Let us admit the fact-no one loves criticisms, especially the harsh ones. However, the truth is that criticism helps us to grow. Honest feedback about your work will help you to understand the flaws and consequently, correct them.

If you are associated with the logo design industry, this will help you to enhance quality of your work. We offer you few tips that will help you to accept criticisms gracefully.

1. Ignore that Ego

Most people find it difficult to accept that they have committed a mistake. Unfortunately, no one can be right in every situation. If you possess an open mind and admit mistakes, it will be easier for you to accept criticisms gracefully. 

2. Judge an Idea from Various Angles

Avoid blindly assuming that all ideas of yours will be correct. To gain a better understanding, judge the ideas from different angles. This technique will also sharpen your analytical skills. 

3. Listen Carefully

To accept criticisms carefully, you have to listen to the viewpoints of other persons. This will also help you, while dealing with clients. Unless you clearly hear and understand preferences of clients, you will not be able to develop a successful project. In case you do not understand a certain point, always request for a clarification. 

4. Understand that People are Different

Every human being has a unique personality and viewpoints. Accepting the fact that opinions of others may vary from yours will help you to handle criticisms in a positive manner. For best results, judge situations from point of view of others.

5. Be Open towards Discussions

Accepting criticism does not mean that you cannot present your ideas. The best way to deal with criticism is to participate in an interactive session. Listen to the point of view of your colleagues and present your ideas. All these tricks will help you to learn new things and offer you an enriching experience.

6. Try New Skills

The process of learning new skills involves committing mistakes and correcting them. This in turn, will help you to develop an open mind and thus, accept criticisms.

7. Deal with your Fears

If you are afraid of anything, deal with it. Fearing something constantly will not allow you to develop an open mind. This in turn, will interfere with your ability to handle criticisms positively. 

8. Do not be obsessed with Perfection

We all search for a ‘perfect’ job or life. Unfortunately, the moment your life becomes perfect, you stop learning. For this reason, experimenting with new things and pushing yourself out of the comfort zone are critical.

9. Ask Questions

To gain an open-minded attitude, do not shy away from asking questions. Developing a curious attitude will keep you mentally fit.

10. Pay More Importance to Positive Criticisms

Positive criticisms will help you to grow. Negative ones, however, can destroy your confidence. For this reason, filter out the negative criticisms and focus only on the positive ones.

11. Handle Arguments

Handling arguments in a calm way will encourage you to accept criticisms. This will also help you in other areas of life, such as negotiating a raise at work or handling a difficult person.

12. Try to know the Truth

We are not saying that you have to accept criticisms blindly. Evaluate the feedback honestly. In any situation, try to know and accept the truth.

13. Learn to Deal with Uncertainty

Despite the quest for truth, you may not be able to find out answers of certain questions. Learn to accept uncertainty gracefully. This will help you to develop an open mind.

Opt for these points to deal with criticisms.
 

People starting a new logo design business often prefer spending limited amounts of money for marketing their products. The reason is that they have limited cash flow and customers initially. They think that once they acquire more customers, they will opt for professional services for marketing their products.

Unfortunately, they are unaware of the fact that not taking help of professional services for creating a logo or marketing their products can complicate the goal of drawing more clients. Additionally, it may create an unprofessional image of one’s business. If you want to know how amateur marketing can harm your business, read on.

1. Your business will appear unprofessional

Professional marketing can create a polished image of your logo design company. Amateur marketing, on the other hand, can make customers feel that you are not serious about your company. This in turn, will convince them that you do not care about the quality of your work or services.

2. It will create an unstable image of your company

Unprofessional marketing can never earn trust of clients. Rather, it will convince them that your business will fail within few months. It is obvious that no one prefers to associate himself/herself with a company that is likely to fail soon.

3. You will not appear a genuine company

Companies willing to establish themselves as reliable companies always opt for professional marketing services for enhancing their image. For this reason, if you use amateur services or avoid using a logo, you will fail to create a positive impression on minds of the people. Furthermore, they may suspect that you are a fraudulent company.

4. You will appear uncoordinated

Uncoordinated marketing products can create a confused image of your company. More specifically, if your website and business card have different looks, it may confuse your target customers. Sometimes, they may not even realize that all these products represent the same company.

Surveys reveal that nearly 50% of new companies experience failure within 2-3 years. They further state that ineffective marketing is one common factor that contributes to the failure of most new companies. To avoid such a situation, it is important to opt for professional services that will distinguish your company from that of your competitors and provide you with an extra edge.

Take the help of professionals to create awareness about your company, highlight your products and you will receive a loyal fan following within a short time!

Some logo designers believe that only creative skills are required to gain a strong foothold in this industry. This concept, unfortunately, is only partially true. Of course, when it comes to developing unique logo designs, creativity plays a crucial role. However, to sell your designs and create a strong identity as a designer, you need to implement additional techniques.

We provide you with few tips that will help you to impress any client, enhance your income, and most importantly, acquire more logo design projects.

1. Identify your potential clients

Figuring out for whom you would like to work, is critical. It helps you to identify people whose requirements and values match with that of yours. This in turn, would save your time, money, and energy.

Let us assume that you want to start a logo designing project as quickly as possible (for reasons such as money, impending holiday, or whatever). If your client says that he/she can approve after the project, only after his/her higher authorities agree to it, it can be a difficult situation for you. You are already running out of time and in this situation, you have to wait for an indefinite period.

In this case, if you had identified your potential client beforehand (a single person or a small group of people), it would not have resulted in such a complicated situation.

2. Ask the client to provide you with detailed information

Before agreeing to the project, ask the client for detailed information. You can ask questions, such as ‘What logos you like the most?’, ‘What message you want the new logo to convey?’, ‘Who is your target audience?’ Asking these questions will help you to modify the design, according to the client’s preferences.

3. Research about the client’s company

This step is important because it would help you to set your price correctly. If you ask for a mere $500, for example, from a company that is worth $30-50 million, you will not gain anything financially. Moreover, it will lower your value in the industry.

For this reason, before you quote a price, research about the client’s background. If he/she is unaware of how the logo should be used, arrange an educational session for the person. This will help you to enhance your worth, in eyes of the client and get your quoted price.

4. Opt for full color

Presenting logo designs in full colors will help you to earn appreciation of the client. Even if the client does not offer any color specifications, always present colored logo designs.

5. Highlight a great logo by comparing it with a horrible one

Many designers use the trick of presenting few great logos, along with a horrible one. This horrible logo forces clients to observe positive features of a good logo and reaffirms the belief that they are on the right path.

Of course, sometimes, clients nearly cause a heart attack by picking out the horrible logo. In such a situation, excuse yourself for few minutes and think about the possible options.

Opt for these tips to earn what you deserve and maintain a warm relationship with your clients.

Have you wondered why you manage to remember a particular logo design and forget the rest? This is because of the fact that the human brain tends to remember unique designs.

If you are planning to introduce the logo of your company, choosing customized designs would be a great idea. Customized designs create a powerful impact on the audience’s mind, thus encouraging them to remember your company and its services. We discuss the various benefits of custom logo design.

1. It will highlight your uniqueness

A custom logo design provides the company with a different appeal. It convinces the audience about your uniqueness and encourages people to opt for your services or products. The logo of the Apple company can serve here as a great example. Their logo highlights a half-bitten apple and this has provided it with a unique appeal.

2. It helps to create a good impression

Another advantage of custom logo design is that it creates a positive impression. Logos evoke various responses and if used cleverly, they can encourage the audience to view your company in a positive light. The logo design of KFC, for example, highlights a smiling Colonel Sanders, the founder of the company. It invokes a warm and friendly feeling, thus encouraging customers to try out the products offered by the company.

3. It establishes a brand identity

All companies target to create a powerful brand identity, one that will highlight their values and connect them to the audience. A custom logo design can help you to fulfill these requirements. Consider the logo of ‘Allstate’. It symbolizes trust, protection, care, and evokes a warm feeling.

4. It represents your company

Many companies have successfully created logos that represent goals of the company. Furthermore, many of these logos have retained popularity, even after a decade. Created in 1971, the Nike Swoosh logo, for example, is popular amongst sportsperson and common people, alike. Even 40 years later, the logo has retained its popularity. With help of a simple logo, popular brand ambassadors, and a powerful slogan, Nike has emerged as a successful sportswear and equipment company.

5. Custom logo design indicates professionalism

A custom design can convince the audience that you are serious about your marketing your products/services and enhancing reputation. This in turn, increases their faith and trust in your company. For these reasons, all companies these days emphasize on introducing a unique logo design.

Coming up with creative logo designs is not an easy process. It will involve unexpected challenges, fierce disagreements, and several brainstorming sessions. However, if you handle these issues gracefully, it will contribute in creation of a unique logo design.

If you are planning to hire a logo design company for working on your behalf, ask them to come up with designs that will highlight the positive aspects of your company.

There is no fixed rule or formula for designing a wining and appealing logo. Designers can make good use of their creative skills and achieve great results in logo design by using various design apps.

Typically, designers resort to using vector graphics based page layout programs and apps like CorelDraw for making logos, since it gives designers greater flexibility in editing and modifying design. However, at times, designers may have to use apps like Photoshop for making a logo captivating and adding special effects to designs. This is because Photoshop, despite being a raster based app, contains a huge number of filters and tools. A logo design company using Adobe Photoshop for logo making needs to be careful about using this app properly for their work.

While Photoshop does offer options to create vector paths and shapes with its tools, its vector design capabilities are pretty limited when compared to dedicated vector apps like CorelDraw or Adobe’s own, Illustrator. Designers must use Photoshop to create logos when absolutely necessary. For making text based logos, standalone vectors apps can be used without any problem. In any case, designers need to export files to formats supported by vector apps prior to printing. Photoshop can export files to various formats that are used in printing.

A logo designer needs to remember that his client may need to use logos in various sizes and resolutions. As a matter of fact, a company may need to use logos on various mediums like paper, web, and billboards and so on. A logo may also be printed in greyscale version in some cases. Hence, a designer needs to check how his logo looks in lower resolutions while working in Photoshop.

Photoshop offers support for various commonly used and trendy fonts but a logo design professional needs to be careful about a font he selects while using this app. Opting for a stylish font in Photoshop that is not supported by the app used for taking printout of a logo, does not make sense. Using fonts that are supported across OS and apps is advisable for this purpose. Same can be said about choosing color palettes in Photoshop for making logos. However, Photoshop does offer generous color palettes and lets users work with spot colors.

A logo needs to stand out midst competition and appeal to target users. For this, a designer needs to ensure that the design looks symmetrical and every element is used in it in a balanced way. Photoshop offers grids and guides for achieving pixel precise control in any artwork and this applies to logo design as well. A designer can also customize grid display type to suit his needs while making a logo. He can also use Photoshop’s Smart Guides feature in this regard.

If you are planning to print your logo design, choosing high quality printer paper is important. Paying attention to paper quality is critical because a shabby paper can ruin even the most beautiful design. Additionally, poor paper quality may create a negative impression and can prompt people to reject your promotional brochures or leaflets.

We will first discuss in brief, features of various types of papers. Later, we will provide you with some useful tips for choosing the right paper for your design.

Types of Papers

Fine quality card- Fine quality card is high quality and reliable. However, one must exercise caution while inserting it in the printer. If you want to use fine quality card, opt for a test session to evaluate the outcome.

Pulp - Pulp is a risky option. The reason is that pulp papers are usually soft. In addition, they do not score high on quality. They also jam printers easily. Therefore, if you are using pulp papers for printing logo designs, insert a single sheet at a time in the printer.

Typing paper - This type of paper suits basic color layouts and simple graphic designs. It may not be ideal for complex print work.

Fine/Printer Paper - In most cases, professionals opt for fine/printer paper. They are perfect for any type of graphic jobs.

Handmade paper - This one scores high on the aesthetic aspect. Various types of handmade papers exist, with each of them exhibiting various features. Some types of handmade papers are soft and can interfere with the printing process.

Photo quality paper - If you are looking for accurate printing, opting for photo quality paper can be a great idea. However, it may not be suitable for certain types of printing.

Choosing the Perfect Paper

• The paper type should complement the final product. If you want printout of simple text or mails, standard copier paper can fulfill your purpose. High-budget promotional campaigns, on the other hand, require glossy and heavyweight paper.

• If you are printing by yourself, reading the printer manual thoroughly would be a good idea. Each of type of paper possesses certain features that produce different results, when used on different printers. A matte finish paper, for example, allows ink to dry easily. A glossy paper finish offers a bright look and highlights artworks and designs.

• Research about the features of paper you have chosen. Paper has four major features-opacity, brightness, weight, and smoothness. Opacity refers to the amount of light that can pass through the paper. Brightness refers to how white it appears. Weight is calculated per 500-sheet ream. Smoothness refers to paper texture. Smoother paper is ideal for laser printers. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, require textured paper.

• Consider basic guidelines. If you are planning to use printer paper, consider its brightness and weight. For printing colorful logo designs, opt for brighter and heavier paper. It will grab attention of your target visitors.

Choosing the right paper can have a positive impact on the quality of your corporate identity design. Additionally, it can reduce your printing cost and save the environment (since you avoid wastage of paper).

Did you know that paper quality and type could alter color of the printed product? Yes, it is true! Many times, clients blame designers for messing up the colors. However, they are unaware of the fact that in certain cases, the paper quality, and type are responsible for the change of color. In fact, various paper stocks can produce various tones from the same ink color.

Even if you do not opt for color ink, controlling color is crucial. If you print black ink on a color substrate, there are high chances that it would appear containing color.

Paper Types and Printing

Many people, while printing designs, ignore the issue of paper quality. As a result, the poor quality of paper ruins a great logo design. If you are interested in obtaining perfect printouts of your design, paying attention to various aspects is important. These aspects can include design, type of paper, paper quality, and good quality inks.

Remember, that paying equal attention to all these factors will help you to avail high quality printout of your business logo design.

The importance of using good quality paper lies in the fact that customers usually judge a company by evaluating its marketing products. If you provide them with high quality promotional materials, they will automatically assume that quality of your products/services is good and you have an impeccable corporate identity. Consider the fact that customers purchase products only from a trustworthy company.

Issues you should consider…

• Thick paper usually indicates esteem and credibility. If you are handling a prestigious project, opting for thick paper can be a good idea. For printing brochures, opt for 70-100 pound cover. 13 or 14-point paper is ideal for printing postcards.

• If you are interested in grabbing attention of your target customers, choose glossy paper. The gloss finish will highlight designs of the page, thus attracting the customers.

• If you want your logo designs to possess a subtle appeal, printing them on matte stocks can be a good idea. Designs printed on matte stocks suggest exclusivity and grace.

• To enhance appeal of your printed designs, you can use special coatings, such as UV and aqueous. It will protect your designs as well.

• If your company promotes eco-friendliness, use recycled paper stocks. This will convince your customers that you practice what you preach.

While developing designs for a particular project, decide the type of paper you will use for printing purposes. This will ensure that the designs and paper type complement each other. A smart design looks good on a sleek paper. For subdued designs, on the other hand, matte stocks would be perfect.

If possible, request the printer to provide you with free paper samples. This will help you to envision your designs more quickly and efficiently.

Other Factors in Printing

Apart from the type of paper used, the light under which a person is viewing the printed material can also drastically alter the color tone. It can be added here that supermarkets often opt for this technique for changing color of their displays. Lights alter appearance of meat displays, often providing it with a fresher look.

Before signing any deal, do not forget to request the printer to provide you with a proof. Opting for a hard copy, even for digital proof can be a great idea. Remember that a PDF proof will not show correctly the color of your designs.

To ensure that color of the printed product does not change drastically, consider these tips.

There are various ways of designing a logo that stands out in the crowd and sends a strong brand message across to its target audience. Veteran logo design

professionals resort to a number of elements and measures to add exclusiveness to their artworks. Some of them experiment with visual effects, including 3D, while some resort to using unconventional font styles.

There are some instances where using cartoons in a company logo can help a designer achieve his design objective. A logo design company can resort to cartoon logo design depending on the need and the type of business. The advantage of using cartoons in logo designs is that cartoon figures stay in the viewer’s mind for a long time and kids too can relate to it quickly. Some of the giant MNCs, including Pepsi, have resorted to cartoons for their logos.

Designers should resort to versatile vector art software if they want to use cartoons in their logo design projects. Vector artwork is easier to modify and hence, designers can make any modification to the design quickly, as and when required. Standalone logo design apps usually offer better provisions for vector shapes and tools that come in handy for customized cartoon illustration.

Now, designers should learn how to use cartoons properly in logos to steer away from design failures.

• When it comes to logo redesign, graphic designers need to be careful about using cartoon illustrations.

Because the existing logo of a company has a brand image, design should not be drastically altered. It would not be advisable to use too many colors in cartoon based logos. Usually, cartoon figures consisting of two contrasting hues fit the bill.

• In some instances, using a cartoon character for a logo can prove detrimental for the client company. This can happen if a cartoon figure chosen by a designer has any kind of negative connotation attached with it. This however, cannot be a universal phenomenon and such things are relevant for specific regions.
• It is not advisable to use clip arts for cartoon based logos as this reduces the possibility of making a professional looking logo. In some cases, it may not be possible to use certain popular cartoon characters in logo design because of copyright and intellectual property issues.

Cartoon figures convey messages to the younger generation, but in some cases, they can also be used in companies that sell services and products for grown ups. Using animal cartoons is a trend that has been observed in a section of graphic designers to send positive messages to the target audience.

If you run a logo design company, you not only need to have designing knowledge, but managerial skills as well. Here are some of the things you should concentrate on to earn more profits and expand your business.

1. Promote Your Company- What use is establishing a logo design business if the world doesn’t know you exist? You need to promote your company to get more business. However, before promoting your company, decide how you want to present yourself in the market. Would you like to be recalled as the “most affordable logo design company” or “the most unique and innovative logo design company” or “a costly but no compromise on quality logo design company”? Types of clients are varied and while some prefer cheap priced designs, others don’t bother spending millions for a high quality design.

If you are a startup company, have a clear and set goal in your mind. Don’t be impractical and think that you can be the number one graphic design company in the country in just 1 year. Set an achievable goal like “I want to be number 1 graphic design house in my city” and work strategically to achieve it. When you have a clear goal in your mind, your business grows and profits increase.

     2.Charge for the Whole Project- Some companies charge their clients by hour for a logo design project. That’s not very wise, because:

•  When you tell your client that you will charge him $75 for every hour, he considers you a costly logo designer. However, when you charge $500 for the whole design project, he thinks you are affordable. This is how clients work…when you tell clients you charge on hourly basis, they start multiplying and think that you will send them a huge bill. What they don’t realize is that you may actually spend just 5 hours on the total design project, and at $500, you are actually charging more than $75 per hour!
• You may work for just 5 hours and bill the client for 6 hours. Because the client can’t tap the number of hours you are working for, he is never too confident about the time his project has taken.

Hence, majority clients don’t agree to an hourly payment scheme.

     3. Identify Your Best Clients- You may have a total of 20 clients for whom you design logos, but out of those 20 clients, only 5 are big corporate houses who pay you handsomely and give you regular work. You need to identify your top paying clients and give extra effort in their designs. These 5 clients provide 80% of your total income and if you keep them satisfied, a regular income is ensured and the profit margin will never drop.

   4. Repeat Business Increases Profits- It’s easier to work with old clients than with new clients. The more work you do for your present clients, the better understanding and trust you build. This will lead to repeat business without spending too much on promotion.

Most logo designers are shy and think asking a client for reference is unprofessional. Nonsense! If you have a happy client, don’t hesitate to ask him for referrals. This way, you will save time and money on marketing and still get good business.

   5. Track Your Profits and Losses- You must keep an eye on your investments and profits, or, you will spend more than you earn and the company will run into loss.

Separate the essential expenses from the extra expenses. You can cancel that Thanksgiving party at your office and instead, invest in high-end computers that will be beneficial for your business.

When you work with a clear business strategy, possibilities for successes increase. All the best!

Giving an interview for a new job is a pressure situation for both freshers and experienced logo designers. Sometimes, the interviewer asks such tricky questions that you might feel that you don’t have an answer to give.

Your designing degree and previous experience in logo design is not enough to convince the employer, unless you impress him at the interview desk.  Before appearing for an interview, you should prepare yourself for the most regular yet challenging questions. Don’t get nervous when you face the interviewer.

Here’s a list of most frequently asked questions and suggestions on how you can handle them.

Tell us about yourself- This is the first question that any interviewer shoots at the applicant. Don’t get tensed, just remain calm and give a short bio to the employer. For example, “I am a logo designer with 2 years experience and like to work in a team.”

Why you left your previous job? - Most people answer that they were not satisfied with the work environment or with the boss’s arrogant behavior and left the logo design company. Never answer this question in a negative way. Your new employer might feel that you are not a team player and like to blame your boss for any problem you face.

The intelligent way to answer this question is, tell him your aspirations and the possibilities you see working with him. Tell him your career objectives and how you feel the company will help you reach there. If you are giving the interview for a higher logo design team position, simply express how you want to progress in your career.

Why should we hire you? - There are other aspirants waiting for their chance. Why should the employer hire you? Give him good enough reasons that will help him to understand why you are better than others. Explain your work ethics and how you can help the company to achieve a better position in the industry. However, don’t exaggerate about yourself.

What is favorite logo design? – You may admire several logo designs, but when asked about your favorite logo design, name the logo which you know the best. You must have enough knowledge about the history and creation process of that logo. Clients often check the applicant’s knowledge with this question.

Your strengths as a logo designer- The interviewer wants to check your self-confidence with this question. Highlight your designing skills, your ability to come up with innovative and unique idea, etc. If the interviewer is impressed with your positive answers, he will certainly hire you.

Where do you see yourself in next 5 years? - Tell your aspirations and career plans in detail to the employer. Explain how you are planning to shape up your career in that company. It will show that you are a stable and professional employee and want to create a long term relationship with the company. No company likes to hire a designer who will work for 6 months and leave the company once he gets a better job offer.

Expected salary? - Generally this is the last question of an interview. To answer the question correctly, do some research on the internet to know the standard salary for the position you are applying. The employer will be more eager to appoint you, if your expected salary matches theirs.

Conclusion- There is no lack of creative talent in logo design industry. You should be prepared to show your abilities to the employer and convince him that you are the best candidate for the job.

All the best!