Should freelance designers have their own logo, despite not being a multi-person firm? The simple answer is absolutely. It’s not being arrogant, but it is savvy.   Understanding why designers need a personal logo is also a fairly simple process—it’s the first evidence of your abilities that a prospective customer will encounter—but knowing more of the factors that govern “why” will you able to tailor your design to a specific end? What follows is a more detailed explanation for why a signature graphic is crucial for the freelance designer. Think of it as guidelines for your design mentality.

Primary Source Advertising

To explain this facet of the logo discussion, we need a couple of analogies: one to define what “primary source advertising” actually means, and another to illustrate it.

When college students write research papers on say, Animal Farm, they’re encouraged to draw most of their points from the text itself, which is known as a primary source. With primary sources, the original work acts as reflexive evidence of the point you’re trying to prove—the document is simultaneously under scrutiny and the main source of argumentative support.

The logo of a freelance designer is a form of primary source advertising because it serves this dual function as well. When potential clients see your logo on a business card, tucked in the corner of another project, or in your profile picture on Twitter, they are introduced to your skill set at the same time that they’re introduced to you.

Accordingly, when your advertisement and your trade overlap, the result is primary source advertising—the most efficient form of marketing.  Unlike typical advertisements, which are deliberate and typically done by an outside party, a personal emblem or symbol is a more subtle and effective way to demonstrate your skills.

A real world example of this comes from the local bakery. Pastries and croissants, the products of baking, are placed in street side windows to act as examples of the delicacies within. The aroma of fresh bread, another by-product of the profession, lures passersby into the shop. The look and smell of a bakery tease what the shop contains. For the baker, as with the designer, the product and the advertisement are one. So, when you’re advertising yourself, start with the logo.

Brand Recognition and Credibility

Apple corporation’s half-eaten McIntosh is a prime example of a logo’s power to insinuate itself into the public’s subconscious. When every computer in every TV show, movie, and music video has a glowing apple on the back, people remember all of those glimpses, which legitimizes Apple as a company and increases its revenue. The more people see the same logo, the more they associate that logo with stability, consistency, and success. This is because humans subconsciously try to justify anomalous occurrences. We think, “Product X must be good or else it wouldn’t be popular enough to show up everywhere.” The same goes for a designer’s logo. Since fewer characters go into a logo design than a name, it’s easier for people to instantly recognize a graphic than the designer’s nom de naissance. Creating a logo to attach to your business cards and designs will make you more recognizable as a designer. Failing to do so puts a muzzle on your marketability.

First Impression is Everything

Why do we wear suits for interviews when the job itself only requires jeans and polo? The “duh” response is: to make a good first impression. Its cliché, but dressing up works for interviews, in-laws, and anything else in which you care about what the other party thinks.

Creating your own logo pre-empts face-to-face pandering with visual charm. Without your own symbol, you must seek out your clients or pray for referrals. With a well-made design, you entice prospective clients to come to you. Not having a logo makes you an unknown quantity until you crack open the portfolio—investors don’t like unknowns. A logo replaces cold calls with a small taste of what your portfolio is sure to hold.

Once you’ve landed a consultation with a potential customer, the logo can pull double duty as a talking point with your buyer. Obviously you don’t want to spend all your time ignoring your body of work to talk about logos, but if a client was impressed by what they saw on your business card, use that as an opportunity to explain why you created the logo you use. As long as your logo represents who you are, this explanation will help convince clients that you are thoughtful and intelligent in addition to being creative.

That was the long answer to a short question, so hopefully you’re sold. If not, create two business cards, one without your logo and one with it, and lay them down next to each other. Assuming the design is good, ask yourself which looks more professional, and who you’d commission to do your next project. Your choice (unless your logo incorporates SpongeBob) explains why they say “a picture is worth a thousand words.”
About the Author:

Greg Buckskin is a writer and web marketer at CableTV.com.