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Old 18-06-12
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Default Help with logo and website

Hi fellow soloists,
I am in the process of starting a hand crafted invitation business and am in need of a logo for my business.
I am starting this business as a home based business thus my budget is not very steep. I would however love to have a boutique style logo that encompasses what my business is about. I'd like something that is custom designed to my business as I think originality would really set my business apart from others. I have looked at sites where you can create a logo for less than $100 but the quality does not measure up to the standards that I would like my business to portray. I understand that creating a custom design logo is time consuming but was wondering if anyone knew of any graphic designers who are not quite so expensive? Any help would be appreciated.
I am also after a website that would incorporate the look of my logo and my business. I have a few ideas in mind and I would prefer something that I can modify as required (eg adding photos of my products, etc).
Again thankyou for any advice.
Jennifer

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Old 18-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

Hi Jennifer, can you send me your contact details so I can send you some info. I know a great graphic designer whom I'm sure can assist you without it being too pricey and I have a couple of options for websites for you too.

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Old 18-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

Jacqui will probably pop around soon, but you should ensure that any new logo does not look similar to any pre-existing trade marks and you should consider if your new logo should be registered as a trade mark.

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Old 18-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

Quote:
Originally Posted by J.A.K.E. Creations View Post
Hi fellow soloists,
I am in the process of starting a hand crafted invitation business and am in need of a logo for my business.
I am starting this business as a home based business thus my budget is not very steep. I would however love to have a boutique style logo that encompasses what my business is about. I'd like something that is custom designed to my business as I think originality would really set my business apart from others. I have looked at sites where you can create a logo for less than $100 but the quality does not measure up to the standards that I would like my business to portray. I understand that creating a custom design logo is time consuming but was wondering if anyone knew of any graphic designers who are not quite so expensive? Any help would be appreciated.
I am also after a website that would incorporate the look of my logo and my business. I have a few ideas in mind and I would prefer something that I can modify as required (eg adding photos of my products, etc).
Again thankyou for any advice.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,

I use a graphic designer for logos that is not too expensive. If you like I can put you in touch with them.

As for websites, check out the link for Sites and More in my Signature below. Any questions please let me know here or you can contact me matt@sitesandmore.com.au

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Old 18-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

@KennethTi - you know me too well

Jennifer, as Kenneth mentioned - you should ensure your logo, once designed isn't stepping on any registered rights. If you have a name already in mind (not sure if J.A.K.E Creations is it) - it could be worth looking into this before investing too much money/time into design projects. If someone else has the same/similar name registered as a trademark, then your use could be seen as a breach of their rights and they could be entitled to demand you stop use/promotion.

My company offers a free (basic) trademark search as an initial step if of interest - link is in my email signature.

There are certainly a few graphic designs & web designers around here that I am sure can help. I have chatted with a few here, including Matt (post below) about design projects and general business 'stuff' and am certain Matt or the others could assist.

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Old 18-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

Quote:
Originally Posted by J.A.K.E. Creations View Post
Hi fellow soloists,
I am in the process of starting a hand crafted invitation business and am in need of a logo for my business.
I am starting this business as a home based business thus my budget is not very steep. I would however love to have a boutique style logo that encompasses what my business is about. I'd like something that is custom designed to my business as I think originality would really set my business apart from others. I have looked at sites where you can create a logo for less than $100 but the quality does not measure up to the standards that I would like my business to portray. I understand that creating a custom design logo is time consuming but was wondering if anyone knew of any graphic designers who are not quite so expensive? Any help would be appreciated.
I am also after a website that would incorporate the look of my logo and my business. I have a few ideas in mind and I would prefer something that I can modify as required (eg adding photos of my products, etc).
Again thankyou for any advice.
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,

It's great that you're establishing your online presence to gain exposure for your business. What type of budget do you have in mind? I'd highly recommend Rosie from Webholic (http://webholic.com.au) if you're wanting logos and a website. As for your requirements, using Wordpress as a CMS would be ideal because you won't necessarily need to have an understanding of code.

Also I assume you don't have a domain registered yet and web hosting. We offer .com.au domain registrations for $18.95/2 years and Australian web hosting from $3.95/month. For example, you could register jakecreations.com.au and you will need to provide your ABN.

Cheers,
Shaun

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Old 19-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

I hear someone is offering $299 logo design until the end of the month (shameless self promotion)

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Old 19-06-12
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Have you tried oDesk.com or Freelancer.com? ODesk is great because you can pick and choose designers based on their portfolio and hourly rate, or even set a fixed price for the work. Freelancer is great because for the same reasons but also for about 200-300 you can host a logo design competition where you can get literary 50-100 designs (some times more) to choose from. Just make sure your brief is as accurate as you can make it and you put a lot of effort into good communication with the contractor you choose to work with.

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Old 19-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

If you want a quality logo on a not so quality budget, I'd recommend finding a design student who would be willing to work for a small amount in exchange for the experience and folio piece.

Unlike almost every other option, they won't try and knock it off in 10 minutes, they'll put a lot of effort into it for you, and they'll really appreciate the opportunity.

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Old 19-06-12
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Default Re: Help with logo and website

If you can push your budget to around $250 you can get some really good quality designs off crowdspring. I've used a few crowdsourcing places and I find that crowdspring have the best quality designers. For the premium you also get a more professional experience. All crowdspring designers sign a contract to ensure that the design belongs to you and they have not copied from another source.

If you are stuck on the $99 budget, I'd give Mycroburst a go which is also a crowd sourced design service but they charge a lower rate to enter their network. They still have some pretty good designers. You find that quite a few would have profiles on multiple sites, but obviously they will always apply for jobs that are worth more, and hence why you can get some better quality designs by paying $250.

The best thing is crowdspring will give you most of your money back (everything minus listing fee) if you receive less than 100 designs.

The websites are:

www.crowdspring.com
www.mycroburst.com
www.99designs.com

If you want to go down this path, theres a few things you can do to ensure you get what you want.

1. Be specific about the style and feel of your design. In your brief put pictures of logos you like. Specify whether you want a font only logo or not. Any colours your prefer etc. You are more likely to get what you want.
2. Invite designers with the particular style you want. What I do is surf through all the existing projects on the site and keep an eye out for really good submissions. I then private message the designer and invite them to my project (copy and past your project URL). Do about 20 of these and a few of them will come through and submit some quality designs.

So thats it It's a pretty good option (it's not great for designers because many of them work for free) but certainly a good option for start ups. If you are feeling generous some sites allow you to donate money to designers that didn't win

Thanks for reading,

Wendy

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