Barry,
My best advice would be to find a professional graphic designer in YOUR area. Meet the designer, discuss things like:
1) where you plan to use it (i.e. just on business cards or also on your own vehicle as advertisement, etc)
2) Know how much you are willing to “invest”. I say invest instead of “spend” as building up your company’s image is really an investment that will pay off. As with any other things, you often get what you pay for. A well designed logo will reflect the quality of your work and may give you an edge over the competition...It also inspires confidence. And “detailing” is all about quality and being meticulous with LOTS of attention to detail, right? On the other hand, a poorly designed logo will also speak about your company...but perhaps not so much in a good way.
3) Ask to see the designer’s portfolio. See past work. Do you like what you see? Is it along the style you are looking for?
4) Know the competition. How is their logo? What colors do they use? How can you make your own logo stand out from the lot? How can you be different?
5) There are also a few rules of thumb to good logo design: Keep it simple, avoid overburdening it with lots of fine detail, don’t make it an illustration...keep it stylized, avoid adding photos in the logo, make sure it stands out even when small on a business card, make it communicate quickly what you do, etc
6) You should also ask the designer to generate three different creative directions or ideas so you can choose which one works for you.
I could go on...but I think I’ve gone over my word count limit
Best of luck!
