One brand’s junk is another brand’s treasure. Some may criticize Brandstack’s approach of selling off-the-shelf branding, but I think it’s a great model. The service allows designers to sell any extra designs they have lying around from past projects. There are also a number of designs that include a domain name.
If you’re launching your business or re-branding and you’re strapped financially there’s nothing wrong with purchasing a ready-made design as long as it’s unique and clearly conveys the message and feel you wish to portray with your company. However, I do not recommend purchasing a logo from one of those out of the box services where they sell the same design to 100 different people and you slap your company name next to some clip-art of an orange shiny globe-I know you’ve seen it. While there’s a lot more to your brand than finding the perfect logo, it’s essential in supporting your organization’s mission and the feeling you want others to have when they interact with your company.
Brandstack has a number of high quality logo designs available and I’ve found myself paging through the site for hours (literally) looking through the thousands of designs available. Here are a few samples of logos that are for sale:
Prices range anywhere from $150 to $50,000, with the higher priced logos typically including a great domain as well, but not always the case. Of the 3,000 logos that are available over 500 include a domain name as well. Here are a few samples of higher priced logos (ranging in price from $1,800-$21,500) that include domains:
-and here are a few lower priced logos ($300-$700) that also include a domain name:
People are scooping them up. Here are a few designs that were recently sold:
The bottom line is you can invest a lot of money in getting your logo designed, but if you’re strapped for funds a service like this can give you the opportunity to get a very high quality logo design, and even a domain, for a fraction of the cost of a custom design. If however, you’re hiring a designer to help you with your logo I’d still recommend checking Brandstack for inspiration in helping to establish the look and feel that you’d like to capture. By having this understanding going into the design process and clearly communicating to your designer what you’re looking for, it can make the process move a lot quicker and save you money.
Custom Logo Design
If you’d like to hire a designer to create a custom logo for you, I’d recommend checking out 99designs from the team at Sitepoint. They allow you to set a budget, run a contest, and select entries from multiple designers. This is another great way to have flexibility in choosing the best design at a great value.
A second option for getting a logo designed to your specifications is Logoworks from HP. They have a number of design packages available ranging in price from $299 to $2,999. Each package differs in price based on the number of designers working on the project and the number of revisions. The higher priced packages include additional services such as website and stationary design.
These are three of my recommendations if you’re looking for a high quality logo design on a budget. I like what Brandstack is doing as they’ve developed a new model allowing designers to sell their “extra” designs and they’ve given entrepreneurs access to quality designs on a budget-it’s a win-win. If the “off-the-shelf” option isn’t for you, I’d recommend checking out 99designs and Logoworks.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
As designer myself I am appalled at the recommendation of 99Designs and LogoWorks. 99Designs is considered spec work meaning the designer works for a chance at getting paid. In what industry do you ask someone to do all the work and then maybe you’ll pay them. This is completely unfair to the designer and also diminishes the importance of direct interaction between client and designer that ensures the client gets the design they want. The AIGA (Professional Association for Design) has a strong stance against Spec work. For a better explanation read this blog post from <href="http://www.aigacharlotte.org/blog/post/64"AIGA Charlotte.
Logo works can not be taken seriously and is a really awful company. Their business practices hurt the design industry as a whole. A great post about logoworks and why logos should cost more than $300 can be found at The Design O Blog.
Designers work had to create unique marks for our clients and the time spent in research is worth something. You get what you pay for.
Hi Clayton! Thanks for reading. I absolutely agree that you get what you pay for. In working with a professional designer one-on-one and investing in their time and talent you get a premium result at a premium price- no question. The results of which are of higher quality than using a service like 99designs or Logoworks because the designer is going beyond simply creating a mark, but helping you define your brand by understanding your business operations, brand messaging, competitors, and understanding goals for your business. It is well worth the investment, but unfortunately not everyone can make it.
Services like 99designs and Logoworks can definitely have a negative impact on freelance designers and professional design firms. We’ve seen that happen and it’s unfortunate. However, these types of services are not going to go away because they cater to a niche market. A market that’s looking for a logo, but not necessarily “branding services†(services extending outside of simply creating a mark and into understanding the business and its goals and working alongside a company for an extended period of time to ensure these goals are met through their brand, mark, and messaging).
I view the market for “logo creation†as having two types of clientele: one that understands the importance of branding, has the access to capital to hire professionals to help refine their branding and mark, and as a result works with a professional designer or firm. And these are the types of clients that designers want.
The other type of clientele is someone who wants a quality logo that’s unique (note I said ‘logo’ not ‘branding’) and is likely just starting out (picture a college kid starting a side project) and doesn’t have a lot of money to invest in professional branding.