As I do more and more freelance work lately, I find that I need to present the most professional front possible. For years, I have only done freelance for a select few businesses that I had worked with in the past. Lately, though, word of mouth has been picking up speed and I am finding new clients weekly. Many of them are referred by friends and in all actuality; they cannot afford my design packages.

I can’t complain. I still have enough work, and I am absolutely sympathetic to tight budgets lately.

Since I never have bothered to design a visual representation of my business (ironic, since most of what I do is designing identities for businesses), I decided to steer some of my customers who cannot afford my services to a lower cost option for logo design and business cards. In fact, to lead the way, I decided to use LogoYes myself. LogoYes is an online logo design program. It’s quick, simple, and slick.

And, the price is right: $69 for a logo, or $99 for a logo and matching business cards.

Let’s take a closer look at just how simple the process is:
1. Choose your image (what I like to call “vibe”). Pick either high-tech, bold, or flair (I went with flair).

2. Choose your industry. There are over 30 general categories.

3. Choose your symbol. This is the center of your design and should closely represent your business.

4. Type in your business name and a tag line. You also choose your fonts at this point.

5. Next is the layout process. You choose colors, positioning, sizing, and final look. Have fun with it.

6. Once you are done with your logo, you can see what it would look like on a variety of business card layouts. Take a look at mine: