Help designing a logo

[Irishbounty28]

A few of my friends and I are currently at the beginning stages of a future business endeavor. There are four of us currently involved, with none of us being particularly computer savvy. I don't want to put too much out there at the moment, but could use help from anyone that is good with photo editors. We are simply looking at designing a sort of logo that brings in our motto and name.

Like I stated earlier we are just in the beginning stages and could use some help in regards to developing a logo. Comment as you wish...
I will give more specifics as the thread develops and pms are welcome as well. Thanks in advance for anyone willing to help.

 

[WaveDomer]

I've had a logo designed for me before. I would highly recommend that you do a bit of research and put a bit of money into it. A good logo is pretty valuable. You can find a number of designers out there who do a good job and don't charge a ton. Of course, you can find some that charge a ton too. But you can find a good one out there. There are also sites out there for freelancers, like Guru.com or elance.com where you can submit your project with a budget and have designers bid on it. That's just my 2 cents and I'm hardly an expert, but I have done it before.

 

[AvesEvo]

My sister is a graphics designer for NBC, she is specifically part of the group that designs for the olympics and super bowl so she must be pretty good (I can't really tell). I could put you in contact with her if you like.

 

[Irishnuke]

A skeleton leprechaun breathing fire. There's your logo. You're welcome.

 

[Irishbounty28]

Would logo development be something that would be easier to have done, or would it be something that we could tackle ourselves?

With the fact that we are in the beginning stages we were looking more at developing something utilizing a simple computer program and going from there. We are utilizing our experience in the military/private security industry to develop a curriculum style training program teaching firearms safety, manipulation, and self-defense.

Of course, we will start small, build and see where things go. This is going to start as a very small side-business, which will lend to us all keeping our current full time jobs. Hopefully the product catches wind in our area and we are able to turn it into something worth while, but until then we would like to stick with something simple as a logo and develop it ourselves.

 

[TheTurningPoint]

If you PM me your info i can pass it along to me graphics designer. He is a pretty reasonable when it comes to prices.

 

[woolybug25]

Do you have a business plan yet?

If not, then you are spending your time in the wrong places.

 

[koonja]

Would logo development be something that would be easier to have done, or would it be something that we could tackle ourselves?

With the fact that we are in the beginning stages we were looking more at developing something utilizing a simple computer program and going from there. We are utilizing our experience in the military/private security industry to develop a curriculum style training program teaching firearms safety, manipulation, and self-defense.

Of course, we will start small, build and see where things go. This is going to start as a very small side-business, which will lend to us all keeping our current full time jobs. Hopefully the product catches wind in our area and we are able to turn it into something worth while, but until then we would like to stick with something simple as a logo and develop it ourselves.

Try Adobe Illustrator. I graduated with an Information Systems degree in college, and I have zero artistic ability but I took 'Art 312' as an elective and we became familiar with Illustrator and photo shop in that class.

I know it's cliche to say you're no artist, but I was probably in the bottom 5% of the class when it comes to artistic ability, and by the end of the class I could make just about anything in illustrator. I'm certain this would work for designing a logo and you wouldn't have to pay anyone. IDK what the program costs because it was included in the class, perhaps you can get it for free somehow?

You do not need to hire someone to do this. Spend your money elsewhere.

Here's a small example of using illustrator. It may look intimidating at first, but within an hour you'll have a hang of it.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

You can also try Logo Design, Web Design and More. | 99designs.

Friends of mine with a small business used this resource and got a tremendously high quality product.

From what I understand, you post a reward for the winner and a bunch of college kids submit logo ideas. They had a ton of great choices and didn't spend a ton of money.

 

[Irishbounty28]

Do you have a business plan yet?

If not, then you are spending your time in the wrong places.

No business plan yet, just figure it would be cool to have a logo and thats it.

 

[CraigKrenzel]

There are sites where you can propose a project and have (apparently) talented folks bid on them. For example:

https://www.freelancer.com/freelancers/skills/Illustrator/

I haven't used them before, but they're out there

 

[WaveDomer]

Just as a follow up: you should think about how much your time is worth. It's probably doubtful that you could throw together a good logo in a few hours. So how much time do you want to spend going over and over on a logo? How much time do you want to spend with your partners going over and over what each of you like or don't like? I think it's totally worth it for you to seek out a logo designer. Plus, if they spend hours on it and it is not good, just tell them to go back to the drawing board. If you spend hours on it and it's not good, that's just a waste of time. I don't know what your money situation is, but honestly, we're not talking about a ton of money to get a good looking logo done. A good logo is worth a lot. Don't trip over dollars to save pennies.

 

[Irishbounty28]

Just as a follow up: you should think about how much your time is worth. It's probably doubtful that you could throw together a good logo in a few hours. So how much time do you want to spend going over and over on a logo? How much time do you want to spend with your partners going over and over what each of you like or don't like? I think it's totally worth it for you to seek out a logo designer. Plus, if they spend hours on it and it is not good, just tell them to go back to the drawing board. If you spend hours on it and it's not good, that's just a waste of time. I don't know what your money situation is, but honestly, we're not talking about a ton of money to get a good looking logo done. A good logo is worth a lot. Don't trip over dollars to save pennies.

That is a very good point, and something we will definitely need to mull over as a group. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes to get it done by a professional and ensure that the product is of quality. Additionally, like you have stated time would not be wasted with us going back and forth on ideas and all.

I will bring it up tomorrow when we all go out to dinner, and see what everyone thinks. Afterwards, I will try to get back and get some info on different individuals that some of you have recommended. Thank you again for your support on this, and if anyone else has anything more don't hesitate to throw it out there.