Every business needs a logo, so I was intrigued when I heard about DesignEvo. In the process of putting together this DesignEvo review, I used the solution to create a logo for a new business venture of my own. As such, I was able to put the software through its paces in a “real life” situation.
I always feel like product reviews are better when you can do this, as it beats just “playing” with some software.
What is DesignEvo?
DesignEvo is an online logo design solution for businesses of all kinds. It gives you the ability to create logos based on a wide range of existing templates, or to use a set of tools to create them from scratch.
It’s possible to use DesignEvo completely free. However, there are (understandably) certain restrictions on the logos you can download without paying anything. In order to download high-resolution versions of the logo(s) you create, along with the font(s) used in their creation, you have to pay a small fee.
Thankfully the fee really IS small, and shouldn’t feel beyond the reach of even the smallest start-up business.
Find DesignEvo here
DesignEvo Pricing
With the above in mind, let’s begin our DesignEvo review by looking at the pricing.
You don’t need to hand over any money to try DesignEvo. In fact, you can use every feature and confirm you can make a logo you’re completely happy with before handing over any money.
If you can make do with a low resolution logo, you can go ahead and use it for free, so long as you’re happy to credit DesignEvo for the creation of it. This means promoting the company on your social media / website.
Next is the “Basic” option, which costs just $24.99 at the time of writing. This gives you high quality, print-ready downloads of your logo, an (often very useful) transparent version of it, and the ability to go back to edit and tweak the logo.
Then, at $49.99, you get a vector version of the logo to give you additional scaling options (great if you need the logo for a sign or billboard), a download of the font files used in the logo, and “copyright ownership.” I wasn’t entirely sure what this entailed, so I checked with the company and found that it allows you to register your logo as a trademark.
How much logo design should cost is obviously very subjective. However, 25-50 bucks is not much to spend on it, by any stretch of the imagination.
DesignEvo Voucher Code
To make the price even more friendly, the folks at DesignEvo have kindly given me a voucher code to share. If you click through from here and use the code “HOMEWORKINGCLUB” you can save 30% off the normal prices.
DesignEvo Review: My Experience
I’ve had to get numerous logo designs done over the years for various business ventures.
Sometimes I’ve paid designers to do them, other times I’ve done them myself. In fact, here’s a little confession: I designed the logo for HomeWorkingClub using nothing more than Microsoft Word! I did it by playing with fonts and colours.
However, I wanted something a bit more fancy for my next project, so DesignEvo seemed well worth a try.
DesignEvo runs in a web browser, but is none the worse for it. Not that long ago, browser-based apps could seem flawed and clunky, but that’s not the case now. DesignEvo is perfectly slick in operation and doesn’t make you wish you were using a desktop app.
The logo making process begins with you being shown loads of templates in various categories, such as “Abstract,” “Food and Drink” and “Technology and Communication.”
There’s nothing to stop you choosing one of these logos and adapting it for your purposes. The good news here is that the logos – in the main – are quite classy, and don’t just look like cheesy clipart. I’ve seen plenty of cheesy clipart when creating logos in the past – not just in logo maker software but in some of the designs so-called “professionals” have sent me!
I opted to make a “Start from Scratch” logo. This was for two reasons: First off, I had a fairly clear vision for the kind of logo I wanted. Secondly, I wanted to produce a thorough DesignEvo review, and not just use a template.
The DesignEvo Interface
Whoever designed the user experience for DesignEvo deserves a pat on the back. Despite there being a fair bit of functionality here, the interface is really simple and in no way intimidating.
This makes a real difference. In the past, the thing that’s often made me give up on working on my own logos has been the complexity of apps like Illustrator and Photoshop. It’s simply not worth learning such complicated software for a task you only perform very occasionally.
DesignEvo starts you off with a 500×500 pixel canvas for a square logo, but you can swap this for whatever you need.
You then build up your logo with a combination of icons, text, shapes and backgrounds.
It sounds simple – and it is – but I didn’t find I was lacking anything I needed to achieve my aim of creating a professional-looking logo. For example, I’d already chosen a colour scheme for my new website, and was able to ensure the elements of my logo matched by dropping in the hex colours.
There are some nice little touches, such as an option that allows you to line up all of the elements you’ve chosen in different ways, which I found helped me with inspiration.
It’s not all completely perfect. One thing I wasn’t altogether happy with was the object selection, as I kept selecting the wrong thing to move, resulted in me dragging the wrong element to a new place. However, thankfully there is a multi-step “undo” function that made this a non-issue. Similarly, I would have liked the ability to save different versions of the logo as I went along, but couldn’t find a way to do this.
These are, however, minor criticisms. The main thing for me was that I created a logo I loved in no more than about fifteen minutes.
To be frank, this turned out to be a better use of my time that hiring a logo designer.
Admittedly, I’ve had logos designed for very little money by finding freelancers on Upwork, but I would spend FAR longer than fifteen minutes explaining my requirements and going back and forth with revisions.
Downloading your Finished Logo
Once you’re happy with your logo, you select the “Download” option. This is where you decide whether to opt for a free logo or pay for a high quality download.
Given you can download a high quality version for just under $25, it seems (to me) mad to settle for a low quality one. If your new business doesn’t seem worth an investment of that size then you probably have more to worry about than the logo! That said, it’s good that there is a free option for those really trying to keep their startup costs to a minimum.
If you do buy your logo, it downloads as a nice, organised ZIP file containing the image files, fonts and vectors, depending on what package you chose.
DesignEvo Review: Conclusion
When I first published this review of DesignEvo, I wasn’t ready to share the logo I created, because I hadn’t launched my new site. I have now, so here it is!
I’m very happy with the results, and DesignEvo will definitely be my first port of call next time I need to design a logo. As the system is so easy to use, I actually prefer the process to working with a designer.
As I said earlier in the review, it’s hard to put a value on logo design. At the top end you have blue-chip companies paying branding agencies hundreds of thousands; At the low end, you have me designing a website logo in Microsoft Word! Given that you can design your logo in DesignEvo for free, and pay less than 25 bucks to use it commercially, it seems like a bit of a no-brainer. Highly recommended.
Pros and Cons of DesignEvo
Pros
- Really easy to learn
- Templates are decent quality
- Costs range from free to inexpensive
- System is slick
Cons
- Design pros will probably wish for more high-end features
- Object selection feels a little inaccurate
Find DesignEvo here.
You can save 30% with the voucher code: HOMEWORKINGCLUB.
Founder of HomeWorkingClub.com – Ben has worked freelance for nearly 20 years. As well as being a freelance writer and blogger, he is also a technical consultant with Microsoft and Apple certifications. He loves supporting new home workers but is prone to outbursts of bluntness and realism.
