The story goes something like this:

A woman approaches Pablo Picasso and asks him to sketch her. He obliges, and in a matter of minutes, the sketch is presented. The woman is amazed by his talent and ability to capture her essence. When she offered to pay Picasso, he told her the price: $10,000. Shocked, the woman said, “Isn’t that a bit high for something that only took minutes to create? His response, “No, miss. It took a lifetime.”

I should note there are many variations on this story floating around, but you get the point.

I’d like to compare this story to my own experiences designing logos. Everyone can paint and likewise, lots of people can call themselves a logo designer. I suppose my husband could open up Word and whip up a logo. And I bet your high school neighbor who is super interested in design can also design a logo.

I recently created an amazing logo in almost no time. Does it matter that it only took a little while to create? Not to me and not to the client who is over the moon with it. The simplicity, cleverness and perfection of the logo is what she paid for. She could have paid another designer to work on her logo for a month and without the ability to find happy accidents and clever combinations, another designer may never have been able to come close to creating the perfect logo.

So, when you hire a creative professional. Check out their portfolio. Get their history and find someone with a style you admire. Find your Picasso.