Logo & Business Card Design

If you don’t care about building a strong brand for your small business, you can get a generic, uninspiring free logo from a free logo maker or free logo generator. They all use generic templates and fonts and while you can create a free logo or pay a few dollars, your free logo will look like thousands of other logos, even if you attempt to customize your logo using those tools. You don’t need design skills to use a logo maker to create your own logo, but you do need to understand design. A logo from a free logo maker will not be unique and will not help you stand out in a crowded marketplace. And, although a logo maker might claim you can create your own logo for your small business for free, this is rarely true. Most will want to charge you a monthly fee for you to use your free logo. Forever!

Most entrepreneurs, businesses, agencies, and other organizations create a logo in one of four ways: by running a design contest, hiring a design agency, working directly with a freelance designer, or making their own with an online logo maker.

Each of these options to create a logo has advantages and disadvantages.

Although you don’t need design skills, a free logo maker gives you generic, template-based designs that looks like thousands of other designs. Agencies and freelancers can be very expensive and you get little choice when using their design services.

Design contest are, for most, the best option for a custom company logo design because you set your own price and pick your favorite business logo from among dozens of unique, custom designs submitted by designers from all over the world. Logo contests provide a lot of flexibility and creativity to customize your logo, especially when you need a logo that’s affordable, custom, and stands out.

Want to learn more? Check out our business guide to create a high quality logo and this comprehensive guide to creating a strong brand identity.

The truth is that there isn’t a best logo creator or logo maker for logo design. A logo creator or logo maker with its generic templates will not leave a lasting impression on your customers and prospective customers. A logo maker and logo creator work by picking random pieces from pre-drawn templates. And, even if they let you customize your logo in minor ways, a logo maker, logo generator, or logo creator will not give you a one-of-a-kind brand identity. There’s nothing unique, custom or brilliant about instant logos created using a logo maker and their generic templates. And it doesn’t matter whether you create them yourself from templates or if an AI computer creates it for you. In the long term, logo creation using generic design is bad for business. And, importantly, you won’t be able to trademark a generic design. Instead, invest in your business and your brand identity by working with professional designers to create a unique, custom business logo design.

Like everything, there’s a big price range when it comes to custom logo design and design services. If you don’t care about building a strong brand, you can get a generic, uninspiring free logo design from a online logo maker or a designer willing to give you a template design for $5. Experienced freelancers typically charge $1,000 to $5,000 for a custom logo design. Well known freelancers and small design studios will often charge $5,000 to $15,000 for custom logo design. Mid-size agencies will typically charge $5,000 to $50,000+ for custom logo design services. Read this comprehensive guide for a full breakdown on how much should a logo cost.

There are many important factors in a successful logo. Here are the most important design tips to create a successful logo.

A logo should be flexible. There are so many mediums in which your logo will be employed: digital, print, physical products... it’s important that your logo looks great when used in each because your brand identity will ultimately help you grow your business.

If your company uses a logo that solely relies on color, your logo will lose it’s effect when it’s in black and white. Similarly, if your company intends to only use your logo in a specific way (such as on a web design, marketing materials, signage, shirts, letterhead, stationery, custom t-shirts, decals, or business cards), then size may not matter much.

The most successful logos are flexible enough that they don’t get lost when changing sizes, backgrounds, or mediums.

A logo should also be simple. The distinction between an overly simplistic design and a minimalist design is an important one. Overly simplistic, generic designs should be avoided, as they tend toward being overused, overdone, and not at all memorable. Minimalist designs, on the other hand, are popular for good reason. They are eye-catching, memorable, and timeless, but still function as creative pieces.

One reason for minimal design’s broad-based appeal? Any business can incorporate a minimal look into their existing design scheme! If you find that your existing brand is tired and out of touch, maybe it’s time to take a look at what other businesses are doing with minimalist design on crowdspring.

A logo should be memorable. The most memorable logos - like Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola and Target - have key characteristics in common with each other. These logos are all clean, memorable, and foster positive brand associations for their customers. Consumers are more likely to associate positive attributes to logos that incorporate memorable design elements, and find brands with these characteristics in their logos to be attractive, trustworthy, and respectable. Those are qualities worth remembering!

A logo should be timeless. A great logo walks the line between timelessness and trendiness: designing a logo that is both can be a challenge. A logo that’s unique, attractive, and adeptly communicates your brand values requires an understanding of the current design trends and the skill to use them to your best advantage.

The best way to get a logo that does all of these things well is to work with a professional logo designer. They’ll recommend the right type of logo design and suggest appropriate colors, shapes and fonts that create a strong brand identity and communicate the message you want to send to customers and prospective customers.

Here at crowdspring, we have hundreds of thousands of designers equipped with the knowledge of current design trends, and the ability to incorporate them into a logo that is modern, relevant, but still timeless.

A logo should be unique. A unique logo design can be the difference between blending in and standing out from the competition. Generic logos have become extremely problematic. That’s why in the long run, a free logo will end up costing you much more in brand value and confusion than paying a few hundred dollars for a professional designed one.

The epidemic of too-similar fonts, glyphs, and swishy people leaves a weak first impression on customers and is unmemorable. Even though some of these generic logos may help a person identify the industry itself, generic logos also detract from the originality and story of your specific company. Generic logos even break the core elements of good logo design: memorable and unique, making them poor choices for any company.

The computers used by a typical free logo maker or logo creator to create a free logo don’t understand how people think and give you generic, uninspiring templates. Templates can make a logo, but they cannot create a professional logo. If you want professional logo design, work with real people - designers who understand human psychology and who can help you create a unique logo for your company or organization.

Logo design contests are simple, effective, and affordable. Here’s how logo contests work on crowdspring: tell us what you need (we walk you through an interactive Q&A customized for logo projects), work with dozens of talented professional logo designers from around the world, and pick your favorite design. You’ll get full rights to the logo design via a customized legal agreement, and all the files formats you’ll need to use your logo. All protected by our 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.

We have you covered! Take advantage of bundled pricing and get a logo and business card, or logo and social media assets, help with just your letterhead or business cards, or the design of custom marketing materials or social media assets for your business. Save hundreds of dollars by picking a bundle and create a strong brand that people will love and your competitors will envy. This helps you to build a strong brand identity - something no logo maker can offer - and meet your other design-related business needs.

A good logo design can take anywhere from a few hours to several days or even weeks. On crowdspring, logo design projects can run from 1 to 7 days and you can always extend any project without cost if you need a little more time. Generally, the logo design process should take no more than a week to finish. Don’t believe the claim from a free logo maker that you can create your free logo in seconds. Slapping a company name on a generic template doesn’t create a unique brand identity.

You will get a professionally designed custom logo design. Additionally, you’ll get industry-standard ready-to-go files that you can use in print and online. And your project will be protected by a customized legal contract transferring the full legal rights to the design, to you.

When you create a logo, keep certain important technical issues in mind. For example, is your logo going to be printed on paper? Business cards? Billboards? Physical products? Today, there are a lot of mediums and sizes and our logos have to perform well across all mediums. Therefore it’s important to consider where and how your logo will be displayed so that you can specify colors and file formats. At crowdspring, we have you covered by making sure you receive vectorized logo designs, which are useful in any medium, including when used at high resolution.

You should always request vector based graphics. It’s often tempting to ask for complex illustrations in a logo. However, unless you plan on never using your logo outside of an on-screen/online application, a JPG or PSD isn’t going to cut it. A properly drawn vector design in an SVG, EPS or compatible format will provide you with the ultimate flexibility.

Fundamentally, a business card is used to easily share contact information with someone. When meeting with a potential customer, partner, or investor, you can leave a business card for that person to use in a follow-up call or email.

Having a card is much more efficient than simply writing your name, number, and company info. It also promotes your brand and creates a better connection between your target audience and your business.

In most cases, yes. Business cards aid in brand recognition, displaying your businesses purpose (call-to-action), and sharing contact information. But more than that they provide one of the only personal aspects left in the modern marketing world.

Without this personal touch, there would be a disconnect between your target audience and connecting to the brand – all of which require emotion and being personable.

Three key steps create an effective and successful business card: a concept, a design, and a message. Putting each step together creates a key business asset and leaves a lasting impression.

While we outlined tips for a successful business card above, here are the key takeaways: have a simple, easy-to-read design, include only essential information, don’t crowd the card with too much detail, carefully plan out the design (having information on the front, back, or both), don’t force a design, meaning stick to the basics if you don’t have a clear vision, and have good quality paper and choose the right paper for your design.

Take a look at 'Why are business cards important' above to help understand and break down the meaning behind these takeaways.

Business cards typically contain the name, company, and contact information (address, telephone number, email, fax, website). The layout on custom designed business cards can vary and business card size varies too. Sizes vary also for different types. Corporate business cards might differ from minimalist business cards.

For example, in Canada, the United State and the Netherlands, the typical size for business cards is 89 x 51 mm (3.5 x 2 inches).

In Australia and New Zealand, the typical size for business cards is 90 x 55 mm (3.54 x 2.165 inches).

And in Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and Spain, the typical size for a business card is 85 x 55 mm (3.346 x 2.165 inches).

When business cards are designed, they are given “bleeds” if the color extends to the edge of the finished cut size. A bleed is an extension of the printed line or color beyond the line where the paper the card is printed on will be cut. This ensures that the paper will cut without white edges on any type of card stock.

Keep in mind that while previously, business cards were printed solely on matte, coated or uncoated paper, many more options are available today. Apart from paper, business cards can be made from plastic, specially frosted translucent plastic, crystal clear plastic, white or metallic plastic, metal, rubberized materials, magnets, and real wood. This gives custom business cards a unique texture not found on paper stock. And while most business cards are rectangular in size, you can get yours with rounded corners, and in abstract shapes.

We created a powerful, proven service that works for businesses of any size. Tens of thousands of smart marketers and business owners have trusted crowdspring Since 2008 for professional logo design. That’s because crowdspring is home to the world’s best creative team.

Unlike the traditional freelancer or agency, crowdspring is a crowdsourcing marketplace for graphic design. It’s like a logo design contest - on crowdspring, thousands of designers from over 195 countries around the world compete for your business to create an online logo design you’ll love. You’ll get choice for your logo design that you will not get anywhere else - especially from a free logo maker. In fact, we guarantee your satisfaction 100% – no questions asked.

Our unique model and design process addresses many of the concerns encountered when pricing the design of logos. We take a lot of the work and stress out of the equation for you: you won’t need to get quotes in advance for the work, or interview designer after designer.

Your set the price for your project, and designers from around the world will post their designs to your project for you to review and to customize your logo. When your project ends, you choose the design you like the best. It’s that easy!

Crowdspring guarantees your satisfaction in logo projects. There’s NO fine-print. We are not happy until you are. People are so thrilled with the designs they receive on crowdspring that we are proud to stand behind the work and make you an unconditional promise.