Budget Logo Design Services vs. Professional Design Agencies
Case Study: Brand Identity Design
Revised Version
Kurt Vonnegut, author of Slaughterhouse-Five is often credited with saying, “In this world, you get what you pay for”. We’re well aware of the inexpensive, crowdsourcing sites for cheap logo designs like 99designs, but like Kurt said…
Sure, it’s possible to get a passable logo designed for $299 - $1,299, but hiring a professional brand identity/logo design agency over a budget logo design platform freelancer, offers several distinct advantages that contribute to the long-term success and effectiveness of your brand identity. Here's why:
Strategic Brand Understanding:
Professional Agencies: They take the time to understand your business, target audience, and industry. This strategic understanding ensures that your logo isn't just visually appealing but aligns with your brand's values, message, and long-term goals.
Budget Logo Design Platform: While they may provide a range of design options, the focus is often on visual appeal rather than a deep understanding of your brand's unique requirements.
Customization and Originality:
Professional Agencies: They create custom, original designs tailored specifically to your brand. This level of originality is crucial for setting your brand apart in a crowded market and avoiding generic or template-based solutions.
Budget Logo Design Platform: Many designs on platforms like 99designs are generated from a large pool of designers who may use templates or follow popular design trends. This can result in logos that lack the uniqueness and authenticity needed for a strong brand identity.
Holistic Branding Approach:
Professional Agencies: They consider your logo as part of a broader brand strategy. This ensures consistency across all brand touchpoints, contributing to a cohesive and impactful brand presence.
Budget Logo Design Platform: While you may receive various design options, the platform often focuses on individual design elements rather than the holistic branding strategy that professional agencies offer.
Quality Assurance:
Professional Agencies: They have established quality assurance processes, ensuring that the final logo meets high standards in terms of design principles, scalability, and adaptability to different media.
Budget Logo Design Platform: Quality can vary widely, as designs come from a diverse pool of designers with varying levels of expertise and experience.
Collaboration and Communication:
Professional Agencies: They prioritize clear communication and collaboration. Clients are involved in the design process, providing feedback and insights, leading to a more refined and tailored outcome.
Budget Logo Design Platform: Communication can be challenging, as designers may not have a deep understanding of your brand, leading to potential misinterpretations of your vision.
Long-Term Relationship:
Professional Agencies: They often build lasting relationships with clients, offering ongoing support and adapting the brand as needed over time.
Budget Logo Design Platform: The platform is transactional, and ongoing relationships with individual designers may not be as common.
This brings us to a case study which encompasses all 6 points and shows the difference between a Professional Agency and a budget designer on a platform. BIOMOJO is owned by a client who has come to The Skins Factory three times in the past 18 years to redesign their logos starting in 2006.
How It Began:
In 2006, we got a call from our client who had dealt with multiple design studios to redesign their company logo. All the previous attempts ended in failure. Virtual Heroes is a developer of serious games including creating content for the U.S. Army game America’s Army. When he came to us, Jerry seemed a bit disillusioned with the process. So our team learned about his company and who their main clients were. Based on Virtual Heroes’ clientele, the United States military, our team decided early on that the identity must portray a sense of strength, while still conveying the fact that Virtual Heroes deals with virtual reality environments. The end-result is an identity that symbolizes strength through design and the feeling of virtual reality through shape & form, while a V and an H fuse to form the shield symbol. Shown below in vertical stacked formation. We designed stacked and horizontal versions in both RGB and camera-ready print formats. Versions without the URL were also created.
In 2010, we designed a 2nd logo for a Virtual Heroes product called HumanSim. He would end up selling the company to a defense contractor and credits our logo as one of the catalysts for the sale.
Here’s what our client had to say:
“During the creation & growth of Virtual Heroes Inc., we funded & provided detailed creative briefs to several brand designers who came highly recommended. The results we received however, did not hit the “wow” factor we were seeking. When we were exhausted in this process & about to settle, we discovered The Skins Factory.”
- Jerry Heneghan, CEO of Virtual Heroes, Inc
In 2020, 10 years after designing the HumanSim logo, we were brought back a third time. This time to redesign the logo/brand identity for the company Jerry’s Wife owns called BIOMOJO.
BIOMOJO, an industry leader, specializes in the development of cutting-edge, integrated software and hardware solutions aimed at enhancing the safety, efficiency, capacity, and delivery of healthcare services. The Skins Factory’s brand identity design team meticulously crafted two core logos, each available with and without a symbol. Additionally, we conceptualized three distinct gradient color themes that, while sharing a common logo, imbue a distinctive look and feel tailored to each of their three verticals. As a final touch, a bespoke patch design was created, intended for application on uniforms.
BIOMOJO
The Comp Phase
The wordmark for BIOMOJO is tricky as it’s a compound word. So we set out to design 2 distinct versions — one version with a single wordmark and a second version that uses an embellishment or symbol to split the words up while still remaining a single entity. We did a lot of comps. Each Series of comps uses a core font with variations in different ways:
Series A + B
Series C + D
Series E + F
Color Tests
This level of effort is what distinguishes a Professional Agency from a budget logo freelance designer. Once a font style was approved, we started with color tests. We went with gradient coloring and ran a series of color tests.
The Final Selection
The project wasn’t over. We still had an embroidered patch for a uniform to design. We did a crazy amount of layouts for the patch. Would you get this level of effort from a budget designer at 99designs? Probably not…
Embroidered Patch Design Comps — Set 1
We weren’t told until after this set of patch designs that gradients wouldn’t work because of the method they were using for the embroidery, so we went back and did another batch, this time with colors isolated.
Embroidered Patch Design Comps — Set 2
The Final Selection
As you can see, there is an undeniable difference in dedication and commitment – qualities that transcend the capabilities of freelancers on budget platforms. While such platforms may appeal to small, local businesses, the stakes elevate for companies with a national or global presence, especially amidst fierce competition. Investing the extra time and resources is not merely an expense; it's a strategic decision to elevate your brand. After all, your brand is the lens through which the world perceives and interacts with your business. Choose the path that ensures your brand is not just seen but is distinctly remembered and revered. That’s where we come in. Contact us and let’s talk about your Brand Identity and Logo Design. Doesn’t cost anything to discuss it.
Here’s a look at the Process & Deliverables when you hire The Skins Factory to design your brand identity or logo:
THE PROCESS
Phase1. Concept + Presentation
research & define creative direction
internal development and refinement of branding/Logo designs
mockup options and rationale for presentation
Phase2. Concept Revision + Finalization
best candidate revised / refined
mockup options and rationale for presentation
Phase 3. Asset Development for Screen & Print
all Brand/Logo assets prepared for use in electronic media
definition/encoding for process color + custom spot color inks (if applicable)
usage guideline documentation + assembly for deliverables
DELIVERABLES
1. Branding / Logo assets provided in industry standard screen formats (PNG/PDF/SVG) including:
positive (dark on light) / negative (light on dark) / on-color variations in full color
as per above in silhouette / knockout single color (if applicable)
stacked vs. horizontal variations (iff applicable)
each at assorted target resolutions
2. Branding / Logo assets provided in industry standard resolution—independent vector print formats (EPS/PDF/TIFF) including:
as per A. in print-ready / press-ready form with embedded color management profiles
positive (dark on light) / negative (light on dark) / on-color variations in full color
as per above in silhouette / knockout single color (if applicable)
xtacked vs. horizontal variations (iff applicable)
If you or your company need a logo designed, new product or company name or a collateral package created, hit the button below and let’s discuss it.