In the logo design industry, the competition to acquire good clients is intense. This in turn makes designers wonder about the qualities they should possess to attract clients. Today, we will discuss few criteria that clients consider to select a designer. Read on.

Experience

Clients prefer designers who are well-experienced and possess relevant expertise. Therefore, you may have to show the client proofs of your creations. If you are associated with a logo design company, you may have to send them your experience certificates. To stay on the safe side, arranging these documents beforehand can be a great idea.

Design Portfolio

A well-made design portfolio highlights expertise of the designer and convinces clients about his/her seriousness. To enhance your reputation as a designer, create an interesting portfolio. Include the most appreciated logo design solutions in the portfolio.

Consider the fact that portfolio acts your representative-it highlights your creativity and strong points.

Professional Approach

Clients also give importance to professional communication. They evaluate communication skills of a designer by judging his/her emails and online conversations.

For best results, check emails carefully, before sending them. Maintain a professional approach. Additionally, while talking on the phone, opt a clear and direct tone. Be polite.

Pricing

Pricing is another crucial criterion for the client. This is especially important if the client wants to stick to a certain budget. In case you quote a price that is high for the client, he may avoid contacting you again.

In such a situation, you can negotiate with the client. Alternatively, stick to your price. However, do not forget to ensure that your quoted price justifies your experience and expertise.

Contract and Project Deadline

Most clients prefer designers who agree to sign a contract. This is because a contract protects interests of both parties, in case something goes wrong. Signing a contract can also increase your professional reputation. The reason is that such a strategy convinces clients that you are willing to undertake responsibility as a designer.

Project deadline is another crucial criterion. The client may ask you number of days/hours you may require to complete a project. He may want to acquire the logo designs earlier. In such a situation, you can either adjust and take up the project or reject it. Even if you take up the project, ensure that you do not compromise with quality in any situation.

Testimonials

Some logo designers fail to recognize the importance of a good testimonial. However, for clients, testimonial is important. A good testimonial convinces them about your expertise and encourages them to trust you.

For this reason, once you complete the project, always request the client or company for a testimonial. This will allow you to acquire important projects in the future.

As a logo design company, it's very important to shine in your field. You should definitely provide the most customized and comprehensive logo design solutions but you must also pay attention to the fact that providing these solutions are not the sole key to success. Back your business up with the support of the right font, the right layout, the colors and in short, the right logo design on all your marketing materials, including the type of paper.

These visual elements need to have flexibility, especially if yours is a small business. Having a uniformity in your logo design is essential. But using these visual elements will add flexibility to your brand. Many reasons can propel this change such as – distinguishing your products/services from each other and some special needs that might occur unexpectedly and call for your attention.

The primary reasons why it is advisable that you modify your visual elements from time to time are as follows:

• This helps you better use the media that you use. When you create printed marketing materials, use not more than 1-2 colors as that would reduce the production costs. But when you are designing your website, it's better to adjust the use of fonts so that the on-screen legibility and compatibility is doubled. For instance, if you are going to place an ad in a newspaper, you should use a simpler image than what you would use in a brochure because newspapers come in poor quality paper where using high-quality images will yield no results.

• A big logo design company may move at a fast pace, but small companies have to spend considerable time on their marketing materials. This is where interesting visual elements come useful. They relieve you of boredom and allow you to look at something fresh. In fact, this boredom is one of the primary reasons why small business owners go for a logo revamping. But this is not actually necessary. It can waste a lot of money, effort and time of yours to revamp your logo design completely. Consider the fact that you are probably getting bored because you are looking at your logo all the time, or too frequently.

If you are really bored of the way your logo looks, don't go for a revamp. Instead, include some new fonts, colors etc. to your existing marketing materials. They will look different, your design consistency will be maintained and yet you will not be bored anymore.

• Change in visual elements allows your audience to differentiate one of your product lines from another and one of your marketing materials from another. If all your marketing materials look the same, they will fail to be noticed by your target audience. But by creating each of these materials in a visually different way with different types of logo design solutions, you will be able to grab the attention of your potential clients and customers to look a plethora of offerings and as they say, 'the more the better'.

Bringing flexibility in your promotional materials adds an element of freshness in your marketing campaign and helps your company stand apart from the rest.

Workaholic people are obsessed with work. They spend majority of their time by working and consequently, ignoring personal relationship. However, the harsh truth is that most people working at a logo design company do not start their career as workaholics.

During the initial stages of their career, they attempt to balance their personal and professional lives. However, due to job pressure and other factors, they slowly turn into workaholics.

How would you identify whether a person is workaholic? What are the symptoms? Answers are stated below.

Skips Food - This is the most obvious symptom. A person obsessed with work prefers to skip meals because of lack of time. If he manages to find time, he will opt for fast food, rather than wholesome meals. They prefer fast food because it provides them with a 'feel good factor', especially when they are stressed.

Sleeps Less - A workaholic person hardly sleeps for 4-5 hours at night. He works until late hours at night and wakes up early to finish the pending tasks.

Avoids Taking Breaks - A workaholic logo design professional considers breaks as wastage of time. He prefers to work, even during the breaks. Even if he is tired and stressed out, he will continue working. He avoids opting meaningful activities, such as reading a book or going out for a stroll during the breaks.

Does not Enjoy Holidays/Vacations - A workaholic person will finish pending tasks, even during the holidays. He does not enjoy holidays and waits for the office to reopen. Even if he is sick, he will pop a medicine and rush to work.

Avoids Socialization - A person whose life revolves around work avoids catching up with friends and relatives. Rather, he prefers to stay at office and complete the tasks. He may even miss the special occasions of his life.

Does not have Time for Family - A workaholic person fails to understand the importance of meaningful relationships. He remains busy with work, thus ignoring personal relationships. Rather, he prefers to be alone so that he can concentrate more in the work.

Does Not Believe in Team Work - A person obsessed with work assigns himself all the tasks. He does not advocate teamwork. This is because he believes that quality of work produced by other team members could be unsatisfactory.

Talks about Work in Every Situation - A workaholic person will talk about his job in any situation. His conversation will always revolve around work and work-related issues.

Prefers Multitasking - A workaholic person opts for multitasking because he believes that it prevents wastage of time and enhances productivity. He loves to perform various tasks at the same time.

Hates People who Gives More Importance to Personal Life - A workaholic person believes that work should be considered the topmost priority in any situation. He hates people who give greater importance to personal life, rather than professional life.

We highlighted some symptoms of a workaholic person. If you think that you are exhibiting some of these symptoms, sort out your priorities. Remember that maintaining a balance between personal and professional life will provide you with both emotional and material satisfaction.

 Growth is a critical issue for any business. Unfortunately, many of us neglect the issue of promoting our logo design business. Reasons can include lack of time and  motivation. Since you do not receive any payment for promoting your business, you start neglecting it. 

Today, in this article, we will provide you with few tips that will help you to promote your brand logo, and consequently, your company. The best part is that implementing these tips will not require much time. Therefore, you can maintain your daily schedule and yet implement these tips.
Offer a Free Presentation

Creating an informative presentation can be a good way of promoting your company brand logo. Explain the purposes of your company, include your few projects, and finally, incorporate a strong call-to-action statement. Participate in any local event and market your company with the help of this presentation. Alternatively, you can include this presentation in your website.

Highlight your Specialty

Highlighting your strengths can be the best way to grow in an industry. May be your forte lies in creating unique website designs. Alternatively, you may possess expertise in using content management systems. Whatever your strength is, marketing it aggressively is important.

Pen down your Thoughts

Sharing your knowledge and experience about the website design industry can be a good way to promote your company. For greater impact, include the necessary information in a book. Of course, writing a book is a time-consuming affair.

In such a situation, you can write a small book (1500-2000 words). To attract attention of people, choose an interesting topic (such as ‘Website Design Mistakes that you are Unaware of’). Distribute the book amongst the local companies. After reading the book, they will realize the mistakes. Chances are high that they will contact you for fixing these mistakes.

Get in Touch with Past Clients

Staying in touch with past clients is a good way to market your company. If they require any logo or web designs, you will be the first person to get a call.

Update your Profile Regularly

These days, clients prefer to check online profile of a company, before contacting it. For this reason, updating your profile regularly is critical. It creates a good impression and convinces the clients that you are serious about promoting your company.

Updating print profile of your company regularly may not be possible. However, you can always update the online profile regularly.

Connect via the Social Networking Sites

In recent times, connecting with people via social networking sites is critical. If you do not have an account in any of these sites, create it. It will take 5-10 minutes.

Organize a Seminar

Another interesting way to promote your company is by organizing a seminar. Invite eminent personalities and discuss about relevant issues. Of course, organizing a seminar does not guarantee immediate offers.

Still, with the help of this strategy, you can create a positive image of your company amongst the audience.

Learn a New Skill

With competition becoming tougher, you need to offer services that others do not provide yet. Learning latest techniques will allow you to deliver unique services and boost image of your company. Carefully choose a skill that will help you to distinguish your company, amongst millions of others.


Participate in Conversations

In the Internet, you can come across various sites where people ask questions, hoping to find someone who can help them. Participating in these conversations can help you to acquire clients. Of course, this is a long-term strategy. Still, if you can implement it smartly, you can build up a good online reputation over time.

Pay Attention to your Sales Pitch

For enhancing image of your company, paying attention to the sales pitch is critical. It will help you to offer a brief introduction about your company in any situation. For best results, practice the sales pitch regularly.

Set Aside Few Minutes

Finally, set aside few minutes every day for coming up with interesting ideas that will contribute in the growth of your company. Note down everything that comes into your mind. Chalk out goals and promise yourself to fulfill them.

Many logo designers have faced clients who disappeared after receiving a project, without paying any money. This is a common problem, because it is impossible to understand beforehand who will disappear without paying and who will stay to pay.

We believe that the best way to avoid such a situation is by demanding a down payment (an initial deposit, in other words) before commencement of project. Of course, this is a relatively new concept in the logo design industry. However, such a trend is common in other industries, such as real estate and law.

Reasons for Charging a Down Payment

Traditionally, designers charge payment after completing the project. This allows some clients to disappear, without paying. A down payment system can be beneficial for both the client and designer. We highlight these advantages in details.

• Motivates Clients and Designers- If designers receive a down payment prior to the project, it will encourage them to work harder and complete it within the agreed deadline. Clients will also communicate with designers regularly, because they have invested money.

Ideally, designers can prepare a contract, where they should clearly mention the respective deadlines for each part of the project.

• It Encourages Both Parties to be Honest- Offering a down payment is a client’s way of declaring that he/she trusts the designer. This in turn, motivates designers to pay complete attention to the project. It also offers designers peace of mind and allows them to devote themselves to the project whole-heartedly.
   
• It Creates a Bond of Trust- Down payment can be a good way to build a warm relationship with your clients. Since clients will pay you a certain amount of your fees beforehand, they will expect timely delivery and quality work. If you can manage to fulfill their expectations and respect their trust, chances are high that they will assign you future projects.
   
• Helps Designers to Handle Project-Related Costs- Project cost is one issue that bothers designers regularly. They may have to spend money for printing mock-ups or availing hosting service for the client’s website. With down payment, they can handle these expenses effectively and thus, concentrate on the project.

Of course, for remaining on the safe side, you should avoid spending the entire down payment. Remember that in case of any breach of contract or other unfortunate situation, you may need to return the amount.

Do We Really Deserve Down Payment?

Many people (mostly clients) believe that offering a logo design company a down payment is an extreme approach. Designers, of course, agree that down payment simplifies their problems. It offers them financial and emotional security. If a designer works hard on a project and does not receive any payment, it can have a disastrous impact on their profession, at least financially. Down payment safeguards them against such a situation.

Solution lies in Creating a Robust Contract

The above discussing highlighted the fact that clients and designers have contradictory opinions about down payment. So, what is the solution?
We believe that the best way to deal with this problem is by drawing up a good and detailed contract. Mention clearly the down payment that you expect. Additionally, include cancelation and refund rules. Make it easier for the clients to trust you. Furthermore, explaining the reasons for your demand of down payment can be a good idea. What is your opinion about offering down payment to designers? Do they deserve it? If you hire a designer, would you pay him/her an initial deposit? If you are a designer, would you accept projects, only if you receive a deposit? Share with us your ideas and suggestions.
 

Do you agree with the fact that a person associated with the logo design industry needs to possess skills, such as creativity, patience, and a sharp eye? If you do, you are missing out a valid skill-curiosity. This statement may make people wonder why curiosity is such an important skill. Find out the answer below.

Improves your Skills

If you possess a curious attitude, it will help you to know new things. You can discover interesting ways of executing an idea. This in turn, will sharpen your skills and create a positive image of yours.

Infuses you with Positivism

Curious individuals, usually, display a positive attitude. This is because of the fact that curiosity infuses positivism in a person. It broadens your attitude and encourages you to look beyond the obvious.

Makes Issues Easy to Understand

As a person associated with the professional logo design industry, you may not understand certain concepts. However, if you are curious, you will try to gain an in-depth knowledge about these issues. This in turn, will clarify your concepts and enhance your knowledge base.

Increases your Productivity

A curious attitude encourages you to learn new things. This means that your understanding of different issues becomes clearer, which increases productivity. Since you can understand things better now, you will become more productive.

Keeps your Mind Fresh

For most of us, monotony is a major issue at work and life. Possessing a curious attitude and learning new things will add variety in your life. It will encourage you to go beyond the obvious and explore new things.

Highlights New Possibilities

Unless you possess a curious mind, you cannot gauge new possibilities and work on them. A curious attitude encourages you to discover new things and thus, opens new doors of possibilities.

Makes you more Observant

As compared to a non-curious person, a curious person is more observant. This is because of the fact that curiosity encourages a person to observe surrounding incidents and latest trends. It prompts a person to learn new things and implement them in life.

Helps you to Enjoy Life

Learning new things keeps your mind fresh. It infuses newness in your life and helps you to avoid monotony. This in turn, helps you to enjoy life and work more. Life will be fun for you!

Encourages you to meet New People

Those who possess a curious attitude are usually excited about meeting new people. This helps them in extending their personal and professional network. Furthermore, meeting new people can also bring in new job opportunities.

Makes your Mind Active

A curious attitude will make your mind active. Instead of passively receiving instructions, you will learn to evaluate, criticize, and accept them. It will provide you with a stronger mind and help you to come up with fresh ideas.

Offers Fresh Experiences

With the help of curiosity, you can go through new experiences. This will stimulate your mind, thus encouraging you to become a more creative person. Furthermore, undertaking new adventures will allow you to develop an open mind.

The above discussion must have convinced you the fact that curiosity can bring out the best in you. So, start developing a curious mind and enjoy the advantages!

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.
 

Logo design is an ever-changing industry. Introduction of new technologies and trends prompt various companies to modify their logo designs. Logo of the famous courier company FedEx can serve here as an interesting example.

An Intriguing Example

Richard Runyan designed the original logo of the company in the year 1973. It included the words ‘Federal Express’ in a diagonal manner and was placed against a blue and white background.

In the following years, FedEx expanded its services, forcing the owners to opt for a new design. Consultants advised the owners to shorten brand name of the company. Accordingly, Lindon Leader created a new design, which included the words ‘Fed’ and ‘Ex’. This logo earned appreciation of the designers and target audience as well.

This example highlights the fact to keep up with the latest trends; designers should update the logos accordingly. In the 21st century, the trend is to opt for 3D designs. To know more, read on.

Reasons behind Popularity of 3D Corporate Logo Designs

For the past few years, the 3D industry has been growing rapidly. 3D corporate logo designs have become popular, because they add a realistic touch to brand image of the company. Furthermore, 3D logo designs have a unique appeal and are visually appealing.

Companies who currently possess 2D logo designs need not worry. With the help of professional logo design solutions, they can now convert a conventional 2D logo to a 3D logo.

Picking out a Perfect Business Logo Design

We stated earlier that 3D logo designs are enjoying great popularity currently. However, this does not mean that you should create a design blindly. Paying attention to certain factors, before developing any design is critical. We highlight some of these factors.

• Opt for simple designs. A 3D logo is already creative by itself. Therefore, there is no need to confuse viewers more by adding bright or artistic designs. Keep the designs simple and neat.

• Vector logos, for example, are simple and effective. Rather than including elaborate visuals, they pay emphasis to simple effects and crisp lines. These in turn, help the audience to remember the brand.

• Creating a design that appeals to the aesthetics of the audience is critical. However, do not allow your creative urge to interfere with purposes of the design. Ensure that the design always highlights the main purpose of the company and conveys the right message.

• Avoid designing a logo that solely revolves around latest trends. Considering classic styles, while developing a logo, will retain its timelessness.

In this article, we revealed the reasons behind popularity of 3D designs. Additionally, we offered few tips that will help designers to create perfect logos. We hope that you liked reading the post. Your valuable suggestions and comments are most welcome.

Invention of modern technologies has convinced some designers that sketching and drawing are no longer necessary. However, this is a wrong concept. Sketching offers various advantages, which can be beneficial for any designer. In this article, we will discuss why you should start sharpening your drawing skills.

1. Helps you to create innovative ideas

The major advantage of drawing is that it helps you to come up with innovative ideas. After receiving a project, most of us juggle with various ideas. Later, we narrow down these ideas to select the perfect option. Sketching simplifies this process.

Let us assume that you are creating corporate logo designs for a mobile phone company. This means that your logo should revolve around mobile phone. However, for attracting attention of consumers, you will have to present this logo in a unique way. Now, this is where the importance of sketching lies.

With sketching, you can create various ideas, modify them, and finally, choose the best one. In brief, with the help of sketching, you can utilize your creativity fully.

2. Requires simple tools

To sketch, you need a pen and paper. Compared to laptops, carrying pen and paper is easier. Moreover, you may not be allowed to carry laptops everywhere. However, no such restrictions regarding pen and paper exist. You can carry them at museums, amusement parks, riverside, rural areas-in short, anywhere and start sketching.

3. Utilizes your artistic potential

Even in this technologically advanced age, some designers would agree that holding a pencil is different from holding a mouse. Drawing with the help of pencil is a natural process. When you use a pencil, your drawing becomes more natural and fluid.

Using a mouse, on the other hand, is artificial and somewhat forced.

4. Helps you to develop a crucial skill

One cannot deny the fact that pencil sketches form the basis of any design. If you want to succeed as a graphic designer, you should be aware of the basics. For this reason, sharpening your drawing skills is critical.

Moreover, as a designer, you should possess various skill-sets, which include pencil drawing as well. Powerful drawing skills will enable you to produce ideas quickly on paper. This in turn, can impress your boss or client.

5. Encourages you to understand various aspects of design

As stated earlier, pencil drawings form the basis of any design. If you create pencil sketches during the initial stages, you will gain a deeper understanding of the overall logo design. Familiarity with the base will help you to understand various other elements that create the design. This in turn, will allow you to justify your designs, before the clients.

We discussed various advantages of drawing. Hope you enjoyed reading it!
 

Many companies, especially new ones, prefer to split their corporate identity project between two firms. More specifically, they choose one firm for designing their website and another for creating print marketing materials. Unfortunately, this strategy may not yield an impressive result.

Since two different design firms work on a single project (though in different areas), chances are high that inconsistency between these two aspects will exist. This in turn, can confuse your target customers. Still, in certain situations, this may appear as the exclusive option.

Today, in this article, we will highlight situations, where you can think about dividing your corporate identity design project. Furthermore, we will offer tips that will help you to maintain consistency between works of two different firms.

Reasons for splitting a project:

1. Lack of time- This is the primary reason why many companies opt for services of two different companies. Let us assume that you need to launch a product within a specified time. Unfortunately, you fail to find a firm that can complete the project within the deadline. In such a situation, dividing the project between two firms will be a great idea. Both of them will receive limited workload and manage to complete the project within the specified time.

2. Lack of options- You find a firm that offers excellent web design services. Unfortunately, you do not find their print design samples interesting. The logical way to handle this situation is to find a firm that offers good print design services. If you find such a company, you may split the project.

3. Lack of money- You come across a company that excels in web and print design services. Unfortunately, their price is high. In such a situation, you may consider handing them over a particular aspect of their project, such as web design. For print design services, you can contact another company who offers affordable rates. This way, you can stick to your budget and yet, complete the project.

Tips that will help you to handle the post-split situation:

1. Be honest

If you have decided to split the project between two firms, explain the reasons to both of them. Honesty is important, because it may convince these two firms to communicate with each other and create a consistent brand identity. However, remember that two firms may not always be ready to interact with each other.

2. Assign separate deadlines

The main disadvantage of splitting a project is inconsistency in brand image of a company. You can minimize this disadvantage by assigning web design services to a company first. Once they are done with web designing, you can get in touch with another company for logo design services. This will ensure that the printing materials are consistent with your website designs.
Dividing a project can mess up brand identity of your company. However, if you do not have any option, you may consider it. In such a situation, opt for these tips to reduce the disadvantages.