Top 8 Rules For Freelance Logo Designers

Last updated on September 14th, 2021

Many designers want to work from their own studio at home. They want to have the freedom to create as they are their own bosses. There are many freelance logo designers who work on their own terms and conditions. But they are also known for keeping high-quality standards when it comes to designing a logo. They follow some golden rules for successfully running their freelance career.

We generally associate freelancing with creative freedom. It is true that freelancers are their own masters. They do not get orders from anyone. We believe that those professionals who want to realize their creative ideas become freelancers. This is true also for freelancer logo designers. Many of them work from home studios.

Because of the freedom they enjoy, many freelance logo designers are looking to get into logo design. You probably already know a thing or two about design as a whole.

Most of the freelance logo designers understand the composition, the basic color theory, and probably know how to use the software pretty well. But that is not all there to know about logo design.

Just because you chose to work from home does not mean that you should be following whatever comes to your mind. You still have to follow some basic rules of graphic design.

Logo design is less about what the logo looks like, and more about what the image represents. Being a professional graphic designer, you should be able to beautifully convey the company’s line of business the logo you create; because logos are shorthand for everything that a company represents.

A logo can even represent a corporate policy and the most recent contribution to the industry. So, a logo can help build a corporate identity as well.

Here Are The Key Considerations That Freelance Logo Designers Should Keep In Mind

01. Have More Concept Choices

When it comes to logo design, most freelance logo designers work only on one concept. However, it would be better to have more concepts when starting the design work. More logo design concepts will mean that you have more concepts for comparison. Therefore, you should have at least three to four logo concepts, which are entirely different from each other.

You can then take those concepts to your client. When showing those designs to the client, describe their importance and unique features. Then, request the client to pick one of the concepts. Once the client picks one design concept, you can then start developing it in a proper logo design on your drawing board.

02. Know The Brand Message

Make sure that you know the company’s brand message. A business wants to convey a message to its potential customers. In fact, a reason for launching an aggressive marketing campaign is to take the message to the people in a big way. When creating a logo, if you know the message, then it will be a guide for picking right concepts, colors, fonts etc. elements for your logo.

Talk to the company’s officials personally or online to find out more about the brand. Find out if they have any slogan, motto, or any motivational line in mind. Know what makes the brand stand out in the market. Such knowledge will help in understanding the brand message precisely.

03. Every Design Should Be Scalable

Another thing to note here is that a logo appears on a wide range of media and platforms. It will be seen in small sizes on business card but in bigger sizes on billboards. Business card design ideas are little different from a billboard design.

The basic concept is that a logo should look equally good in all the sizes. It should not lose its sense of proportion of design elements when it is installed very high on billboards. When it the logo is reduced to a stamp-sized design, all of its elements of lines, shapes, colors, fonts etc must be clearly visible.

So, your logo design must be scalable. You should test your logo design for scalability. Test your logo on the recommended scales of 100 percent (usually no more than 10 inches square), 50 percent, 25 percent, and 10 percent.

You can also scale it down to as small as a half-inch and see how much detail is preserved. This will help you figure out what needs to stand out more from the design as a whole.

04. Palettes Must Be Consistent

You should maintain a consistent color palette when using colors in your logo design. But maintaining a consistent palette doesn’t just mean using the same color palette every time. Best logo ideas always recommend use of colors that are essential for building your client’s corporate identity. So, maintain a palette that’s consistent with the image and industry of the company.

Follow These Guidelines When Working With Color To:

• Use colors that are both complementary and analogous. You should maintain a warm or cool palette. Keep splashes of complementary hues to a minimum.
• Make sure your logo looks good in grayscale, straight black and white, and in a simplified two-color process. Again, this is going to be printed and stamped on everything, it needs to be presentable in any form.
• Keep the basic color theory in mind as you get into the design process. But don’t be afraid to bend a couple of rules.
• Use fonts to add personality

05. Use Fonts To Add Personality

Logo designers have access to a host of high-quality fonts these days. Even expensive fonts are available for free or at an affordable cost. One of the major roles of fonts is to give some personality to a graphic design like a logo. When we see a person, we assess their personality. We pay attention to the dressing sense of the person and what are their behavioral features. In the same way, when we see a logo, we assess its personality.

Mostly, the personality of a logo is made of its fonts or typefaces. For example, if a company’s name in a logo is in big fonts, it comes out as a strong personality. Most of the sports logos have big fonts as they want to brand their sports and business as robust and strong. Similarly, if logos of .businesses that make and sell toys have handwritten fonts.

06. Keep It Simple

Your logo should be a simple design. Every design expert will give you this advice. One of the reasons for keeping the design simple is that it is easier to understand. Every potential customer can understand a logo, business card, website and other graphic designs just at a glance. That is the main aim of a design. But if the audience takes time to understand the meaning of a design, it will be ignored easily as no one has time to decipher its meaning.

For example, take Nike’s “swoosh” logo. It is a simple swoosh design. You can keep this logo in your memory easily. Another example is that of Pepsi logo. Just the company’s name and use of two colors make this logo. Apple logo is simply an apple with a bite.

Such company logos are helpful in recalling a company’s business immediately. You can instantly McDonald’s fast food restaurants and business just as you see its yellow arch logo. So, design your logo in the simplest possible way.

07. Follow Professional Guidance

Talking to your peers in your graphic design field is important for creating impressive logo designs. You can also get inspirations from the best graphic design services provider in your vicinity. Freelancers should be consistently in touch with experts and fellow designers. This is essential to be in touch with the emerging design trends.

Freelance logo designers should first understand the design trends. Then, they can either follow the trends or buck them. This is the way to know what works and what doesn’t when designing a logo.

Get feedback wherever it may come. In fact, create a social media page and put your logo works there. Ask your followers to comment on those logos. This is also a good way to know what people think of your creative logos. Some of them may be from your profession. They may give you some really great advice, which you can apply to improve your graphic design skills.

08. The Client Is Not Always Right

It is right to say that freelance logo designers should create logos for clients and not for themselves. But that does not mean that you should keep aside your creative thoughts. The client depends on your skills to design a memorable logo that can also help build a brand identity.

When reading your client’s design brief, do not limit your thoughts to it. Instead, research the company’s business, target customers, markets, products or services etc. The research will give you ideas to pick right design elements that you need to incorporate in your logo. If your client does not agree with your logo design, you should convince with your own logic. Tell the client about the logo and how it will be used in branding the business.

If freelance logo designers follow these basics, they will come out with outstanding logos. Businesses need unique business logos that are simple designs. These basics are essentials to design logos that work for businesses.

If your small business is looking for designing a memorable logo, one of the affordable ways is to crowdsource it to Designhill. This is a prominent platform for startups, small, and medium business to meet their design requirements.

You can launch your logo design contest at this site in quick and easy steps. Within a week or so, you get dozens of new design entries based on unique concepts.

Conclusion

Freelance logo designers work for themselves. They are their own masters. But they also should follow some basic rules when designing a logo. Creative freedom does not mean that you should come out with strange looking logos. So, keep your logos simple, use fewer fonts and colors, and get feedback wherever it comes.

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