Outsourcing design to get a decent logo

A couple weeks ago when I was searching for a decent logo I had all but decided to go with something churned out by an automated logo creator. After thinking about it though (and after reading a few of your comments) I decided that a logo was too important to brush off — I knew I was going to have to live with it for quite a while.

So last week I decided to have a graphic designer create a logo for me. I didn’t do a huge search to find someone, but I had come across Gary Simon while reading about logo creation and I thought it looked like he did pretty good work. So I decided to give him a shot.

Gary has quite a system set up to receive requests, and upon ordering my logo I was asked a series of questions about what I wanted. Here’s what I gave him to work with:

Any type of symbol or icon to appear in the logo?

Some symbol that communicates the idea of the software “bringing it all together” for climbing gym managers. My software enables gym managers to centralize and streamline their indoor climbing operations.

As far as the symbol shape, I picture something circular or roundish (to go with the “point” part of the name)…two words to describe the symbol I’m looking for might be simple yet distinctive. I don’t want a climbing man on the logo, and I can’t think of another climbing symbol that would be appropriate to use offhand.

What style are you after?

As far as style goes, I want something simple and professional. It should communicate the usability of the software. The other words that I use to describe my software are complete, intuitive, streamlined, and idiot-proof if that helps. I’m not necessarily looking for a “Web 2.0″ logo — the software will be sold online, but will be used as a desktop application. I want something that will look good on a business card as well.

For this question, I also gave Gary a few examples of logos that were similar to what I was looking for. I then gave him a two sentence description of ClimbPoint and summarized it as the “hub” of an indoor climbing gym — something that gives climbing gym managers peace of mind. Finally, I mentioned that I pictured a lighter shade of blue for the color (not sure why) and gave him a few quotes from my beta tester feedback.

I wasn’t sure what to expect based on my description, and I was a little nervous about what the result would be. I kept telling myself that he was a pro, and reminded myself that I liked most of the logos in his portfolio. In the end, I was pretty happy with what I got:

I think it definitely conveys the ideas of streamlined and usable, and the point sort of signifies the software “bringing it all together” for gym managers. It also looks professional, a trait that none of my other logos to this point have possessed.

So, I’m really happy that I chose to outsource the design of my logo. Even though I wasn’t totally satisfied with the customer service I received (it seemed like he had quite a backlog of work), the result was outstanding.