Questions to Ask for Logo Design
Twenty questions to ask a logo designer or studio before you hire them. They cover process and input points, revision limits, file formats and source files, ownership, font licensing, trademark checks, pricing, and what happens after the project ends.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What do you need from me before you start drawing anything?
Why ask it
A designer who asks for your customers, your competitors, and where the mark will be used is doing brand work. One who only needs your name and a colour preference is doing decoration, which may be all you want, but you should know which you are buying.
What is your process, and where in it do I give input?
Why ask it
You are looking for defined points where you can respond, rather than a reveal at the end. Ask what happens if your feedback at the first stage would send the work back to the beginning.
Can you show me two or three projects like mine, including one that was difficult?
Why ask it
The difficult one is the useful one, because it shows you how they handle a client who changes direction. A portfolio of finished marks tells you about taste, not about working with them.
How many directions will you present, and how many rounds of changes are included?
Why ask it
Left vague, this is what design projects argue about later. Get both numbers, and get the definition of a round in writing: some designers count each email of comments as a round, others count each presented set, and that difference decides who pays when the work goes back a step.
What happens if none of the first directions work?
Why ask it
Every designer has had this happen, so the answer reveals both their process and their contract. Look for a defined step, such as a new brief and a stated additional cost, rather than an assurance that it will not occur.
Who owns the finished mark, and at what point does that transfer to me?
Why ask it
Ownership commonly transfers only on final payment, and sometimes not at all without a written assignment. If the contract grants a licence rather than transferring copyright, you need to know what that licence permits.
Will I receive editable source files, or only exported images?
Why ask it
Without the vector source, any future change means paying someone to redraw the mark. Some studios treat source files as a separate purchase, which is a legitimate practice but needs to be priced now.
Which files and variations will I get?
Why ask it
Ask for the list: vector and raster, horizontal and stacked, full colour, one colour, reversed for dark backgrounds, and a small-size version. Discovering a gap the week you order signage is expensive.
How will you check that it holds up at small sizes and in one colour?
Why ask it
Marks that work on a presentation slide often collapse at favicon size or when a print shop asks for a single-colour version. A designer who tests this as a matter of course will describe how without hesitating.
Will you check the mark and name against existing trademarks, or is that on me?
Why ask it
Most designers do not do legal clearance, and assuming otherwise is how businesses find out after the packaging is printed. Get the boundary stated in writing, and expect to instruct an attorney yourself.
Which typefaces will you specify, and do I need to license them separately?
Why ask it
Commercial fonts are licensed per user or per application, and the licence usually needs to be in your name, not the designer's. Ask for the licence terms alongside the recommendation.
What is the price, what is charged by the hour, and what would trigger an extra invoice?
Why ask it
A fixed fee with hourly extras attached is normal, but you need to know which activities fall outside the fee. Extra rounds, new applications, and rush turnarounds are the usual triggers.
What is the payment schedule, and what happens if I cancel partway through?
Why ask it
Deposits are standard and often non-refundable, and a kill fee may apply. Knowing the exit terms is more useful before you sign than after a project has stalled.
What is the timeline, and how quickly do you need my feedback to hold it?
Why ask it
Design schedules slip mostly on the client side, and a designer who names your response time is being realistic rather than difficult. Ask what happens to your slot if you miss a review by a week.
Who else will work on this, and will anything be subcontracted?
Why ask it
You may be hiring the person whose portfolio you liked, or their junior, or a freelancer they have never met. Ask who does the drawing and who you will be speaking to.
Will I get usage guidelines, and how much do they cover?
Why ask it
Guidelines matter as soon as anyone other than the designer uses the mark, whether that is a printer, a sign maker, or a new employee. Ask for minimum sizes, clear space, colour values for screen and print, and what not to do.
How do you want feedback delivered, and what kind of comment is useless to you?
Why ask it
Asking what is useless produces genuinely practical guidance, usually about vague preferences and committee summaries. It also establishes early that you intend to give feedback they can act on.
What do you want to know about my competitors and my customers?
Why ask it
Distinctiveness is comparative, so a designer who does not look at the field can accidentally produce something close to a competitor's mark. Their questions here are a fair test of how they think.
Will you publish this in your portfolio, and can I ask you to wait until we launch?
Why ask it
Designers usually need to show the work, which is reasonable, but the timing can matter if you have not announced yet. Agree a date and put it in the contract rather than raising it later.
What happens in six months if I need a new variation?
Why ask it
New formats, sub-brands, and applications you did not anticipate all arrive after the project closes. Ask their rate for small later jobs and whether they keep the working files.
Briefing and running a logo project
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you hire anyone
Write the brief in words, not pictures
Describe who your customers are, what you want them to think, where the mark will appear, and what you must avoid. A page of plain writing is more useful to a designer than a board of logos you admire.
Name one decision maker
Design by committee produces compromises nobody chose. Decide who signs off before the first presentation, and let everyone else advise that person rather than the designer.
List every place the mark has to work
App icon, invoice, van door, embroidered shirt, one-colour stamp, and social profile all impose different constraints. Hand this list over at the start, because it changes what gets drawn.
Budget beyond the logo
Applying a new identity means signage, packaging, stationery, a website update, and possibly font licences. If the logo consumes the entire budget, the rollout will look worse than what you replaced.
Deliverables to ask for by name
Files
- 1Editable vector source in the designer's working format.
- 2Vector exports in SVG, EPS, and PDF.
- 3Raster exports in PNG with transparency, at several sizes.
- 4Full colour, single colour, and reversed versions for dark backgrounds.
- 5Horizontal and stacked arrangements, plus an icon-only mark if one exists.
- 6Favicon and social profile sizes, checked at their real dimensions.
- 7Colour values for screen and for print, and a note on which to use where.
Documents
- 1A written transfer of copyright or a clearly worded licence.
- 2Usage guidelines covering minimum size, clear space, and misuse.
- 3The list of typefaces with their licence terms and where to buy them.
- 4An invoice that matches the agreed scope, so later charges are traceable.
Giving feedback a designer can use
- Say what is not working and why, then leave the solution to them. Prescribing a fix usually removes the option you would have preferred.
- Refer to the brief rather than your taste: whether it reads as trustworthy matters, whether you personally like green does not.
- Consolidate comments into one message per round rather than sending them as they occur to you.
- Look at the mark small, in one colour, and printed on paper before you approve it.
- Ask to see it in place on a real application, not only on a white presentation board.
Common pitfalls
Assuming you own the artwork
Without a written assignment, copyright often stays with the designer. Fix this in the contract rather than after a relationship sours.
Buying only the exports
A folder of PNG files is not a logo you control. Insist on vector source, or accept that every future change goes back to the same person.
Skipping the trademark question
A mark can be original and still infringe. Establish who is responsible for clearance before anything is printed or registered.
Judging concepts on the presentation
Marks presented at large size on dark boards look better than they will on a receipt. Ask to see the small, plain, one-colour version before choosing.