Hiring a designer for a logo: what to expect

A logo is a system, not a picture

The drawing is the visible part. What you are really buying is something that works at every size you need, in colour and without it, on a screen and on a sign, for years.

That is why a good designer asks where it will appear before drawing anything. A mark that only works large is not finished.

What you should receive

At minimum: a version for print, a version for screen, a single-colour version, and clear guidance on the smallest size it should be used at. If you know you need embroidery, a stamp or signage, say so before the work starts.

Ask what happens if you need a variation later, and agree it up front rather than discovering it is a new project.

• Print and screen versions
• A single-colour version
• Minimum size guidance
• The source file, if you agreed to it

How long it takes

Less time than people fear and more than they hope. The drawing is quick; the deciding is not. Most delay comes from the client side, when several people have to agree and do so slowly.

Nominate one person to give feedback. Committees produce compromises that satisfy nobody.

Revisions and what they are for

A revision is for correcting direction, not for exploring endlessly. Packages include a set number for good reason: unlimited revision is how a project becomes unprofitable and a designer becomes unresponsive.

Use them well. Give all your feedback at once and be specific about what is wrong rather than what to change.

Before you commission, check three things

Whether the designer has done work in a style you like, whether they are available in your timeline, and what you will own at the end. All three are answerable before you spend anything.

What a logo cannot do on its own

A logo does not make people trust you, explain what you sell or fix a weak product. It marks things as yours. Expecting more from it is how projects go through twenty rounds and still feel wrong.

The things that carry a brand are consistency and repetition. The logo is the thing being repeated.

Plan for the versions you will need later

A logo gets asked to do things nobody predicted: appear on a vehicle, be embroidered, work as a stamp, sit in a tiny corner of an app. Some of those need a simplified version.

Ask at the start whether variations are included or a separate piece of work. It is a straightforward question before and an awkward one after.

How to start

Everything runs through one place. Artists sign in at the artist studio, upload work, choose which products each piece suits, and see what they have earned. Customers browse the artwork, pick a design, and choose what to put it on.

Nothing about it is exclusive. You can sell the same work elsewhere at the same time, and there is no listing fee and no minimum.

• Apply with three pieces so we can see how you work
• Choose which products each design belongs on
• Get paid by bank transfer on what sells

Common questions