Custom logo design, with

A good professional logo meets five criteria. It is memorable, legible at all sizes, adaptable across all media, timeless (not slave to trends), and consistent with the brand's positioning. The last criterion is often the most overlooked: a logo can be graphically appealing yet completely irrelevant to what the brand aims to project.

At Gemeos, we evaluate a logo based on its ability to perform in the most challenging contexts: 16x16 favicon, black and white print, dark background. If it holds up under these conditions, it will hold up anywhere.

The price varies enormously depending on the level of service. A logo generated by AI or ordered on a freelance platform can cost less than €100. A logo created by a specialized agency with a strategic approach costs between €1,500 and €10,000. The difference isn't about graphic complexity, it's about the upstream work: positioning brief, creative explorations, testing variations, final versions delivered in every format.

The real risk of a low-cost logo: having to redo everything 18 months later when the brand starts to scale. That often costs more than doing it right from the start.

Three things to check before signing: the portfolio, the process, and their understanding of your industry. The portfolio tells you what the agency can do graphically. The process tells you whether they'll work with you or just hand over files. And industry understanding is what makes the difference between a generic logo and a logo that truly positions you.

Be wary of agencies offering a logo in 48 hours without a strategic brief. A good logo can't be created without understanding who you're talking to and what you want to project.

It depends on your stage and your ambitions. A pre-made template (Canva, Looka, Tailor Brands) can be enough to test an idea or launch an MVP. As soon as you've validated your offer and want to build a lasting brand, custom design becomes essential.

A custom logo is an asset you own. A pre-made template is a license: other companies can use the same graphic base as you.

They are three levels of the same project, from the narrowest to the broadest.

The logo is a graphic element. The visual identity is the complete system around the logo: colors, typefaces, iconography, grid, usage rules. Branding encompasses all of that and adds the strategic dimension: positioning, values, tone of voice, brand experience.

Most startups order a logo when they actually need a visual identity. And many agencies deliver a visual identity without doing the branding work upstream. The result: a consistent graphic system that says nothing specific to the target audience.

Four signals tell you a redesign is needed: your market has evolved and your logo no longer reflects your current positioning, your visual identity looks dated next to your competitors, you've pivoted (target, offer, name), or you're preparing a fundraise or international expansion.

What not to do: rebrand because the founder got tired of the logo. A redesign is costly in time and resources, and it creates confusion if it isn't justified by a real business change.

A serious agency should deliver at least: editable source files, every variant of the logo, formats suited to each use, and a usage guide. If all you receive is a PNG without source files, you don't own your logo in the operational sense of the term.