A great logo is crucial for your business not just for instant brand recognition but also for conveying your message in a compelling manner. Therefore, a logo must be well-thought-out, engaging, and memorable.
But when it comes to getting a logo for your company, you'll be bound to choose between the two: a custom logo design or a logo maker. Can't choose between the two? Well, that is ought to happen because of the lack of clarity between the options.
To help you pick the right option and give your brand an attractive logo, we've put together this guide where we have broken down the characteristics of a logo template and a custom logo. This guide will clear your confusion and help you make the right decision.
What Is a Logo Template?
As the name suggests, a logo template is a pre-designed logo that can be tweaked and altered as per your preferences. Usually, you find these logo templates on logo makers that come in both free and paid versions.
The best aspect about a logo template is that you have the complete freedom to adjust the design, style, color palette, and text as per the need of your brand's logo. More importantly, logo makers are very easy to use and you don't need any design degree or classes to get started building your logo.
Another advantage of a logo template is that it can be used to jumpstart a project when you need a quick logo.
The primary disadvantage of using a logo template is that the basic design will not be unique to you, and other businesses may be using a similar version.
Pros of Using a Logo Template
The main advantage of using a logo template is that it saves time.
If you need a logo right away, a template may be downloaded and customized in only a few minutes. Without any such effort, you may have a ready-to-use logo design.
A logo template also serves the following benefits:
It is a low-cost alternative
Its customization is simple
You have the design in mind even before customizing
They are usually in vector formats for scalability
Cons of Using a Logo Template
Unprofessional Look
While using online logo templates might be acceptable for some businesses, the end result lacks the professional touch of a custom logo design.
This may bother you once you realize the significance of trustworthiness and authoritativeness in a business. Hence, using a logo template may have a detrimental impact on your business in the long run.
Lack of Original Concept
While you can quickly and easily create a logo through premade templates, you’re limited by the tools and even if you sift through hundreds of templates to choose the best one, there’s still a high chance that you’ll end up getting a similar logo as someone else.
This puts your business’s credibility at high risk.
Therefore, it is best to get custom logo design services online, since a logo designer would have a wide range of tools and will be able to work beyond the limits of free tools to come up with original ideas.
Copyright Issues
When you create a logo with logo templates, you don’t own the copyright.
Additionally, although you may believe your design is matchless, it may be inspired by other logos you've seen.
You may not consider it a big issue, but if your logo is too similar to any of the other businesses, they may sue you.
Hence, by all means, you should get your hands on the best custom logo design services instead of going for cheap alternatives that can ruin your brand reputation.
What Is a Custom Logo Design?
Before you choose to go for custom logo design services, you need to know what a custom logo is.
A custom logo design is created solely for your business. It usually goes through a thorough process where you collaborate with the designer to develop a logo that is in line with your branding guidelines and effectively communicates your message.
Custom logos include the input of the business owner. This means that you get to give your input to the designer about what you would like to see or any ideas that you have for your logo design.
Usually, the logo designer will have a discussion about your expectations with your custom logo design. They will write down what you would like to see, any ideas that you have, and information about your business.
They may also pitch new ideas while incorporating the features of a good logo design. Your designer may also sketch out some ideas that they have in mind while allowing you to look over their initial sketches and comment on them.
Since a logo symbolizes your business and is necessary to differentiate you from your competitors, this is a great way to stand out and get exactly what you want for your business.
Pros of Using a Custom Logo Design
Exclusivity & Brand Identity
Your brand is unique since it has its own mission, vision, and characteristics, which your logo should reflect. A custom branding process ensures that your logo is created particularly for you from the beginning.
A personalized logo, as opposed to a ready-made one, is the ideal approach to make your business clearly recognizable, attract the right individuals, and help you gain brand loyalty and trust in the long run.
Conveys A Message
When you get hands-on with the best custom logo design services available online, your logo designer will deliver your message by creating an artful representation of your brand.
It's for this reason that you should always hire a professional logo designer who understands how to develop an image that reflects the meaning you associate with your brand.
When it comes to personalized logos, everything counts. Every design element (font, color, icon, and layout) contributes to the creation of your brand's face.
Experienced designers make the most of each one to deliver a logo that can aid your company's success.
Customization
While having your custom logo design created, you'll start with a blank canvas and have complete freedom to design anything you desire.
All of the components, such as colors, font, and images will be up to you. Additionally, custom branding packages enable many revisions to fine-tune and polish your logo.
Cons of Using a Custom Logo Design
Cost
The only drawback of having a custom logo design is the cost that comes with it, and it makes business owners hesitant in the first place.
However, your logo is a reflection of your business's legacy, and if designed without expert assistance, it will fail to portray your true identity.
Small companies and solo entrepreneurs with limited resources may not be able to spend a lot of money on logo design, though they still want unique logos.
For businesses that desire excellent quality designs at a fraction of the cost, there is always a great option of hiring a freelance logo designer through an affordable freelance marketplace.
Five Differences Between a Template Logo and Custom Logo Design
Budget
With no doubt, the most prominent difference between a custom logo and a template logo is the cost.
A template logo design is one that you can create yourself using an online software and download it to your computer.
A custom design requires the assistance of a skilled logo designer with a track record of successful designs.
Depending on the designer you choose, you may expect to spend anything between $5 to $1,300 for your custom logo design. A decent logo design will put a little dent in your pocket, but it will be well worth it.
The price range of each designer may vary based on the requirement, the designer's location, and expertise. All you need to do is to assess and ask the right questions that can help you find the right talent for your business.
Quality
If you hire the best custom logo design services, the overall quality of the final result will be greatly enhanced.
This is due to the fact that the quality of logo templates is restricted.
Consider that your logo will be used for both online and offline applications, with sizes ranging from business cards to smartphone displays to billboards.
To be visible clearly in all sizes, your logo must be well-designed and of excellent quality.
Logo templates are unable to produce a design of that caliber.
Furthermore, the design you develop may have intrinsic limits that become apparent only when you attempt to adapt your logo to a size that is much different from what you initially designed.
As a result, there is a significant difference in quality between template and custom logo designs.
Proper Research
It takes more than choosing an attractive design or color scheme to create a great logo. It also needs thorough research into the industry to discover the finest examples of successful logos.
In other words, a good logo represents not just your company but also the work you do. This implies that you should use other logos in your sector as an inspiration and a starting point for creating your own design.
In most instances, businesses that choose to use logo templates do not do the necessary research to determine whether or not the design they produce has a track record of success.
A logo serves as more than simply identification. As a result, it's critical to do the required research to ensure that your logo properly communicates who you are and what you do.
This has become quite easy and cheap with the accessibility to the best custom logo design services online.
Experience
It's fair to say that most entrepreneurs and company owners have no expertise with custom logo design, and this shows in the final product.
What may seem appropriate to the business owner may not be appropriate for the broader public.
That's where hiring custom logo design services may greatly help.
When you hire a designer, the good aspects of their expertise come into play, such as successful logos they've created in the past, what kinds of designs perform well in different formats, the best color scheme to enhance the logo's efficacy, and so on.
To summarize, most professional logo designers have the necessary expertise to prevent possible pitfalls and to come up with ideas that enhance the entire design for increased efficacy.
Success
A good logo design speaks for itself as it conveys the quality of the company and lets potential customers know the general industry in which the business operates.
The ideal logo is one that creates instant recognition after only a few views and builds trust within the consumer about the quality of the company itself.
Which Option Is Best for Your Business?
You may not exactly know what you want your logo to look like and that is okay. Using a logo template can help jumpstart projects instantly, but, a custom logo design is hands down the best way to go for getting your business off the ground.
Hiring a designer and having a custom logo design is a valuable investment that will pay off in the long run as your brand grows.
However, it is common for logo design companies to charge a thousand dollars or more for their design services. But you don’t need to worry when you have an economical option at your disposal: a freelance custom logo designer.
