Freelance Graphic Design from Edmonton, Alberta
When I get a brochure gig, it’s an exciting technical and narrative challenge. Gatefold brochures are especially great for telling a story, which is what I proposed for the University of Alberta’s Injury Prevention Centre. Their team excels at creating strong, clear messages and it was fun to make them visual.
Pocket logos! I worked with Curitus.org to create some typographical logo designs for The Joyful Project t-shirt company. The idea was to make a compact little design for the shirt pocket area, featuring their name and tagline. The Joyful Project then put the logos to a vote on their social media — this yellow design was the winner!
For Edmonton’s Lindy Harvest dance workshop we made these one-colour drawstring bag designs. They’re perfect for dancers to tote their shoes around!
In this ad for Beaumont Credit Union, we opted for some hand-drawn doodles to create a youthful look. BCU was looking to advertise its no-fee student bank account, which is meant to help young people get started on their financial future. As they look out at the hand drawn landscape, each hiker sees a different “adventure” — post-secondary, moving out, buying a car, travel, etc. We felt that illustration helped convey the idea of dreaming about the future. It was a very collaborative process and I love how it turned out!
What’s in my big purse? Now you know!
Starfox! This is the design for Lindy Harvest, a dance workshop hosted by Sugar Swing. The playful fox constellation is another take on the event’s old country almanac theme.
A recent logo design for Masani, who specializes in African dance forms. Her classes are truly one of a kind in Edmonton, sometimes even featuring live drummers! We wanted a design that represented dance but could also work with other aspects of her business — which includes dance as therapy for kids and adults. The goal with this design was to create a feeling of movement and flow (and I snuck the letter “M” in there too). The feet are different sizes to suggest two different people standing side by side; as a consultant and teacher, Masani takes her clients on a journey. Find her teaching @sugarswing or on Facebook @masaniconsultingservices.
Excited for Productions Loft’s release of How to be French en Alberta: North! It’s a French language series of documentary shorts exploring the rich cultural history and unique lifestyle of Franco Albertans. I got to help out behind the scenes with the logo design plus some promotional graphics. For this series, co-producers and directors Steve Jodoin and Marie-France Guerrette wanted a modern, minimalist, but colourful look to convey the diverse stories being showcased. Visit www.howtobefrench.ca to watch.
Fresh off the press! Devon’s new Visitor Guide is in the bag, and it was a real big job. My editor Pat wrote all the content, and I did design and layout for the whole book. This tourism guide showcases hidden gems and attractions in and around town. They let me do a fun illustration overlaying the cover image, plus experiment with some unconventional layouts! But we know it’s the happy doggos that really sell this piece.
People looking to get a logo designed will make this frustrating discovery: they can get a logo for $5, $500, $10,000, or anything in between. If you’re trying to launch a new business or brand, this is maddening. What’s a fair price? Why the crazy price range?
I’ll break down what’s happening at each pricing tier. But in short:
1) At the higher end, you’re getting extra services bundled in. 2) At the lower end, the price range is because graphic design is hard to succeed in, but very easy to dabble in. This creates a huge pool of artists to choose from, which means a wide spectrum of skill levels. And a very competitive industry!
~$5-$30 — I mean, how motivated would you be if you were earning a few dollars an hour? At best you get a logo with no effort put in. But you’re more likely to get someone else’s logo in a different colour. Plagiarism is rampant, and the digital files provided are barely usable.
~$50-$100 — You’re likely working with a hobbyist or amateur with no commercial experience. Not necessarily a bad thing! It might work out, but it’s a big gamble. They probably won’t have the background that would help them do the job efficiently or strategically.
~$500-$1000 — Expect to pay somewhere in this price range for a good logo. An important thing that’s happening here is research: the designer takes time to learn about your company, vision, and preferences. On the high end of this range you might be getting multiple concepts to pick from, or a tagline included, or some other extra. Also, at this price range, you’re working with someone who has real world experience with both design and customer service; you’re making a safe bet and the designer will deliver exactly what you want.
~$1000-5000 — You’re getting a more robust branding package, plus some other services. So in addition to a bunch of logo concepts, you’ll probably get a mood board that captures the aesthetic of your brand beyond the logo (colour schemes, fonts, and photos supporting the feeling of the brand, like this), mockups of the logo in action (photoshopped onto t-shirts, billboards, etc.), and a branding style guide. On the high end you’ll probably get additional marketing materials like business cards, a simple template website, or a brochure. Freelancers are perfect for this and the previous tier, as they have the flexibility to scale to your specific budget and needs.
~$10,000, $50,000 and beyond — With high end logo design you’re getting an entire team of marketers and designers working on your brand and your marketing in general. The research is extremely thorough, often involving focus groups and engagement with the client’s staff. Beyond a logo and visuals, the team might be coming up with the company name, designing products, creating an advertising campaign, making a communication plan, and generally figuring out your marketing strategy for the forseeable future. The pricing goes “and beyond” because the team and scope of work can be any size — such that big brands like Coke and Apple have projects costing millions.
Your logo is the face of your business. Even if you don’t need all the frills, it’s worth spending more to get it right!