When providing software as a service, 50% of the proposition is software.
The other 50% falls under service- marketing, branding, community engagement, and so on.
With Userbird, the goal is to become an industry-leading company, an example for others to follow.
To that end, homemade logos done on MS Paint or made with AI weren't going to cut it. We needed a designer with taste.
Step 1. Finding a Designer#
We used Upwork to source a designer.
A part of the problem with design is that the barrier to entry is quite low - anyone with an Adobe Illustrator subscription can call themselves a designer and start submitting designs.
I had spent a bunch of time researching Alan Peters' designs on Instagram and X.
His timeless design principles informed the way we built the brief and the type of designer we were looking for.
Finally, we settled on the amazing Oleh Urazovskyi based on portfolio work.
Hiring a designer is ultimately a leap of faith. You're paying up front, but a good designer should be able interpret the idea into something great.
Step 2. Speccing the logo#
Oleh asked us to provide some logos we like. I picked three services I use:
- Fastmail
- Ahrefs
- Monzo
All of these have flat, timeless logos.
Step 2. Speccing the design#
He asked us for logos we loved, so we provided:
- Ahrefs
- Fastmail
- Monzo
- all tools I use.
Step 3. Review and selection#
Oleh provided 5 variations of the Userbird logo.
Step 3. Making a selection#
The results came back far better than expected. Oleh did an amazing job.
Rather than bias the results, I sent the five logos you see here to several friends and collated feedback on which they liked, which they disliked, and why.
It was clear the final logo that you see was the unequivocal winner, although positive feedback was given all around.
This confirmed my own suspicions, so in the end, the decision was easy.
The final step was to collect all the vector files from all that and complete the job, and then begin the process of rebranding our app.
Final Thoughts#
When presenting a website or application, there are many subtle cues to a potential buyer regarding the quality of such an application.
Good design and branding is one of those and is often overlooked by software developers.
A strong brand with good design indicates strength, reliability, and permanence.
While such a logo in itself doesn't convey any utility to the customer, it does convey some messaging and, as such, has direct economic utility to the business.
Ready to Try Privacy-First Analytics?
See how Userbird can give you powerful insights without compromising user privacy. No cookies, no tracking consent needed, fully GDPR compliant.
