Your logo is the anchor of your brand's visual identity. When crafted well, it fully captures your brand's essence and has the power to make a showstopping first impression, increase your visibility, and cultivate brand loyalty. This means it's essential to approach its creation with time and intention, no matter which logo design option you choose.
These days, there are countless resources available to design your logo. You can choose everything from free, drag-and-drop builders, to professional agencies, to AI software.
The option that’s right for your business depends on a variety of considerations, including your budget, required timeline, and level of flexibility, as well as the amount and type of experience the designer has. No matter which you choose, the most important factor is that your logo is representative of who you are as a brand.
Whether you have yet to design your logo or are in the process of a rebrand, here are 6 different logo design options, along with the pros and cons of each.
Option #1: DIY Logo Design Builder
DIY builders like Canva have become incredibly popular in the last few years. They’re an attractive logo design option for solopreneurs or new business owners who have limited experience in branding and want to get their business off the ground quickly. They're free, easy to use, and don't require you to communicate or collaborate in any way with a designer.
However, their biggest pros are also their biggest cons. Without input from a designer, you're much more likely to design a logo that falls short of fully representing your brand. This could be detrimental to the overall success of your brand and put you at risk of needing an expensive redesign in the future.
Pros
Free or Low-Cost
Easy-to-use templates for non-designers
No collaboration required
Designed in minutes
Cons
No input from professionals
Limited to pre-existing templates and illustrations
Huge potential for disconnect between logo and brand
Risk of needing expensive redesign in the future
Option #2: AI Logo Design Software
AI has taken the world by storm, with tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 making it easier than ever before to write content and create customized images. For the first time ever, you now have the opportunity to use AI software like the Fiverr Logo Maker to design your logo, an option that's not only free but also incredibly fast–-you can literally have a logo designed in seconds.
On the other hand, AI Software can leave a lot to be desired as a logo design option. Given that the software relies on a limited set of questions to learn about your brand and produce its designs, you're not likely not to end up with a logo that feels truly representative of who you are.
Take the example below of the wide variety of generic concepts that popped up when I asked AI software to design a logo for my own business:
What's more, there are some serious ethical considerations involved with some AI tools, since the software bases its creations on existing logos created by real designers—often without their permission.
Pros
Free or inexpensive
Based on existing high-quality designs
Can be edited to add a personal touch
Designed in seconds
Cons
Results vary widely
Relies on answers to limited set of questions
Likely not representative of your brand's personality
Ethical considerations
Option #3: Freelance Logo Designer
One of the most popular logo design options for solopreneurs and new business owners is hiring a freelance designer from websites like Fiverr or Freelancer. These sites make the hiring process smooth and easy—you simply post the details of your project to receive bids by designers around the world (sometimes within minutes). And sometimes,the sheer volume of proposals is overwhelming and it becomes a full time job simply to sort through them. With proposals in hand, you’re able to choose your designer, and then wait for your logo to be delivered within your desired timeline.
There are several benefits to hiring a freelance designer, the biggest one being that you get access to a real designer of your choosing without having to break the bank. The downside of such an opportunity is that there are a lot of risks to working with a freelancer. There's no guarantee they'll meet your expectations or design a logo that feels like the right fit. And in general, the age-old warning rings true: you get what you pay for.
Pros
Inexpensive (as low as $5 USD)
Can hire multiple designers while remaining within budget
Quick turnaround
Plenty of choice around who you work with
Created by a real designer of your choosing
Cons
Risk of poor communication, unmet timelines, abandoned projects
Unreliable quality
Must be able to communicate what you want
An overwhelming number of proposals to sift through
You get what you pay for
Option #4: Logo Design Crowdsourcing
One intriguing logo design option is crowdsourcing through resources like 99Designs. Although similar to hiring a freelancer, crowdsourcing is unique in that it gives you access to multiple designers at the same time through a contest format.
The process works like this: You host a logo contest where designers submit their concepts, and you have until the end of the contest period to select a winner. This format allows you to see work from different designers before settling on one—a great perk you don't necessarily get with other logo design options.
Unfortunately, this perk comes with a dark side. When you choose a crowdsourcing platform you’re essentially asking designers to perform specialized, labor-intensive work for free—with only the hope that you will choose their design. To combat this and save money and resources, many top designers avoid these sites altogether. Or, if they do make use of them, they will recycle designs, simply swapping out the name and color scheme. So something you think is original may actually be far from it.
Another major downside of crowdsourcing, however, is that it tends to be significantly more expensive than hiring a single freelancer—which makes sense given that you're choosing from multiple designers' work. It's also common to see pricing tiers corresponding to designers of different quality levels, so that's something to keep in mind.
Pros
Cheaper than hiring a boutique design firm or branding agency
Access to multiple designers at once
Get to compare a variety of designs before making a final choice
Cons
Expensive compared to hiring a single freelancer
Usually higher prices for higher-quality designers
Must design a thorough brief to inform designers
An overwhelming number of proposals to sift through
Promotes spec work that may translate to recycled designs
Option #5: Boutique Logo Design Firm
We may be a little biased, but boutique design firms like Miss Details are an excellent logo design option. By working with a professional designer with an established reputation, you can guarantee that your logo will not only be well designed, but also authentic to your brand. Plus, because design firms are specialized, you're likely to be working with someone who has just as much expertise as someone you might find working for a large branding agency—only less expensive!
To be fair, there are some downsides to working with a boutique design firm—but very few! They do tend to be pricier, averaging around a few thousand dollars for a single design, meaning that they may not be a viable option for solopreneurs, small businesses, or those with a tight budget. In addition, because they're a firm, your project delivery window is likely to be longer than working with a freelancer, so you'll need to plan accordingly.
Pros
Specialize in brand design
Extremely high quality
Reliable
Cons
Pricier ($1,000+ USD)
Longer project delivery window
Option #6: Branding Agency
Large branding agencies are typically what comes to mind when picturing the most famous and memorable logos of our time, and there's a reason for that. When you hire a branding agency, you're paying for reputation and a seemingly endless stream of resources at your disposal to ensure your logo is just right. Plus, with such a large team, you're likely to find a designer who specializes in exactly the type of logo you're looking for, basically guaranteeing that it's authentic to who you are.
The major downside of hiring a branding agency is that they're inaccessible for many business owners due to their high price tag. Plus, because they're committed to providing the best design possible, the process can be extremely time consuming, involving many questions, check-ins, and possibly revisions. Although this logo design option can certainly pay off in the long run since you'll end up with an exceptional logo, there's no denying it's a huge investment.
Pros
Extremely high quality
Ample resources to perfect the design
Reliable
Large team with specialized designers
Cons
Expensive (as much as $100,000+ USD)
Time-consuming
Make the Most of Whichever Logo Design Option You Choose
No matter which logo design option is best for your business, it's essential to approach the creation of your logo with intention. Because without thinking strategically about the design, you won't be able to truly capture the essence of your brand and create meaningful connections with your audience.
Our Logo Design Strategy Masterclass is just what you need to make sure your logo is recognizable, compelling, and memorable. It's a self-paced online course designed to walk you through the proven strategy for logo design we’ve used with hundreds of our own clients. You'll learn how to reflect on your brand's core personality and what sets you apart so you can make strategic design choices that support the development of a brand-aligned logo—whether you work with a designer or not.
Don’t want to miss out on our articles and insights?
Sign up for the Miss Details newsletter today.
Thanks for subscribing!
We know how precious your inbox space is and promise to do our best to offer you value.
Please check your email soon.
