Need a new logo on a budget? Try these pro-quality alternatives
Better your brand without breaking the budget.
Per usual, Triumph received no financial compensation from Dot for writing this article. Straight from the heart, baby.
With the leaves turning their colors, it seems change in the air (or at least, we hope it’s change). In the spirit of the season, some of our clients have reached out to the Triumph Team about rebranding. Heck—even at Triumph—we’re working on some new design concepts, musing about turning in our old cowardly lion mascot for something a little more in vogue. Whether your adventure is completely new, or just in need of a new look, a well-done and professional logo is a key piece in any branding puzzle. However, most new ventures don’t have room in the margins to hire a graphic design professional. Ironically, these new ventures oftentimes also need a better logo to improve their image and help them grow. If only there was a way to get a new logo without having to take out a small loan in the process. Oh, would you look at that—there is. Let’s read on.
A Canva caveat
Before we get into the thick of our recommendations, we’d be remiss not to at least mention Canva. For those unfamiliar, Canva is the layman’s graphic design product on the market today. With it, you can create just about any design option your creative mind can conjure up—including logos. It’s free (which we love), but it’s also entirely skill based (which eliminates some users). Now, it’s true that Canva and its ready-made templates probably make self-designing about as easy as possible, but for some design-challenged adventurers, that’s still not easy enough (and there’s nothing wrong with that).
Even for those who are Canva-fluent, sometimes your adventure just outgrows it’s old logo and is in need of something with a professional touch, something requiring the sort of advanced design software that Canva simply does not offer. Thankfully, there are plenty of other affordable options for your logo-ing needs, none of which will force you to refinance your house.
Crowdsource you logo with Design Crowd
In the age of crowd sourcing, it should come as no surprise that some industrious individuals figured out a way to outsource logo making to the masses. At Design Crowd, you can enlist the help of huge swaths of the artistic internet rather than a single well-paid graphic designer. By opening up your logo needs to a huge pool of freelance designers, Designer Crowd offers each client a myriad of logo options for a whole lot less.
How does it work?
Operating procedure at Design Crowd is pretty straight forward. Users will begin launching their project by filling out a “creative brief.” Think of this as the blueprint for your new logo, including your likes and dislikes, tastes and distastes, hopes and dreams—that kind of thing.
Once you have completed a vivid description of what basic elements you would like from your logo, Design Crowd will release your creative brief to the masses. Within hours, designs will begin pouring in from across the Design Crowd community. By opening up your logo needs to their immense creative talent base, Design Crowd can offer a near-ridiculous amount of mock-ups per project. Where the average logo creation service offers users between 1-2 potential logo options per project, Design Crowd boasts between 3 and 100+ mockups, depending on the package you order. However, if you’d rather keep your new venture under-wraps, that’s fine too. For a small additional fee, Design Crowd can host private logo projects, making sure listings are hidden from search engines, competitors, and clients. Oh, and don’t worry about an internal leak either. All design participants are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Now, how does that whole payment thing work if the designs are being crowd sourced? We’re so glad you asked. Don’t worry, at Design Crowd, you’ll only pay for what you want. If you don’t like any of the crowd-crafted logos, then you are free to call it a day and request a refund through Design Crowd’s money back guarantee. However, if a potential logo does catch your fancy—as is often the case—you will be able to move ahead with that specific logo and dump the rest (sorry, but thanks for playing). Design Crowd offers several different payment tiers, and, the more you pay, the more designs and revision opportunities you will get. While there are too many package options to thoroughly investigate in this article, the complete logo menu (yum) can be found here.
We will leave you with a description of the base plan, though, which offers 3 design mockups, up to 3 revisions, the usual money back guarantee, copyright ownership of the final design, and the full slew of industry standard design files, all for $109. And—if you’re really feeling your final product—Design Crowd also offers business cards and other print-service options to plaster that new logo all over town.
Feeling like a man or woman of the people? Then check out Design Crowd right here.
Get affordable professional help with Logura
Logura offers a range of creative services including logo design, branding, web design, and full-on animation. By marshaling their massive team of graphic designers, Logura is able to specialize in delivering quality logos quickly and cost-effectively. Don’t let the occasional translation mistake in an email fool you (we have a sneaking suspicion Logura outsources some parts of their operations), the company’s final products are compelling and significantly cheaper than most other market options. Triumph has watched first-hand as some of our partners worked with Logura to create bang-up design projects, under budget and in record time.
For those seeking logo assistance, Logura offers 4 basic product packages. Incredibly, regardless of which package you pick, Logura guarantees to have the first round of mock-ups to you in 24-48 hours. In our personal experience, Logura consistently stays true to their word.
Logura’s aptly (but boringly) named Basic package is a steal of a deal. Coming in hot at only $49, users can receive, 2 logo design concepts, 4 free revisions, and a dedicated project manager. Once you and your manager decide on a final product, you’ll be free to continue your adventure with a finalized logo, complete with copyright.
For about double the bucks, users can purchase the Logura Standard plan. If you’re willing to up your wager to $99, you can enjoy 4 logo design concepts, 8 free revisions, and a dedicated project manager. Once the final product has been carefully tailored to you liking, you will receive full ownership of the finalized logo, JPEG & PNG files, and a print-ready PDF version.
Don’t consider yourself standard (or basic)? We respect that, and Logura offers additional plans to honor your high station in life. For $149, users can purchase the Prime package, complete with 6 logo design concepts, unlimited revisions, and—of course—a very dedicated project manager. When all is said and done, users receive the rights to a finalized logo, JPEG & PNG files, a print-ready PDF version, and a Vector EPS file (a huge boon if you’re looking to mass print your logo).
Finally, for the most distinguished among us, Logura offers the Deluxe package. Listed at $199, Deluxe users can enjoy unlimited logo concepts, unlimited revisions, and the most dedicated project manager. When the dust settles, you’ll be free to use your finalized logo, JPEG & PNG files, print ready PDF files, vector EPS files, and an editable vector AI file.
When choosing the right package for you, keep this in mind: Logura has been known to negotiate on price. See a package you fancy but fear it’s just a tad outside of your price range? Take the time to talk to a Logura customer service representative. Nine times out of ten, they’ll be able to cut you some sort of deal.
Ready to start? You can go-go getcha’ logo with Logura right here.
Jolt your own creative senses with BrandCrowd
Image that Canva drank a Red Bull—and you’ve essentially discovered BrandCrowd. You still technically do the designing, but with a huge head start.
Users can begin by inputing their brand name and a few minor specification for the logo. From there, BrandCrowd will be off to the races. Within thirty seconds, the site starts spitting out hundreds of potential designs that incorporate your name into a new logo. Sure, they aren’t the most advanced logo concepts in the world—but they are certainly serviceable—and even allow you to further edit by hand once you see one with potential. If you’re an adventurer with too little capital to choose a previous service, and too little skill to start from scratch in Canva, BrandCrowd may be the perfect middle ground option for you.
For $60, users can avail themselves of high-resolution PNG & JPG files, vector files (SVG, EPS & PDF), transparent background files, multiple logo variations, unlimited edits to the logo, unlimited logo downloads, perpetual file storage, 30+ social media design tools, 3000+ social media templates, 200+ business card templates, and their own custom graphic design dashboard. Like we said, it might not be the most sophisticated service in the world, but it still packs quite the punch.
Sound promising? Surf the BrandCrowd right here.
“That trilobite didn’t know a logo from an elbow. Haha—logo—more brand humor”
Your logo is the public face of your company, so it’s important to keep it just as (if not more) beautiful than your regular face. Even if you don’t consider your self a creatively-gifted adventurer, we’re confident there’s a service in this list that’s right for you. Don’t let budget constraints keep you in Microsoft Paint—your brand is better than that. We’re all better than that.
As always, feel free to Ask Triumph with any additional questions and consider Supporting the Team.
All views expressed in the article are opinions of the author and should not be misconstrued as professional consulting or legal advice. Users are responsible for verifying all information before taking action, and Triumph Group LLC is not responsible for any outcomes. Pursue subjects at your own risk. Seriously, man. It’s your life.
