7 Rules for Freelance Logo Designers (To Get More Work)

Logos are part of successful branding, influencing businesses’ overall marketing strategy.

Thus, every business requires a strong logo that conveys the right messages to prospects and customers. While some established firms hire full-time graphic designers to handle their logo design needs, the trend is gradually shifting toward freelance hires.

Recently, on-demand designers have gained popularity, as businesses seek convenient, scalable options without compromising timelines or quality.

Notably, many logo designers are going into freelancing because of the flexibility.

But before you get excited about the creative freedom, it is important to note that there are some critical rules that you must follow. Effective compliance with these rules will help you better manage your freelance design career and deliver high-quality services.

7 Key rules freelance logo designers should never ignore

A good number of freelancers who create logos enter the job market with creative skills but lack proper guidance for navigating their new business. As freelance logo designers, here are some key considerations you should always keep in mind.

1. Make multiple logo concepts available

One common mistake many freelance designers make is working solely on a single concept.

However, the more concepts available at your disposal, the closer you get to delivering a great logo design. The concept is the “idea” behind the logo visuals, including the message it conveys, style direction, theme, and elements.

When designing a brand logo, it is important to explore different directions.

Having at least three unique logo design concepts allows for smoother decision-making. It is recommended that you present your design concepts to clients.

Once they pick one that matches their business needs, you can head back to the drawing board and begin proper development. While at this, be sure to experiment with different design elements and refine basic concepts where necessary.

2. Understand the brand identity and client’s needs

As part of the branding process, firms have a message they convey to prospects and customers. Thus, this message and the brand’s identity are critical parts you must consider in logo design. Such information must be reflected in the logo’s colors, fonts, and other elements.

For this, it is imperative to communicate effectively with relevant officials within the organization or to leverage their online presence.

Be sure to find out specific information, such as a likely motivational line, motto, or slogan. Plus, remember to also understand the client’s marketing needs and incorporate every valuable detail into the design.

3. Ensure the scalability of each design

Logos are not meant for a single appearance; businesses place them on billboards, websites, business cards, social media accounts, etc. While some of these applications require the logos to appear larger, others require them to appear relatively smaller.

As part of the design process, be sure to create scalable logos.

Whether they appear big or small, the logo must always look great, with crisp and clear visuals. Also, it must maintain a balanced proportion across its design elements, including shapes, lines, fonts, colors, etc.

Take it upon yourself to test the logo at recommended scales of 100, 50, 25, and even 10 percent, and watch how much of the design detail is preserved. Doing this, you can easily determine what needs likely tweaks or adjustments.

4. Maintain consistency with color palettes

In this case, color palette consistency doesn’t mean that you must use a single color throughout the logo designs for a specific brand. But you must use colors that strike visual harmony and are consistent with the business’s appearance.

You can even find inspiration with the industry in mind. Be sure to employ complementary and analogous colors. While you should use complementary colors sparingly, you can also use analogous hues for a more harmonious appearance.

As you throw in your creative juices, stick to the basic color theory, even though bending a few rules may not hurt. Examine your design in grayscale, ensuring it looks good; do this using both 2-color and black-and-white processes.

5. Create a strong personality with fonts

There are plenty of fonts logo designers use today, including free and paid options. As an expert, you must know that the font further reveals the brand’s personality and behavior.

Based on style guides, logos with larger fonts convey a stronger personality, for instance, in business and sports brands. On the other hand, logos for firms that deal with children’s play products or toys can afford to use handwritten fonts.

Another important thing with logos’ fonts is ensuring they are always legible and unique.

6. There is beauty in simplicity

One common rule followed by successful designers is that simplicity breeds better understanding. It is better to design a simple logo with different elements, shapes, and styles that convey a message customers can understand.

Sadly, when prospects or clients struggle to understand what the log shows, it defeats the aim of engaging them. They’ll definitely ignore the logo that they don’t grasp.

Notably, many popular brands have simple but captivating logos. The Google logo, despite being a multicolored wordmark, allows for instant recognition. Other logos with such simplicity include the bitten Apple logo, Adidas’ three stripes, and McDonald’s bold yellow arch.

These examples show that keeping the design simple is better for brand recognition.

7. Seek trusted professional guidance

As a freelance logo designer, ensure that you don’t isolate yourself. There are different design trends from time to time, and talking to others in the same field can help you out. With a good professional connection, you can find better inspirations or get a few helpful tips.

However, whatever trend you discover or tips you get, be sure to first understand them properly. Then you can decide whether they are worth trying. Also, you’ll have a much better idea of what works best for creating a great logo.

How to get more gigs as a freelance logo designer?

Advancing your freelance career and earning attractive sums goes beyond designing a good logo. Whether you are a seasoned or new designer, here are a few tips to help you get recurring gigs and earn better.

1. Determine your target audience

Before jumping on any job board to seek clients, identify your target audience. So, narrow your search to a specific industry or business type you prefer to work with. When you know your ideal clients, marketing your skills becomes easier, as you understand their needs better.

It also makes the search for potential clients easier, as you can tell where to find them.

2. Set up your profile online

Another way to find clients is to set up a strong online presence. This move is essential for connecting with prospects and staying relevant in the industry.

Be sure to set an attractive profile on social media, LinkedIn, and even freelance job boards like Upwork and Fiverr. Highlight your job skills, showcase your designs, and don’t forget to provide your contact details.

You can also ask past clients to drop recommendations to boost your credibility.

3. Build a proposal template

Having a proposal template can help you pitch to prospective clients quickly and without stress. You can easily whip one up with a basic structure that you can adjust frequently base on each prospect’s needs.

For example, with a proposal template, you can just review your working terms, pricing and payment conditions, timelines, and other relevant components.

4. Showcase your work

Just because you have the skills doesn’t mean that clients will automatically come. It is important to share your work to give prospects a glimpse of what to expect.

You can share these via email, on social platforms, on your website, or on portfolio sites like Behance, Dribbble, or Coroflot.

5. Leverage search engine optimization

If you have a portfolio website for your freelance design business, be sure to incorporate SEO into your content to help clients find you quickly. You can use an analytics tool to get stats for your page and further strategize based on that information.

6. Review design trends

Be sure to join design communities and explore ongoing trends that can facilitate. You can find relevant forums on Facebook, LinkedIn, and similar public and private online platforms. It is not enough to join such a platform, as you have to participate to get more out of it.

Also, you can engage with other professionals and learn new techniques that are critical to your career growth.

7. Set your pricing right

Pricing is a critical determinant of getting and handling recurring gigs. Undercharging leaves you burned out, and overpricing keeps many clients away.

So, it is important to set the right price for your services. Remember, you are not only charging for the actual design, and every other resource that product.

Furthermore, you can set your billing to hourly rates or project-based payments.

8. Create a plan for follow-ups

There are often opportunities to work with clients again after their first projects. Hence, it is important to maintain communication through persistent follow-ups.

Now, this is where it gets tricky; you don’t want to sound pushy. Keep the message short, but interesting, and create a schedule for this move.

9. Take client feedback seriously

Client feedback contains so much information and ideas to better sharpen your services. It is important to note your customer’s comments after each project and identify where to improve or market your skills more effectively.

Also, such feedback helps you identify satisfied clients, ensuring you continue to meet their needs and expectations each time they return.

10. Stay patient

While this may seem like one of the toughest things to do, it actually works. Rather than feeling pressured to find new clients, it is important to set things right.

Reflect on what you hope to achieve as an independent designer, find your target audience, and work with a clearer vision. Once you are able to do that, you can easily say “No” to the wrong gigs and attract your dream clients.

Conclusion

Freelance logo designers are highly sought for their expertise. However, it is important that you follow certain rules to ensure you get more work as a freelance logo designer.

Notably, you must understand each client’s design needs and incorporate the brand’s message into the logo design process.

Try having have multiple concepts and make scalable logos for each business owner.