So you need a new logo for your business and you’re not sure where to start. You could design it yourself, find someone online that will do it for five dollars, or hire a professional that specializes in this kind of thing. The five dollar route sounds like a pretty good deal, but be warned. You get what you pay for. So why does it matter where you get your logo from? Wouldn’t you get the same result from any of these options? 

The Free Option – Design it Yourself

Pros:

• Only costs your own time
• You can control how you want it to look
• You can take credit for the design

Cons:

• It will take you much longer to learn the skills needed,
• You run the risk of accidentally stealing someone’s design
• Can cost you more in the long run in purchasing software, and time.
• You’ll likely not have all the orientations and file types you need to use it properly in your marketing.

Designing a logo yourself basically costs nothing upfront, you can create it as quickly as you need it, and you can feel a sense of pride from designing your business’s image yourself. But the problem is that you don’t have any experience designing logos and a professional will think of things that you wouldn’t consider. Chances are you’ll realize issues after you’ve printed your own design on professional documents, installed a giant store sign, or had it wrapped on 100 company cars, and that’s when things will get expensive to replace the logo.

The Cheap Option – Purchase a Logo Online for Cheap

Pros:

• Extremely cheap compared to the cost of hiring a professional
• Most likely a quick turnaround

Cons:

• You get what you pay for
• Not custom to your business
• It’s possible that other businesses might have your logo too
• Likely won’t have the proper file types,
• Don’t have a visual identity to match.

Why hire a professional when you can find people who will design a logo for so cheap? This is pretty tempting, but it’s sort of the same mistake as designing one yourself. Once you realize issues with the logo you purchased online for a ridiculously low price, it’s going to be very expensive to replace. Plus, it’s likely that whoever you purchased it from chose it from a logo collection without any of your unique needs in mind, and is probably selling that same design to other companies. It’s not going to look very good when you cross paths with another company who has a similar logo to yours.

The Best Option – Hire a Professional

Pros:

• Professionals can provide advice along with the logo
• Professionals have a lot of experience
• Your logo will be a custom design
• A well thought-out image can improve your business
• You will still be a part of the process even though you aren’t creating it yourself
• You will have all the tools you need to activate it in your marketing
• You won’t just get a logo, you’ll truly get a brand.

Cons:

• It costs money to hire professionals
• May take more time to create than the other two options
• You will have to trust someone else’s advice/professional opinion

Hiring a professional might seem like the most costly and time-consuming option, but it’s worth it to do it right the first time, and you can still get a good result with a lower budget, Especially when you take advantage of Grants and Funding Opportunities available for you. A designer will do research about your field, learn about your company’s specific needs, and strategically create a custom design that no one else will have. Not to mention, provide additional advice and support for your brand.

Don’t Cut Corners

Do your research and don’t underestimate the importance of a logo. What if we pictured these options in the scenario of fixing your broken-down car? Do you think you will be successful fixing it yourself if you have no experience? Would you trust paying someone a suspiciously low cost to fix the problem? Hiring a professional will be your best bet and it is definitely worth it in the long run.