The process of Logo Design has grown rapidly in the last 10 years, which is mainly due to entrepreneurship. In today’s changing economy, entrepreneurs and small business owners are more common than ever and while the business owners are most likely great at their craft, they usually need artistic help to market their company effectively. This is where logo designers come in.
As we know, logo designers are professionals in both art and marketing, but how many of them actually reside and work in the U.S? I did a little digging and tried to find ways to tell if logo design companies are American based or located offshore. .
Better Business Bureau – The BBB is responsible for tracking the credibility and reliability of a company and is a great way to review the location or any complaints made about a company. Typically, offshore companies are not registered with the BBB. A quick search from your local BBB can give you some great insight.
Refunds – Hopefully a refund is something you won’t need, but if you do go down that road, it is more difficult to get refunds from offshore companies. From the differences in currency exchange rates to the lack of consumer protection laws, obtaining a refund can be a nightmare. This is a big disadvantage of working with them. You may be waiting a while to get your money back.
Western Influence and Quality – The concept of quality is subjective and different for all of us, however based on most opinions; American designers produce higher quality work than offshore, although with higher quality, there is also a higher price. Offshore designers also don’t seem to know as much about western culture, which limits their design capability. How can a designer recreate a popular trend of style if they don’t know anything about it? Some companies work around this. You may find that offshore companies have a U.S based support team, which helps bridge the communication gap.
Some companies will freely admit where they are located. They don’t feel that it hurts their business or their target market is in their own country, but others hide it a little better. Here are some ways to tell if a company is based overseas.
- Look for an office location. One big red flag is if an address or phone number is not present on the website. The company either doesn’t want you to know where they are, or they don’t have a physical office. If there is a phone number, check the area code. It’s easy to tell if it is a foreign number. It usually will have a 011 in front of it or be a number that is longer than 10 digits.
- Check the text on sites. Sometimes offshore companies will spell words in odd ways or choose words that are not common in our everyday vocabularies. (i.e. colour, labour or favourite)
- Take a look at the website quality. U.S designs usually have a more simple and sleek look on their sites as opposed to some offshore sites that a busier and have a lot more going on. Banner ads on the sides may also be an indicator. See what type of products they are advertising.
- Try to ask them. Some sites offer live chat support where you can chat with someone from the company and ask about their location. They may dance around the question or choose not to answer it, but you can get some good information from what they say. You may get your answer after all.
Some consumers feel very strongly about what they are buying and from whom they are buying from, but then there are others who just want quality work that they can afford no matter where the location. Whichever type of consumer you may be, it is always better to be aware of where your money is going. It’s a competitive market and there is always another option. The question then is, which should you opt for, an American logo design company with a higher price per logo or an off shore company with a lower price per logo?
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