Signature Logo’s – ThinkPhoto vs. PhotoLogo

For years I have used a logo which was designed by my cousin whom is a Graphic Designer. For all the years I have used it, I loved this logo!

It had a clean easy to read font, was nicely proportioned, had a camera lens to indicate photography and had subtle accents with gradients and colours.

However, 8yrs later I needed to update and move with the times.

I saw a trend whereby everyone was using signature logo’s and maybe it’s due to me seeing them everywhere, but I began to want my own.

I found signature logos a little cliché but at the same time they were more subtle and discreet overall. To some degree you want branding to be noticeable and in your face, but I didn’t want something that would distract too much from the actual photography and yet still look elegant enough to capture your attention.

So I began desiring a signature logo.

For the past couple of years I’ve worked on various projects which has distracted me massively from my photography website, so updating my logo took a backseat and was not a priority.

I had seen some nice fonts which I felt would equally satisfy my desire for this signature logo and best part is that it would be free!

But then I thought to myself, I do want a unique signature even if it did cost me a little money.

The one company I see heavily advertised on social media is PhotoLogo .

I had seen PhotoLogo with beautiful stylised signature logos. They all looked unique and elegant. Each style suiting the name that went with it.

However at $100 a signature, it was a little rich for me.

Recently I saw another competitor in the game advertise their services and it was ThinkPhoto.

ThinkPhoto were offering what they called a “Social Media Pack” for £29 and I thought “What’s the harm in trying?”

The social media pack includes the logo, video intro and facebook cover video.

I decided to purchase this social media pack and shortly after I received a number of samples to choose from.

Each one looked respectable, elegant and tidy. Clearly these were not actual hand made signature logos as it would have been impossible to turn this many signatures around in such a short period of time. Was I concerned at this point? Not really…

Seeing my name is the various fonts saved me time from trialling them out myself. You could argue it wouldn’t have taken me too long, but the point is, it was done for me and all ready to check.

After selecting my chosen signature, I then had to choose my video intro style to go with this logo. I reviewed a few samples and then confirmed my selection.

I found the process very smooth and the end result is what I have decided to use as my official logo.

Now contrasting to the service I had at PhotoLogo . It was a very different experience.

I saw PhotoLogo had a promotional offer where you could purchase a signature logo for $39.99, so I took a punt and went for it just to test their service.

You go through the purchase order and let them know what you want written and how ‘curly’ you want your signature. It was an awkward situation for me as I don’t know how ‘curly’ I want it. I’ve seen some logos which are curlier than others and liked them all, I guess it was just down to what suits the name.

So I selected that the artist chooses my style.

Their portfolio had varying logos, all of which looked excellent! Both curly and non-curly.

So I was disappointed to receive this logo…

I suppose its all down to ‘taste’ but I struggle to define what I don’t like. I just know when I received it, I was disappointed.

It looks off balanced. The curl with the “H” just looked unnecessary and felt forced to just have a swirl in the same direction as the bottom of the “L” and “g”.

I initially accepted this Logo before realising I was actually entitled to 3 revisions.

One revision I received was clearly a font as when I overlaid the “o” from both my first and surname, they matched perfectly.

One of my revisions I also had, I showed some friends and family and they said “it looks like a child wrote it”.

So now my third and final revision!

I present to you…

Now here’s the problem… I still don’t like it…

But I’ve maxed out on my revisions and one of my revisions was definitely a font.

This was disappointing given the fact that PhotoLogo’s marketing shows us they’re handwritten. If that be the case, I should not be able to perfectly overlay the “o” from both first and surname.

Likewise I feel ‘revisions’ should be tweaks, but I was presented with options I was flat out unhappy with from the start.

With each revision being a redesign and losing all 3 options to poor submissions, I ended up with a Logo I had no choice but to accept.

So if I am to compare both services, hands down I had a much better experience with ThinkPhoto.

Where I do not necessarily feel it’s a unique handwritten signature, the service offered along with the product submitted for its cost, it’s definitely a great value for me.

I enjoyed their service so much I actually purchased a second logo with the social media pack for my second website, www.sausageblog.co.uk

PhotoLogo I cannot recommend based off my experience.

I have seen other logos that they have done look great! Even if they’re fonts. I simply did not receive anything I was happy with. Likewise, at their premium costs I would have expected a much smoother service.

They promote heavily handwritten signatures with images of hands holding pencils showcasing a few samples.

So maybe if I had received a few scribbled options, I could have chosen one out of the batch for it to be then tidied during the revisions.

However, this simply was not the case and I have ended up with a result I am unhappy with.

To be clear and re-iterate, this is simply my experience with ordering a signature logo. You may like the results you receive and these styles may suit your name. However I just simply urge caution as you cannot see your results until you pay.

You may even like the results I received, but I personally didn’t and at this stage, nothing more I can do.

So if you’re in the market for a Signature Logo, I would encourage you to check out ThinkPhoto over PhotoLogo. Likewise if you’re on a budget, you could always attempt to make your own and there are plenty on YouTube tutorials out there.

I’ve linked one below, be sure to check it out.

However, I decided to go with ThinkPhoto twice!

Behind the Scenes of Your New Signature Photologo