Astrid – I agree about the decline in quality and the problems with logos and design in general. Most people just ask me for a quote as they are shopping for the best price, not for the best quality. No-one seems to take into account that there is so much time in evaluating the client and their business, their needs, their colours, what would suit them etc. Our expenses are high as we keep our good software up-to-date and many of the overseas companies are using pre-set logos and just changing names and colours. I aim for quality with everything I do – just like you. And I do empathise with what you are saying as I have been a designer for over 34 years now and seen constant and vast changes in the industry both pre and post computers.
One logo job I did recently included more than 180 styles and variations of logo over a number of weeks – it was worth far more than the $2650 I charged for it which is currently my top fee for logos which commence from $480. I have one colleague who refuses to charge less than $5500 for a logo because of the amount of time the studio spends on it with limitless changes. Something I have also noticed is that people who get a ‘cheap logo’ come to me to get it redrawn as a quality vector logo – something I am very good at replicating.
It is a problem that is indeed exasperated by the influx of cheap overseas manufactured designs and I worry about the future for young people going into the design fields now. I even have regular emails and phone calls from overseas companies telling me not to bother doing any design work but to sub contract to them at prices that are less per hour than McDonalds pay their employees. Sometimes I feel like despairing, but we must just keep on keeping on and keep on doing quality work and finding that niche that we fit into.
Robert Gerrish used to tell me to keep aiming high, believe in myself and my work and not to lower my standards, so I’ll have to refer to him! 
