How To Impress as A Logo Designer

A logo designer draws some shapes, some lines and sometimes few letters and voila, he created another logo. Thinking from this superficial perspective a logo is something useless, but if you already read some previous posts from this blog it’s impossible to do this mistake. A very important dilemma rises when a logo designer must create a logo for himself; it isn’t a rare case when a logo designer hires another designer to create him a logo. In this way subjectivity is avoided, because that is an important impediment in drawing an impressive logo. Much more, it’s a common mentality that an impressive work is usually created by an impressive expert, therefore here is another stringent issue: how could a logo designer stand apart from the competitors or how to impress people in order to be hired. Of course, a logo designer can hire an advertising expert but here is more than a logo and sometimes the costs are exorbitant. It is a very difficult matter and not everyone handles the various situations for his advantage, so it’s highly recommended to pay closer attention to this aspect.

Staying apart from the crowd is in this case equivalent of having more clients; which is very important. In conclusion, why don’t you try to become famous in your community and become a “selling brand”? It’s not quite easy to do it but of course, nothing is impossible. In order to help you, I added here a brief list containing some very useful best practices that proved to be useful for other designers that now are well known and are hired for the most expensive projects. Anyone is strongly encouraged to contribute with his personal opinion. The more, the better.

#1: Should I still mention…an attractive portfolio

If you expected some magic tips, then I must disappoint…without hard work it is practically impossible to sharpen your skills and become a new Paul Rand. The result of your endeavor is the portfolio…instantly people make the association: good logos, good logo designer, poor logos, bad logo designer. You should build your portfolio on this idea, I think that everyone in logo design community agrees with this idea.

#2: Show people that you are living

Personally, I think the approach of this point makes the big difference between a logo designer that is well paid and a common one. I wrote tons of posts (I am not modest, but it was necessary to let readers digest the idea) presenting the most interesting portfolios. Paradoxically, the similar posts contained the same portfolios, that truly were awesome but there are many other also very attractive and not showcased. The difference was made because some logo designers were active, get in touch with bloggers, were using social media and SEO wasn’t a secret for them while others simply didn’t care about the portfolio. Well, if you really want to become famous, then don’t expect, do something, sometimes even something wrong is more beneficial than nothing.

There are many opportunities to stand apart: write guest posts or maintain a blog where people will read about your manner of work and some of them will need your services. Besides that, blogging offers exposure that is another important ingredient in your attempt of becoming rich and famous. Another solution is social media, by wisely using some social networks you may engage with other great logo designers or other people…anyway you give the impression of an active and interesting person and it is very important for a client.

#3: Let people know that you are respecting yourself

If you want respect, then respect yourself in order to get it. It’s pretty hard to describe exactly a logo designer that is respecting himself due to the infinite potential situations. Generally speaking, a real professional treats any client very careful, collaborates with him and clearly explains the logo design process. Seriousness and flexibility are another must have feature of a logo designer. Undoubtedly, if you want to impress all the above-mentioned items are mandatory.

#4: Select your projects and clients

It sounds a little bit strange or extremist but it is my opinion, therefore you may agree or not. A client judges a logo designer by taking into account the past clients. It’s very important to have good clients to be catalogued as a potential solution. Besides that, we shouldn’t ignore that the Internet is full of dishonest people that are trying to chat by using any methods. There are tons of forums where logo designers are expressing their experiences, so if you aren’t confident about it, do some research. Isn’t it a huge mistake to work hard for a logo and the client to pay you 15-20$?

#5: Keep the deadlines

It is another sign that you are a professional. Keeping a deadline isn’t just a fade. There are cases when the client desperately needs a new logo but it is about the reliability; no one will trust a logo designer that constantly is missing his deadlines. A satisfied client is doing more than two SEO campaigns and clearly, you impress more. What do you think, which is more convincing: a client that speaks highly about you or the fact that you are no.7 in the searches of Google for a specific term or expression?

#6: Communicate efficiently with the clients

Each client has his own preferences related to the new logo and sometimes his expectations are in opposition with the rule of good design. By ignoring his perspective it won’t make you a better logo designer and creating a logo that doesn’t follow the best practices in the field is the same, a real disaster.

In conclusion, to satisfy both parts, an impressive logo designer must be a skilled communicator. The trickiest aspect is to explain, using common words and not color theory specific terms that a client’s requirement don’t bring a positive contribution. The ones that convince the clients about their mistakes will gain the respect of the community and undoubtedly, across time they will become logo design stars.

The road to becoming a famous logo designer is much complicated than following six rules and there are many other things specific to each one. Anyway, by reading the post at least you have an idea about your future approach. What do you think, are my deductions correct or do you have other interpretations?

– Written by Daniel –