Designing Your Own Logo? 4 Reasons That Is A Terrible Idea

You're a business owner. And it may seem like a waste of money to hire someone to design your logo for you. After all, you have MS Paint. You have Photoshop, or something along those lines. Plus there are tons of free logo design templates, logo design ideas and logo design apps available. Why shouldn't you DIY your logo and save the money for something else?

Here's the straight answer: designing your own logo when you're not a professional designer is a terrible idea. And here's exactly why.

Your business logo isn't just a picture. It's almost always the first thing someone sees when interacting with your business. Making a good first impression could be the difference between landing a new customer or losing them to your competitor.

I'm not doubting that you're quite artistic and have a creative side. Most people have a good eye for visuals. However, creating a logo takes much more than just knowledge of art and decent creative instincts.

<AcademyQuote>A logo without strategy is just decoration. Professional design transforms your brand's story into visual language that speaks directly to your target market.</AcademyQuote>

1. Good design is a result of educated choices#

Your logo design hinges entirely on your industry, company message and core audience. It has nothing—contrary to popular belief—to do with personal preference.

Without a cohesive brand narrative, prospects may be left feeling confused about your brand and what you do. More importantly, what you can do for them. A simple decision like colour choice could make or break your brand's impact.

Do you like the colour blue? That's great, but if you're in the food industry, blue won't help you. Red is much better at triggering hunger in your audience.

Are you a cutting-edge tech company? Or a time-tested family-run business? Fun or serious? Informal or formal? Modern or vintage? Creative or regulation-oriented? These questions influence your design choices dramatically.

In colour theory, orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. Blue represents tranquility and calmness. Quite different, right?

Any designer worth their salt understands colour theory and how it impacts sales and marketing efforts. Designers can tell you which colours best match your business. They'll also give you feedback on how the colour will look in print and online.

More facts about colour theory and marketing:#

→ Between 62% and 90% of assessments are influenced by colour alone. Aesthetics play a huge role in marketing. Consumers gravitate toward features that radiate positivity and seem beneficial to them.

→ 80% of consumers believe that colour enhances brand recognition.

→ Colour can improve learning by 68%, understanding by 73%, and reading by 40%. Colour works as a tool for remembering concepts and organization.

→ 84% of consumers say colour is the main reason that influences their buying decisions.

2. Your logo design needs to be versatile across platforms#

When it comes to DIY logos, people often forget how crucial versatility is. You might start by only using your logo on your website. But what happens when you want it on business cards or signage?

The logo format on a <a href="https://www.printulu.co.za/product/business-cards" class="internal-link text-[#007756] hover:text-[#005d42] underline font-medium">business card</a> differs completely from a logo on a Facebook cover photo. Each platform has different requirements for sizes and formats.

What about colour translation between your screen and print? Your logo always needs a black and white alternative that's just as effective. Think about printing on pens or diaries where you can typically only print in one colour.

<AcademyProTip>Always request your logo files in multiple formats: vector files (AI, EPS) for scaling, PNG for web with transparent backgrounds, and high-resolution JPEGs for print. This saves you headaches later.</AcademyProTip>

Professional designers understand how crucial it is to create a versatile logo that works anywhere.

More often than not, cheap DIY logos aren't <a href="/blog/clusters/eco-printing" class="internal-link text-[#007756] hover:text-[#005d42] underline font-medium">sustainable</a> for future use. They create more hassles down the line. Most free logo design apps only let you download your final logo in JPG format. If you're lucky, maybe PDF format. Unfortunately, these files are always flattened and uneditable outside of the original app or program.

Need to remove the white background behind the logo? Sorry—you'll need to pay a designer to fix that. Or take an expensive graphic design course to learn how to do it yourself.

3. There's no room for personal preference in good logo design#

It's easy to become attached to a concept or idea. After all, it's your business, and you're emotionally invested. However, many ideas that work in theory don't work in real life.

You may love an image, font or colour scheme. But if it doesn't clearly convey your brand—and if it doesn't appeal to consumers—it's poorly conceived.

Designers don't become personally attached, so they see more clearly. They'll create something that appeals to the masses, rather than just to you.

More facts about amateur vs professional designs:#

→ Amateurs use templates while professional designers have creative freedom. There are more creative options with little to no restrictions.

→ Amateurs have a low success rate of only 2%.

4. Logo design apps don't cut it#

There are many different software types to play around with if you design your own logo. The most well-known is the Adobe Creative Suite. A simple Google search will show you tons of free logo maker apps online. But at the end of the day, an amateur's work can't match a designer with professional training.

<AcademyDadJoke>Why don't DIY logos ever work out? Because they always pixelate under pressure!</AcademyDadJoke>

More facts about graphic design software:#

→ Access to professional software like Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign is hard to obtain and use. These tools are difficult to work with. No amount of tutorials will match the work of a professional graphic designer in Adobe Illustrator.

→ 74% of websites are created by professionals and only 3% are from amateurs who use the DIY method. Leads heavily rely on interactive landing pages. Designers consider the user experience aspect of projects and make your site engaging. It's hard to imitate the work and strategy of professionals who've trained for years.

The bottom line#

Everybody wants to save money. However, DIYing your logo creation probably isn't the best way to save a buck. It's just too important to your brand.

P.S. Did you know that Printulu offers logo design services for only R750 per logo (excluding VAT)? This price includes 3 drafts and a final, versatile vector format file.