My new Finance Company

[bowld]

Ok guys..been a member of this site for some time and i figured i should ask you guys for help rather than going out and hiring someone i dont know

Anyways.. ive started a finance company and i need help designing a logo

The company colors are as followed

White

Navy..RGB 14,25,75

Light Blue.. RGB 100,180,235

Company is called Focal Point Finance

These are the 2 logos/wordmarks ive come up with so far. both these logos i got from royalty free sites but im hoping someone can help me design something that i dont have to worry about other people using as well.

Im shooting for a classy/sharp look as this logo will be on my website,business card,email signature and all company documents.

Thanks in advance

[gordie_delini]

well if you're willing to pay, I have a couple ideas in mind that I could help you out with. shoot me an email if you're interested - bgundell@bendbroadband.com

[bowld]

any other takers?

[Lee.]

You started a finance company, and asked for help with an identity.

Delini offered help, if it was a paying gig.

You asked for any other takers.

I kind of hope that you weren't pleased and thanked him for his time instead of trying to get something for free. I mean, really, it's a finance company. Consider any payment as a non-repayable loan.

[bowld]

I spoke with him over email and while yes its a finance company its a start up one at that. Were in a very nasty market right now so its not really the best time to be starting my company.

i am more than willing to pay but very minimal at this point. ive been a member here for along time and have seen multiple postings like mine, asking for help. more often than not ive seen a few different designers post there ideas so i was kinda hoping for the same.

[gordie_delini]

At the same token, a lot of designers have been burned by requests, with a proffer of money never being given by the requester. As it is, $500 for a logo for a startup company is nothing - especially from a real designer who will tailor the design to your specifications. There are logo generators (such as Logoworks by HP) out there that you can pay $200-300 for a logo and it ain't anything special or unique. According to the AIGA's (American Institute for the Graphic Arts) Guide to Ethical Standards and Practices, a small company (1-50 employees or so) should be paying around $2,000-$3,000 for a logo alone, much less a full identity package.

So realistically $500 is dirt cheap for quality design. I understand being on a tight budget, but truly good quality design is expensive. It's a very specialized field, and you have to be willing to pay for it, or go with something of a lesser quality. As the saying goes, you can have it quick, you can get quality, or you can get it cheap - pick two.

[nitroseed]

Just a word of advice to any potential designers working on this project:

1. Get a signed contract before doing any work.

2. Require 50% of the fee up front.

3. Don't sell yourself short.

$500 actually is a pretty standard fee for quality design. As they say, you get what you pay for. The cheaper, the weaker.

[Davidson]

i dont really think there is anything wrong with paying a hundred/ couple hundred dollars on a site like this.

there arent too many actual designers on the board, and if a student or novice wanted a go, i reckon that

should generally be encouraged.

im all for being compensated for work but after all this is a board and not a design firm. i dont think people

with little to no training or professional experience warrant a $500 price tag for a logo.

[Lee.]

To clarify, though, Nitro and Delini ARE professionals, so really, $500 is more than fair for them to do lower-level work such as this.

[bowld]

yes i agree they disserve to be paid..i guess im just looking to see if any up and comers want to take a shot at it before i go the route of paying for it

[slapshot]

You should have been up front about trying to get some free work before soliciting the help of more experienced designers.

Just because this isn't specificially a graphic design bulletin board doesn't mean that all work done here is pro bono.

[Davidson]

To clarify, though, Nitro and Delini ARE professionals, so really, $500 is more than fair for them to do lower-level work such as this.

right, and so am i, but i dont get my work through forums. this isnt an avenue through which such work

would normally be solicited.

and if you do get your pro work through this forum, i dont think you should be charging that kind of money.

[pcgd]

i dont really think there is anything wrong with paying a hundred/ couple hundred dollars on a site like this.

there arent too many actual designers on the board, and if a student or novice wanted a go, i reckon that

should generally be encouraged.

im all for being compensated for work but after all this is a board and not a design firm. i dont think people

with little to no training or professional experience warrant a $500 price tag for a logo.

There are alot more "pros" than you think on here.

[RedEye]

If I charge $500 to a client who approaches me via my own website why wouldn't I charge the same for someone soliciting on a board? They don't have to go with me.... I can still expect my normal fee.

[STL FANATIC]

I'm okay asking this in a public setting...to the professionals out here...

As a student (sophomore majoring in graphic design at the U of Illinois), am I doing a disservice to the profession if I were to take on this project for a $250 fee (not sure what he's actually looking for)?

Or is that seen as different in a search to break into the field further and get portfolio work?

To bowld,

I'm very interested in the response of the pros on here about this. However, if they view this as the latter option, I may be willing to take this on.

[bowld]

Stl,

all im looking for is a logo like shown above..those were 2 ideas i came up with but there not my original work and i would hate to use someone else's design as my logo.

Basically just looking for someone with some skill to help me design my very own logo like the ones above. looking for something simple and clean

[gordie_delini]

I'm okay asking this in a public setting...to the professionals out here...

As a student (sophomore majoring in graphic design at the U of Illinois), am I doing a disservice to the profession if I were to take on this project for a $250 fee (not sure what he's actually looking for)?

Or is that seen as different in a search to break into the field further and get portfolio work?

To bowld,

I'm very interested in the response of the pros on here about this. However, if they view this as the latter option, I may be willing to take this on.

STL,

No you wouldn't be doing a disservice to the profession - and I think that's part of Davidson's point about students and upandcomers charging less for something of this nature. $250 is definitely fair for a student's fee, but even still, students have produced professional work and should be paid accordingly.

Ultimately, it comes down to what you feel comfortable charging for your work. At the end of the day, this is a professionally paying job, so don't short-change yourself.

Just sos you knows, when I was in school I was charging around $30/hr for my work, and since getting out of school have bumped that to $50/hr, which is still on the low end. I know professionals who have been in the industry 5, 10, 20+ years that charge anywhere from $90-$175/hr for their freelance work, so again do what you feel is fair to be compensated for yourself.

[VC//]

At the same token, a lot of designers have been burned by requests, with a proffer of money never being given by the requester. As it is, $500 for a logo for a startup company is nothing - especially from a real designer who will tailor the design to your specifications. There are logo generators (such as Logoworks by HP) out there that you can pay $200-300 for a logo and it ain't anything special or unique. According to the AIGA's (American Institute for the Graphic Arts) Guide to Ethical Standards and Practices, a small company (1-50 employees or so) should be paying around $2,000-$3,000 for a logo alone, much less a full identity package.

So realistically $500 is dirt cheap for quality design. I understand being on a tight budget, but truly good quality design is expensive. It's a very specialized field, and you have to be willing to pay for it, or go with something of a lesser quality. As the saying goes, you can have it quick, you can get quality, or you can get it cheap - pick two.

Good thing my gf is a lawyer and her sis as well. Then again, i charge way too cheap to do work but it's not my full time job, its something i do on the side. 500 bucks is more than reasonable, at that price, the guy should be begging you.

[andrewharrington]

So you have a finance start-up without much in the way of cash for a logo. Work something out. Do the logo in exchange for some of free financial services. After all, nobody wants to be broke when they retire. Do the work in exchange for a certain percentage of the company revenue for the first five years. Do it in exchange for some stock in the company. That way if the company gets paid, you get paid. People sometimes forget that money is not the only form of compensation.

Just remember the contract.

[gingerbreadmann]

I just have a question for the "professionals" here -- how long does it normally take for you to complete a whole transaction? That is-be approached by a client, negotiate everything, design the actual logo, tweak as requested, and finalize? Basically from not having anything to do with the client to being done with them. Because this would be important, in my mind, of how much the pay is. In the end, you do need to make a respectable salary to make a living, but I don't think too much should be charged for something that you only spend, say, a week total on. I actually have no idea because I don't know how long it takes you to think of/design the logo(the creative process basically) and how much people usually request to be tweaked. This is actually very interesting to me.