Low budget Branding

I want to re-brand my small photography business and give it a bit more excitement. I want a new logo for MGWarren Photography. I don't make much money on my work yet so my budget is small. Anybody have suggestions how I might do this?

Hire a graphic design student or farm it out to one of those collective sites where a hundred people submit designs and you pick one.

Got a link for one of those collective sites where people submit designs

I can't think of any but you have access to Google as much as I do.

cdifoto wrote in post #15743847
Hire a graphic design student or farm it out to one of those collective sites where a hundred people submit designs and you pick one.

I agree this is probably the best, inexpensive way to go. There are plenty of really talented high school art and design students that would likely come up with a variety of designs for a minimal few. If not that area try the local colleges and universities.

With both options though you usually get what you pay for - but something may really catch your eye .

If you choose to hire a student or designer, keep in mind these rules for being a good graphic design client:

1) Realize that time is money for everyone. If you have a small budget, you aren't paying for rounds and rounds of revisions- ONE round of revisions, tops. If the designer is spending 20 hours, total, at designing, a $200 budget means s/he is working for $10/hour. Be mindful not to stretch this to sweatshop levels.

2) Have an idea of what you want and lay it down at the beginning. Don't say "I want an exciting logo," and then force the designer to undergo rounds and rounds of roughs because in reality, you're not quite sure what it is you're looking for.

OR

3) Be open to suggestions from the designer. If s/he says, "Here are 10 logo ideas that convey excitement," chances are s/he knows what s/he's talking about due to months of design theory and training.

I say these things because I am a full time graphic designer and have had to deal with some pretty crazy people (ie: asking for stationery, a logo, business cards, a brochure, and a website for $100 total) and it'll save everybody a headache later.

I don't like working for nothing so I try not to do that to others.

mdaddyrabbit wrote in post #15743882
Got a link for one of those collective sites where people submit designs

99Designs is a good place that has a surprising amount of talent submitting designs. But for every 1 high quality designer on that site, there are 20 newbs and/or terrible hacks (still a better ratio than some of the other contest sites). The other problem is lack of feedback from the designer. The feedback system is pretty much a one way street, with you providing feedback to the designers. The better your feedback, the better the designs, but at the same time, without feedback from a competent designer, many hosts lead themselves down a path to tackiness. Part of a good designer's job is managing the client and protecting them from themselves.

When I was still in school, I used 99designs (called Sitepoint at that time) as a way to build my portfolio and make some money. It was good for those purposes, but all these contest sites do a major disservice to both clients and designers. Hiring a design student can be a good way to get a great designer working on the cheap. The downside is that you often have a hard time knowing if you're getting a quality designer who understands real-world limitations, and not just design theory.

Nightdiver13 wrote in post #15744080
99Designs is a good place that has a surprising amount of talent submitting designs. But for every 1 high quality designer on that site, there are 20 newbs and/or terrible hacks (still a better ratio than some of the other contest sites). The other problem is lack of feedback from the designer. The feedback system is pretty much a one way street, with you providing feedback to the designers. The better your feedback, the better the designs, but at the same time, without feedback from a competent designer, many hosts lead themselves down a path to tackiness. Part of a good designer's job is managing the client and protecting them from themselves.

When I was still in school, I used 99designs (called Sitepoint at that time) as a way to build my portfolio and make some money. It was good for those purposes, but all these contest sites do a major disservice to both clients and designers. Hiring a design student can be a good way to get a great designer working on the cheap. The downside is that you often have a hard time knowing if you're getting a quality designer who understands real-world limitations, and not just design theory.

Thanks, great site.