FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Logo Design Service
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

How do I get started?

Easy. Just email us and tell us what logo design service you would like to order! Send us your name/company name/address/telephone/email and a little about your company and any ideas you have or specific colors you would like used in your logo. We will email you an invoice for logo design service and once we receive payment (via check or money order) you will get a email from us saying we are getting started on your logo design.

How long does it take?

After we have received payment, you should see some design samples/proposed logos within 5 business days. Usually faster, depending on how busy the week is, but no more than 5 business days for the first design ideas. For a completely finished logo, expect it to take anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks. It all depends on how often you can read and respond to your emails to see our proposed logos and make any revisions you request. Some logos are completely done within just a few days. So it does vary. But no more than 2 to 3 weeks if you have access to email every few days. If you only access your email once a week, then this process could take longer.

What are Proposed Logos and Revisions?

Proposed Logos are the logo ideas for your company that we have generated and submitted to you for approval. They are logo options for you to choose what design direction to go in. Revisions are once you have selected a Proposed Logo but would like to change the color/size/typestyle or other minor changes to a Proposed Logo. Revisions are not a total re-design. We include a certain amount of Proposed Logos and Revisions depending on the logo design service package you have chosen. Additional revisions over the included amount may be subject to additional fees.

What if I do not like any of the logo designs?

We work hard to design a logo to your liking. If you are not happy with our designs, please discuss this with us. If you choose to not go with any of our designs, we will total up the hours spent on designing the logo and bill it at our standard $30 per hour rate. We will subtract this total hourly rate from your prepaid total and refund you the difference. You would not be billed more than the total prepaid price. Keep in mind that you are hiring us as artists to design your logo, not buying an actual product that is returnable/re-sellable such as goods in stores.

Do you accept credit cards/debit cards?

Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express Payments Accepted! We accept checks or money orders also.

How do I view the proposed logo designs?

We will email you a link to a web site where you can view them and then you email us with your decisions.

How will I get my final logo design?

Once the design process is complete, we will email you each file in a separate email with a description of the file and its possible uses. If you would like to download the files, we can provide you with links to download them off of a web site for up to 7 days.

What are the various kinds of logos companies have designed?

There are a few different styles of logos. Some companies choose to have logos that are more symbol/icon/graphical style, where there is a combination of shapes/artwork and lettering. Another style is a lettering based logo, which is just lettering/wording arranged a certain way. Illustration and Cartooning is another form of logos, where the logo is drawn by hand and then reproduced and colored on the computer. We recommend you take a look online at various logos to see what is being used and see which style of logo you think would fit your business best.

Do you keep a copy of my logo design? What if I accidentally lose my logo files?

Yes. We save a copy of your logo design on our hard drives and back them up on CD-ROM. If you lose your logo file you may request a copy of the logo files or order a CD-ROM for $10 plus shipping/handling.

How do I protect my company name or slogan?

We recommend you contact an attorney or research online about trademarks. We are not responsible for your company's name or for changing your logo free of charge due to a name dispute. You need to research your business name ahead of time.

Related Links:
http://www.uspto.gov/
http://www.trademark-search.com/
http://www.marksonline.com/
http://www.trademark.com/

What are the file formats you provide the logo in? What do they mean? What are they used for?

EPS Format: This is a vector based artwork file. This file is used by your printing company and contains the logo, font and color information. Created in Adobe Illustrator.

AI Format: This is an Adobe Illustrator vector artwork file. This is the master artwork file we created all the various logo files from. This file may be view or edited in PC (Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand, Corel Draw) or MAC (Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Freehand) computers. Fonts are converted to shapes/outlines so no font files need to be included with this file.
You may also give this file to the printing company you use.

GIF Format: This is a common web image format. May be used on the web or email.

JPG Format: This is also a common web image format, a small compressed file. High Resolution JPG's may be placed in to popular software and printed on your home inkjet printer.

BMP Format: This file we save at 300dpi RGB Color for use in common programs such as MS Word to create letterheads/brochures/business cards on your home inkjet printer right away.

What are Vector and Bitmap/Raster images?

Vector images are generally created in programs like Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia FreeHand or Corel Draw. This image format is perfect for logos and graphics because they can be resized/scaled without loss of quality/clarity, they have unlimited resolution because the image is drawn mathematically rather than pixels like bitmap or raster images. Most logos master artwork files are vector-based files. Vector files are generally small in file size, have unlimited resolution, can be printed in 3 SPOT colors for offset printing and can be printed in full color (CMYK, 4 color printing process).

Bitmap/Raster images are pixel-based images that are created in a photo program such as Adobe Photoshop, PhotoDeluxe, PhotoPaint, PaintShop Picture Publisher, etc. There are different uses of Raster images. Low Resolution raster/bitmap images are generally used for web sites and are RGB color. Low Resolution images are not used for printing, they usually are web file formats such as GIF or JPG. High Resolution raster based images must be at least 300dpi CMYK and are printed in a 4 color printing process that is more expensive. Raster images generally lose quality when resized the edges of the image become all rough/pixelated.

For printing, always provide your print with an EPS or AI file to ensure the best results.

For web sites, always use low-resolution GIF or JPG files.

What are all these image/printing terms? RGB? CMYK? SPOT Color? Resolution?

RGB Color: Colors displayed based on Red/Green/Blue. Your monitor displays colors in RGB. Web files need to be RGB color.

CMYK Color: Colors formed from inks Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black. Printers Inks. CMYK colors tend to appear somewhat different from screen to paper process. This 4 color printing process can be expensive.

SPOT Color: 1, 2, 3 color inks. Pantone Color System Inks. Used in Offset Printing where 1 plate is made for each color, which is not as expensive as full 4 color printing process.

Resolution: The amount of DPI (Dots-Per-Inch) in an image.

Low Resolution: 72DPI. Web images are low-resolution images saved in 72DPI. Monitors display 72DPI, so therefore do not use more than that for web images or file size increases.

High Resolution: 300DPI. Used for printing in CMYK/Full color printing or home desktop publishing at a high quality.

For more information, please email graphicdesign@northernlc.com