I know how hard naming can be. It took me 5 whole days after my son was born to name him, and I didn’t even give him any of the names I spent months writing down and thinking of. Naming is important to all of us. We want that perfect name right off the bat. Unfortunately it’s not that easy. For a proper name these days, it takes more than luck to get the perfect one. Let’s examine one of my favorite brands.

There are companies out there that have catchy names, but few of us ponder why it is what it is. Take for instance Nike. Everyone knows who they are, and we can recognize their logo easy, but what about the name? Did you know that in 1968 Nike was actually incorporated as Blue Ribbon Sports? It was only in 1978 that they became Nike. Think about that name “Blue Ribbon Sports.” It’s like saying that everyone who wears their product are blue ribbon winners. It’s very straight forward, and you don’t need to think too much about it, but the name isn’t very catchy.

Now let’s look at the name Nike. Nike is a short 2 syllable word so it’s really easy to remember. Do you know the meaning behind the word? There’s no better place to look for athletics than Greece, where the Olympics was born. It’s a mystery how the Olympics all began, but legend has it that it was all started by Heracles and Zeus. We all know that the Olympics is a battle of strength, courage, wits, and determination, and who better to aid in your battles than Nike, the goddess of strength, speed and victory.

It all starts with Pallas, who was a titan associated with war, and Styx who was the goddess of the underworld river styx who personified the spirit of hatred. Now you put war and hatred together and they have 4 children, Zelus (Rivalry), Nike (Victory), Cratos (Strength) and Bia (Force). Nike was the goddess of strength, speed and victory. She awarded gods and goddesses around the battlefield with glory and fame. So wearing a Nike product is like being awarded with just that. Knowing this background story makes me want to buy Nike products even more, and I’m sure they want people to know the meaning of it.

Going back to the original name “Blue Ribbon Sports,” Nike never diverted from the original goal of their name. Everyone is a winner with Nike. Wearing the product itself makes you a winner. So if you ever wondered “what’s in a name,” there you have it. This is one of my favorite brand names for this exact reason. It means something. It’s not just a random name chosen out of a hat. They could have picked from several Greek gods or goddesses also. They went with Nike because she was what best represented their product.

Believe it or not, this is how Nike got their name. It was a way more complicated process than what I explained here though. It’s easy to figure out once you know the answer. Sort of like how you know a clever, cool logo design when you see it, but coming up with that design is a tough process.

So naming is pretty tough and it takes a bit of work, but hey, that’s one big part of branding. If you find a method that works for you, stick with it. Don’t be afraid to try something new, and go for the gold.

Here are some helpful tidbits on naming

http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/startupbasics/namingyourbusiness/article21774.html
Identity Works: http://identityworks.com/tools/naming.htm

Logo Design Love is broken down into 3 parts, “The Importance of brand identity,” “The process of design,” and “Keep the fires burning,” totaling 11 chapters.

When you start reading the chapter: “The Importance of brand identity,” you start to realize that logos and brands are everywhere. Of course we all know they that, but David does a test to see just how many logos he finds when he wakes up in the morning. It’s really incredible how dominate brands are in everyday life. You’ll also be brought up to speed on what a logos purpose is.

Part 2, “The process of design,” will take you step by step through all of important steps in the design process. Some of us are quick to forget all the steps, or we just forget to take our time. This part will help you understand how to gather ideas and put them on paper, sort of like chapter 4 says, “laying the groundwork.” The most important thing you’ll want to read on is getting the brief right. There are several starter ideas here for you to build on, and David almost makes it too easy for us.

Pricing is also another important chapter (chapter 6) that most of us freelancers struggle with. Although a definite payment plan isn’t easy to come to, David will explain some trials and errors he went through to help you come to a plan of attack. It’s a very touch and go situation. If you charge too little, a client will think you’re cheap, too much and a client won’t come to you. It’s all in the book.

You can download chapter 7: From pencil to PDF for free here: http://www.logodesignlove.com/free-logo-design-love-book-chapter

Finally we close with “Keep the fires burning.” Freelancers, especially ones who work alone, can benefit from this chapter the most. Struggling with ideas and inspiration can be frustrating. Some of the advice seems so obvious, but with all that goes on, and the stresses of finishing a project, it seems like maybe we forget some of the most basic helpers. You’ll also get to read about some of David’s client experiences, like working with a bad client, and he even offers advice on working with family.

Logo Design Love is full of helpful advice from David Airey, and I loved reading about his personal experiences with clients and his own situations with work. So pick up this book if you’re still in school, freelancing or just want a refresher. It’s fresh and it was a book full of logo design love.

You can buy the book at Amazon.com.

Whether you are just a casual designer, who likes to spend some of your spare time doodling on a PC, or are an avid enthusiast who only leaves the PC for ‘snacks’ and ‘toilet needs’, these people/places are a pretty cool way to go for those mental block moments which we ALL acquire occasionally.

Maybe the cloud in your design is perfect, but just not for that design. or you need to see another variation of a cloud, then without a shadow of doubt THESE sites, between them, will provide more than enough inspiration for you to finish the job perfectly.

EVERY designer these days, if they have a good internet connection, can NOT say that they have not ‘had a peep’ over at a different web site for that little piece of inspiration that is needed.
The possibilities can seem endless once you do start to spend time browsing around what is actually an immense digital library!

As a creative designer myself, I think that without such sites, and all of the tools that are freely available out there, that logo designing – in fact ANY type of graphical designing – would be a lot less colorful, and nowhere near as popular as it is right now. Everywhere you look nowadays has some sort of logo or design which usually is instantly recognizable without even reading a word.

The word could be there, yes, but think about how many typography logos you recognize before actually reading what they say. For instance seeing the CocaCola brand name from a distance where it would not be possible to read the actual text. I would be willing to bet pound to penny that 99% of the worlds population would know what that ‘sign’ represents.

So, onto the sites which I think, can help your powers in logo design, and bring a whole new creative perspective on your work. No doubt, once you start browsing, these sites will enhance your skills and give you that ‘boost’ that you are looking for.

I hope you enjoy these sites half as much as I have, and that they point you in the direction that you need to be pointed.

5 – http://www.tutorialsphere.com/ Another place you MUST visit when you just cant get that little something right. My money says that you will find what you need here !

I took a few hours and put together a list of all of the internet based logo design companies catering to the low end of the market (small startups and websites) that I could think of.

92% of the design firms listed have design packages available for under $199, and most of them start at under $99, there are a few exceptions, such as LogoTree and LogoWorks, which I included because I felt that the quality of their work could possibly outweight the additional cost, depending on your budget.

The companies are not listed in any special order, just in the order I thought of them (which might make it a special order after all, hmmm)

I’m sure I missed more than a few companies, so if there are any that you think should be added (or you think YOUR company should be added) then please leave a comment letting me know.

Enjoy!

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Logoworks, the much loved, much hated Utah based logo design firm was founded in 2001 and purchased by HP in 2007.

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MyCustomLogo, a NY based design firm founded in 2005 is on the low end of the price scale with their design services starting at just $99.

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LogoLizard, yet another design company located in NY, delivers custom logo design with a quirky sense of humor. Their stripped down logo design package (1 design 2 revisions) is targeted at cash strapped home businesses and is priced at only $49.

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Langhorne, Pennsylvania based LogoDesignGuru offers professional logo design solutions to small to mid sized businesses.

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Steve at LogoDog runs a very competent design firm. The prices are a little more expensive than the average internet firm but the quality of the samples on the site say that the extra costis probably worth it.

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TheLogoLoft claims to have over 24,000 customers, and they certainly spend enough on advertising to give merit to the claim, they have an extensive portfolio and average pricing.

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Montreal based LogoBee has quite a few impressive clients to their credit, their prices are competitive and their staff seems very nice, what’s not to love?

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LogoDesignTeam has a large portfolio, extensive website and their prices start at just $69 with a money back guarantee.

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BusinessLogos.com features an extremely professional website, and several cost effective logo design packages.

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CompanyLogos.com has a fairly bare site (compared to most) but they do have a nice portfolio and decent logo design packages, with the cheapest starting at $99.

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LogoCare is one of very few logo design companies to offer an “Unlimited Logo Design” package, which currently costs $269 and comes with Unlimited Concepts and Unlimited Revisions.

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The Logo Company has been around for a while, and not only are they very affordable but they have a forum with over 2400 positive testimonials posted by their customers.

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LogoMojo has been in business since 1992 and have had many distinguished clients, take a moment to check out their site!

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Steve Douglas at The Logo Factory runs an extremely professional company. The integrity of their work is apparent in the numerous examples posted in their portfolio and throughout their site.

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LogoJeez has a unique flash designed website, and is one other company that offers “Unlimited Logo Design”, their design package costs $545, they also have other design packages starting at $245.

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LogoDesignPros offers next-day logo design and their packages start at just $198. They have a large portfolio and a toll free customer service line.

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iLogoDesign, besides having a decent domain name, has a very nice portfolio and a discount logo design package for only $199.

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eLogoDesign, another company with a nice domain name, also has some stunning identity design work in their portfolio, affordable prices, and a free “Logo Design Quality Test” feature on their site.

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The Custom Mascot Design portfolio featured on LogoDesignWork’s site is one of my favorite portfolios out there (check out the wizard in the Spell Brand logo). They also have a great logo design portfolio and some nice prices.

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IQLogo recently redesigned their site, the new design takes a minimalistic approach when compared to most of the other sites listed here. They have a nice portfolio and their prices start at $149 for 5-6 initial design with free redraws.

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LogoOrange is a full service graphic design firm with a simple take on design and prices starting at $650.

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Biz-Logo.com has been around since 1997 and features both custom logo design and pre-designed logo options. Their prices start at $95 for predesigned and $299 for custom logo design.

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aLogoDesignCompany.com has a professional site and three logo design packages, with the cheapes starting at $99 for 3 concepts.

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LogoAngel has only one logo design package, but it’s priced at the attractive price of $99. They also do stationery and website design.

LogoChefs has five different logo design packages, with the cheapest starting at $99. They also feature a free logo sample book.

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LogoTree was founded in 1997 and provides logo design, brochure design and website design services. They have 5 logo design packages with the cheapest weighing in at $270.

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Even though 1800MyLogo.com’s phone number isn’t 1- 800-My -Logo (it’s 1-888-869-LOGO) they still seem to have a decent company. Their logo design services start at $299.

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MyCorporateLogo.com started with a “tell us how much you want to pay” business model, but scrapped it in favor of a $100 flat rate.

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I hadn’t been to MySiteLogo in a while and when I checked it out as I was doing this post I was pleasently surprised to see that they have integrated a seriously cool flash panel into the main page of their site. Their prices start at $89.

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Despite the fact that MyLogo.com uses an obviously stock photo of a van on their main page they do have some nice work on their site. Prices start at $99.

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BusinessLogo.net has a large portfolio and prices starting at $129.

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That’s all folks, if you have already done business with one of these companies and want to let the world know what kind of a job they did, have any suggestions for addition to the list, or just want to leave a comment, please do so below.