Should I Design My Own Business Logo?

Getting a business logo is very important. No, check that, it's CRUCIAL to your business image. You need to decide whether it makes sense to do-it-yourself or allow a professional graphic artist to do it. Read on to evaluate the pros and cons of your choices.

Most entrepreneur business people approach everything they do with a hands-on, I-can-do-it-myself approach. Why not do-it-yourself custom logo design?

After all, who knows your companies goals, strengths, purposes and personality better than you do?

Who really cares about your company as much as you do? Who better understands the unique characteristics of your company and what makes it tick?

It seems like such a waste of money to pay some monkey from a logo design company to create a logo that you can easily do yourself. You already wear the marketing hat and the bookkeeping hat, why not wear the logo designer hat too?

How hard is logo design anyway?

You reason that logo design can't be that hard. Many logos you've seen look simple enough, a scribble here, an orb thingy there, a few words of type and a splash of color to top it all off makes for a perfectly serviceable company logo.

And besides, aren't there $29 software programs on the market that do the work for you? Aren't there $39 quickey logo web sites out there with cazillions of clip art and fonts and art parts that can slap a logo together for you in three minutes flat?

Is a faster Business Logo Design a better logo design?

Getting a logo fast isn't your goal, getting a logo to last is. I've seen chainsaw artists carve images out of logs to look like bears in two minutes but no sane person would compare tree stump art to anything Michelangelo chiseled out of marble.

Which one would you rather own, a priceless work of art that will last 'till kingdom come, or a chunk of wood that rots away in a few years?

Can you create a great custom logo design using this method?

Maybe, maybe not. Yes, you can produce a logo design that would work fine for your annual company picnic or your uncle Ed's weekend flea market extravaganza.

You can't create a good company logo using this method that would pass the trademark lawyers trash test. There is much more that goes into logo creation than snapping three art parts together like so many Lego blocks.

Most do-it-yourself logo design web sites and software packages tout the marketing virtues of cheap, fast, and "No design skills required". Getting your oil changed fast makes sense, getting your logo designed fast might not.

After looking through some "no design skills necessary" sites a lack of design skills becomes obvious, there weren't any design skills used producing the web site in the first place.

Down with Mediocrity!

If mediocrity is a worthy goal these sites have achieved it. Mediocrity should not be your goal. You need to be a cut above, obviously better.

Creating a logo with wimpy templates or cheap logo software is the last thing you need to be doing with your spare time. Business logo design is best left to logo design specialists. That's what they are trained for, that's what they do best.

Up with Michelangelo!

Commission the artistic Michelangelo's of the art world to meet your design needs not Chainsaw Charlie.

Next article: Freelance logo designer vs logo design company.