

Startup logo design - vnchr
http://blog.goparti.com/build-a-startup-logo-you-can-be-proud-of/

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dylanrw
Hitting up 99 Designs is like throwing spaghetti at a wall in hopes that
something sticks, well that's an almost apt description. I guess the biggest
difference is that you are hiring N-'designers' who probably aren't very
skilled at their craft so they have to lock into gladiatorial combat for mere
dollars to each make a noodle and throw it at the wall for you. They won't
care about your identity, and the quality of what you get will largely depend
on how good you happen to be at scoping an illustration project and wrangling
amateurs to get results.

With this method you will have some sort of graphic to slap on a site or
slather on a t-shirt, but you will be extremely lucky if it stands the test of
time or even stands out in your market. A good logo is one thing that sets
apart the amateurs from the professionals. Facebook knew this and that's why
they went to Cuban Council (<http://www.cubancouncil.com/>).

You could just find a designer/firm who's work you admire, see if they do
identity work, speak with them about your brand, and collaborate with them
(they will guide you if they are any good at what they do, and they will
always have your best interest at heart) to create something everyone
(including your customers) will love.

Sadly, OP's description of "Startup" logo design is what is currently popular,
and many people don't realize that this is not how the best logotypes/icons
are made.

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rashw9
The quality of what you receive depends on the quality of information you
provide to any designer or firm. Our suggested process for a bootstrapped
startup provides a solution for how to formulate a thought out design idea and
get you going in the right direction at no cost.

In reply to your comment about Facebook: Zuckerburg knew minimal about
'design' so he did what so many other startups in the Valley do. Go to the big
design firms. This solution works well for startups in the position to hand
over the big bucks. Different solutions work depending on startup condition,
status, and/or funds available.

This process may work best for startups with limited resources and limited
funding. Even if you dont like the initial work you receive from 99 designs or
any other design marketplace, two important things can happen:

1\. You'll be a better judge for what works and doesn't work for your startup.

2\. You're design idea will strengthen from concepts created by these
designers at a price you can afford to pay.

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ryanackley
Slightly off-topic. If you have a startup and you have a blog like this, why
not have a very big obvious link to your main website?(i.e. mystartup.com
instead of blog.mystartup.com).

It seems like a no-brainer to me. It's great marketing for your product or
service. I've come to your site to read your blog and I'm curious about your
business now.

~~~
vnchr
I do some advising for the GoParti guys. I'll hassle them about that :-)
Hopefully Rasheed (author of above article) will get to these comments soon
and jump in.

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dbot
Having just gone through the process, I would completely agree with the advice
here. We are really pleased with our logo from an eLance designer
(www.crowdshelf.com), but it lacks an independent graphic, which I quickly
realized was something that would be really useful for stuff like favicons,
Twitter and Facebook pages, etc.

~~~
BryanB55
Agreed. I think that is the strongest point about designing a logo. I just
finished creating a new one and having an "icon" is incredibly helpful.
Favicons, iphone apps, social media pages, etc.. can all be branded much
easier.

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phwd
What's the difference between "startup logo design" and "logo design"? Just
call it logo design.

~~~
vnchr
Odd enough, I had a different title than the one above when I first
submitted... Can mods of HN change it?

I liked how Rasheed focused on how they approached logo design as a startup
and made the process relatable to others with the same set of resources.

~~~
Mohnish
I'm Mohnish Soundararajan, who wrote the article haha.

For startups, the process of logo design is attacked from a totally different
mindset. We were driving at the guys who are bootstrapping it, not a
definitive guide to design in general. When GoParti was starting, these were
the concerns.

~~~
vnchr
Sorry Mohnish! Great job, sorry, I thought Rasheed wrote it.

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mrkmcknz
Whenever I want to showcase bad logo design I always search some random
location based business service.

Such as bouncy castle hire in Manchester:

<http://www.jalmacleisure.co.uk/>
<http://www.castleempire.com/images/Castle%20Empire.jpg> <http://www.king-of-
the-castles.com/>

I often wonder what people think when they look at a logo as bad as some of
the above. Personally I think it just shows a lack of effort, you see this in
the startup game also.

But clip art. Come on.

~~~
harlanlewis
Is web design a differentiator for bounce houses? If it's not, skip it.

I'm not sure if I'm being sarcastic or not.

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zht
does anyone really use Microsoft Word or clip art to design their logos?

~~~
BryanB55
unfortunately yes, probably not so many people in tech industries but I have
definitely seen it done.

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paulgb
Tiny nitpick: when you re-size vector text, make sure the straight edges don't
straddle pixels. Notice the difference between the top and bottom versions?
<http://imgur.com/JlNin>

~~~
rashw9
Thanks for this! Can be an even bigger help if this works with transparent
pngs.

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gendron1
4\. Give credit to the author of the font you used..
[http://www.dafont.com/harabara.font?text=goparti&psize=l](http://www.dafont.com/harabara.font?text=goparti&psize=l)

~~~
Danieru
The author did not specify that in their license: [http://www.dafont.com/font-
comment.php?file=harabara&psi...](http://www.dafont.com/font-
comment.php?file=harabara&psize=l&text=goparti) (scroll down, two people
emailed the author for clarification)

So I do not see a reason why the font author should have been included in the
article. The article was not about THIS logo but about logos in general. When
I saw your comment I thought you might be pointing out that he was violating
the license. Since he is not, I am not sure what to make of your comment.

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ctdonath
Please tell me that paint program UI picture is for real (as a UI) and is not
just a cute photo.

~~~
stan_rogers
Sorry -- it's just a promotional piece for a software retailer (software-
asli.com); the Photoshop CS4 UI done with real-world tools and materials. The
text menu is Letraset rub-down sheets, the swatches are watercolour half-pans,
the visibility markers for the layers are loupes, and so on. Good concept,
construction and photo, though.

