As to be expected, a revolt of sorts, by creatives of all disciplines, ensued after news announced by iStock that they would be selling ‘ready made’ logo designs. The level of discourse created by such news was pretty intense, and will be going on for some time I am sure.

One of the many cool things about Twitter, is that I get ideas for new blog posts almost on a daily basis. This post was inspired such an event, all to do with buying new fonts for new logo projects.

In this post, I will highlight my methods and reasons for dealing with new clients, budget issues and the often tricky ‘how much will the logo cost me?’ scenario. It is something I have been asked a number of times on Twitter, and from my own experience, it is a frequent occurrence.

How many times have you been given a logo design job, but found out that the company name is either long, odd, not appropriate, sounds silly, sounds cliché and a number of many other possible scenarios? Working with a ‘bad’ name can seriously hinder the overall impact of a logo and identity design.

When you are needing a good shot of logo and identity inspiration in your veins, don’t get caught up with the seemingly endless variety of logo and design inspiration galleries. So much focus is placed on these sites, that we seem to assume these are the only places to get current inspiration. This is far from the truth. Reading Case Studies is the way to go. Don’t believe me? Read on.

In my previous articles on logo design costs and the general attitude towards logo design in general, I have also recently touched on the problem with logo design galleries and logo design trends. There is a big shift towards relying on trends as the answer to your next logo design. There are som articles on trends over at Logolounge and GraphicDesignBlog.

I have been thinking a lot recently about the whole logo design and pricing dilemma. After reviewing a number of comments on some previous posts, I started replying. Soon I realsied that one reply was becoming more of a post. So rather than submit it as a comment, thought it would be better served as just a quick post.

“What are your rates, what do you charge for logo design?” Seemingly harmless in itself and frankly on the surface a fair enough question. But lets open this up a little more. I have stopped giving out hourly or fixed rates for logo projects, except for a budget logo package which ultimately is only suitable for website header graphics etc.

There is, in every industry, the unavoidable anally sore fact that what you do to earn a living, will be cheapened by anyone given half the chance. There will be the “I only have £75, can you do a great logo for that?” and the many variations on that theme. Work swaps, freebies, favours, friends and family, guilt trips, you name it, some potential clients will try it on. It’s how we are wired when we don’t fully understand someone elses area of expertise.

For me, fonts/typefaces are the most important part of what I do, the most crucial ingredient. The fonts from structure, they are the framework, they set the mood and they go along way to speak the message. Without the right font, logos in particular, designs can crash, limp along or just vanish without a trace.

Some general advice would be to temper your enthusiasm to impress this new client at all costs. Doing so usually results in a logo that is hard or practically impossible to reproduce or edit. Or you just end up getting some knickers in a real twist.