Imagine a place that serves Lobster Dinner for Only a Dollar. Appetizing? I have to tell you – I like lobster and I like bargains – but a $1 Lobster Dinner does not appeal to me in the least.

How about a logo for your new brand?You can go to fiverr and get someone to design it for $5. Here’s why I wouldn’t take that deal either (and it’s not just because I can design it myself). I’m a firm believer that you get what you pay for. It’s nice to imagine that some talented young person who hasn’t been a part of the workforce long enough to understand the value of his or her time is going to deliver a great design for five dollars.

But, what happens if I give it a try and the design is subpar? Now, I’ve spent five dollars, which is no big deal, but I’ve also spent at least $50 of my own time to give the logo assignment and complete the transaction. Even worse, I’ve wasted time waiting for it to be done and I’m back to square one − for a logo that I need for my business cards, website and other marketing collateral. If the logo is terrible, shall decline to pay the $5? What could I have expected?

So, I’m launching or revising something as important as a visual representation of my exciting brand and I’m going to go bargain hunting? By now, you get my point. We all know that you get what you pay for. I’ve encountered a number of people who view my minimum fees for logo design to be expensive. Yet others who have experienced the value of good design (and the frustration that accompanies poor design) find my fees to be of high value. And my New York clients think it’s a darn good bargain!

The difference is that people who value design excellence understand what goes into it. Very rarely does it work like this – we discuss your brand, I design a logo that’s exactly what you want and we’re done. The more likely scenario is this – we discuss your brand essence, I design variations of logos for you to review; we decide on the one that’s closest to a being a great fit, and we then begin modifications it until the final design meets with your satisfaction. Along the way, we consider variations of shapes, compositions, colors, hues, tag lines and assorted visual cues to best offer a first impression of what your brand looks like. Let’s consider the last part of that statement one more time –“a first impression of what your brand looks like.”

Am I right that your logo needs to look like it represents an organization that does not serve $1 Lobster Dinners? What’s that design worth? If you own a logo that fails to properly represent your brand’s unique value proposition, call me. Together we can make it great!