How To Tell Someone Their Logo Sucks Without Being A Jerk

All of us have at one point seen a logo (or a mural, or an infographic, or anything, in this post I’ll be using the term “logo” as a broad umbrella term,) and thought, “man, that sure is an ugly logo, I could do way better than that.” And the fact is, you probably could. There is a lot of bad work out there in the world and as an artist or designer that can mean more opportunity for us! But how do you approach a potential client to tell them that their logo is bad? In this post I’ll be sharing some of my tips and best practices for approaching clients in a kind, productive way that can lead to landing more work for you.

DON’T ACT HIGH AND MIGHTY

Nobody likes a pretentious jerk. So your attitude going into things is very important. If you approach a potential client and start picking apart their logo using technical terms (“The counter of your “e” is lacking in volume bla bla bla,”) and acting superior to them, chances are, they’re not going to be too keen to get your help to fix things. Rather than coming from a place of superior authority, it’s better to show genuine concern and support for the potential client.

BE A FRIEND FIRST

I am a terrible speller. That’s just the way it is. Every once in a while I get emails or DMs from random strangers telling me about a spelling mistake I’ve made and 95% of the time it irritates me. However, I have a dear friend named Jade who is a spelling and grammar pro and whenever she points out spelling mistakes to me, I am so grateful to her. The reason I’m so willing to listen to her  is because I know that she genuinely cares about me. Jade isn’t just being a spelling snob, she’s really trying to help.

You’ll always be more willing to take advice from a friend than from a random stranger. So if you can, try to develop a relationship with the potential client before approaching them about fixing their logo (or mural, ect.) You can do this by visiting their shop and showing that you like their product or service. You can do this by interacting with them on social media and leaving comments on their posts. Anything that you can do to build a personal connection will help.

ACKNOWLEDGE HOW HARD IT IS TO BE THEM, AND THEN FIX THE PROBLEM

One of the most important things you can do is empathise with your potential client. Acknowledge that as a business owner, they have a lot on their plate and that it can be overwhelming. They have so much going on, the last thing they have time for is fixing their logo. This will make your potential client feel seen and appreciated. Then present a solution to the problem. Be clear about how you can fix things and how easy and painless it will be for the client.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Here is an actual email that I sent to a client a while back. The company was a do-it-yourself tie dye place called Club TieDye. They offered a fun service with a cool atmosphere, but the logo painted on the side of the building looked horrible. It had obviously been painted by someone who hadn’t painted a mural before and it didn’t reflect the quality of the service provided by the business. So I found their email and sent them this:

The email was positive, clear and non judgemental. Here’s the email that came from them a few days later:

Long story short, I was able to get an awesome new client and now they have a new mural! As a designer or artist, you can help people solve their problems, sometimes problems they don’t even know they have. So don’t ever be afraid to reach out to people about work. Not each interaction goes as good as this one, but you never know until you try, and you just might be the answer to someone’s problem. 

Have more questions? Leave them in the comments, I’d love to answer them for you! If you’ve tried this let me know how it goes! It’s always fun to hear your stories. Want to see the process video for this mural? Check it out here!