Going through the process of doing, and then redoing, the look of CheyLoCreations, I learned a few things, and I thought I might share them with you all. Hopefully someone will find them useful.

1. What is your target market (who are your customers, who are your end users)?

2. What overall feel do you want (modern, elegant, earthy, young, mature, etc)?

3. A logo is really very personal, a designer will want some input from you, so you need to have at least a general idea of what you might like. Several ideas would be even better. If you or someone else can sketch your idea, even better. It is really really really hard to explain something online, without a picture.

4. Shop around, try to find a designer who's previous work matches the style you are after. Many designers have a definite style, you want to make sure that works with what you want.

5. Get referrals from other business owners whose look you admire or identify with.

6. Have a budget, but realize you will need to pay for the service and skills of a graphic designer.

7. If you have a deadline, communicate that clearly, and make sure your designer can and will meet it. Try to plan in extra time, especially if working with a one-person company. Most etsy graphic designers have lives, families, other jobs, and can have a family emergency, or weather calamities as easily as you can! Basically, try not to procrastinate like I did!

8. Know what you will be using the graphics for (banner, avatar, packaging, mailings, etc) and communicate this to the designer. I personally needed my logo in a format that I could put on my product labels, and could manipulate the size of. Certain programs are needed (on the designers side of things) in order to do this.

9. Be flexible, and communicate clearly. If you don't like something, try and explain why, so that the next proof will be more likely to work for you. This is where giving your designer a clear idea of what you want ot begin with comes in handy.

10. Try to relax and let your designer do what they do best!