? If a designer has zero or limited print experience, it's almost guaranteed there will be something wrong with your deliverable.
BONUS: MARKETING SKILLS: With your limited budget I'm assuming you don't have a PR or marketing guy. It would be useful to find someone who could help you figure out exactly WHAT you are trying to communicate (ie, are you looking for something that says "hey, we're a hip, edgy church', or are you looking for something that says 'we are very formal'?).
I think $1000 is a reasonable budget to have someone create a logo, but not nearly enough to have them create a brand. It may benefit you to read up a little on branding and marketing so you can make some informed decisions about what you're looking to get.
posted by fishfucker at 1:27 PM on February 26, 2008
Search LogoPond for "church" or similar; find a designer you like. It's like flickr but the submissions are by logo designers.
posted by fourstar at 3:53 PM on February 26, 2008
posted by fourstar at 3:53 PM on February 26, 2008
My husband is a graphic designer, and has worked with more churches than he normally admits to. You can check out his portfolio site here:
posted by rintj at 9:31 PM on February 26, 2008
posted by rintj at 9:31 PM on February 26, 2008
I haven't used this firm - but I have heard good things about them. They farm out the work to a network of designers, and they seem to work cheaply. That said, I think you should definitely give any any interested MeFi member the first shot.
posted by COD at 11:34 AM on February 26
Logoworks and their designers steal work by other designers, jeopardizing their clients in the process. That's why they're so cheap.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 4:59 AM on February 27, 2008
posted by COD at 11:34 AM on February 26
Logoworks and their designers steal work by other designers, jeopardizing their clients in the process. That's why they're so cheap.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 4:59 AM on February 27, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by By The Grace of God at 11:23 AM on February 26, 2008