2 or 3 months ago somebody had posted a website for people to solicit graphic designers for logos, web designs, graphic designs for special events, etc.. The designers compete against each other and post their designs on the site, and the client eventually picks the one they like best. My computer crashed the day I was going to pass the site to someone and I lost all my bookmarks.
Went through and searched for the discussion, but the dice keep coming up snake-eyes. Does anybody know or remember that site?
Replies
Draftguy:
You might try to connect with a designer through your local AIGA chapter. AIGA is the largest professional association of designers in the country. It's the AIA for graphic design. At the national site is a listing of all members with their specialties.
http://www.aiga.org
Those logo sites you mentioned produce pretty mediocre results. You get what you pay for, right?
bumpI don't think that was the answeer to the question he was looking for
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What Piffin said. Thanks, but it was a specific site where graphic designers competed against each other for a project. Just can't remember the name (my calcified walnut of a brain is short one gerbil on a treadmill . . . )
Know what you mean. Sometimes my gerbils are laid back in the chaise lounge holding drinks with little umbrellas in them
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
http://www.designoutpost.com/
THAT'S the one (i can die happy now . . .)thanks!
Draftguy: Good luck with your logo. Be sure that it meets the 5 cardinal rules of logo design:http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,319992,00.html- - - - - - - - Devil is in the details. Or is that caulk?
Here's another one to consider.http://www.logoworks.com/The Wall Street Journal did a story on these guys recently.
It should come as no surprise that I'm no fan of these cookie-cutter logo sites.I checked out the Logoworks site and the accompanied WSJ article. And I'd like to offer the following:1. Logoworks says that at most design firms, "you get one designer working on your logo." Simply not true. A good firm will put the talents of the staff on the project and an independent designer will enlist the input of other "freelancers." What is developed is a team-just like logoworks.2. Logoworks (LW) touts an "extremely fast turnaround" What are we buying here, lunch? Is this not something that will represent you (if designed well) for the life of your company? Do your clients hire you because you are cheap and fast? You bring more to the relationship right? Experience? Talent?3. LW goes on to quotes the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook, requiring designers to charge between $2,000 -$10,000 for a logo. Is this a bad thing? What's the going rate for finishing out a room in trim? Or framing a 3,000 sqf addition? Roughing in a bathroom plumbing system? You have a good idea right, based on experience. Your past projects tell you X amount of feet of trim for X amount of rooms/sqf, whatever. Let's say that you price to a client is $4,000. Should the client hire the guys who quotes $500? Is there a dude in your market that would charge this? You know who he is. Is he any good?4. LW also says that you get the same designers at "almost any studio or ad agency" Baloney. Do you hire the subs that require $1 an hour or $20? Do you buy the cheapest materials you can source? These are not the same designers found in studios/agencies.5. The WSJ article says that Logoworks designers can make up to $50 on the mark should it be selected. At best, $90? How much time do you think said design is investing in the project? And what are they basing their solutions on? Your web form info? How much time and creative thinking is put forth in the first 72 hours? Your getting a cookie cutter solution. You say carpenter and you get a logo with a hammer and a few nails. But your hammer is red, not blue like the guy up the road.6. Is cheap the only factor when sourcing a logo? Is their no value in a long-term relationship with your designer? Do you buy only cheap tools? Hire cheap subcontractors? Of course not. You buy DeWalt, Fein, Milwaukee-not ACME Toolz. You don't trust your best projects to bottom-of-the-barrel subs. You value the work of your best subs, right? Of course, and you probably pay them for their experience. You'd be up a creek with out your best people. Same applies to a designer/design firm.7. Does the LW logo meet the 5 cardinal rules of logo design? Most at Logoworks do not.http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,319992,00.html8. In fact, it appears that oftentimes they are just lifted from preexisting logos:http://baddesignkills.com/logoworks/And stop thinking LOGO! LOGO? There is MUCH more to you and your company then a logo. Your identity is only one piece of YOUR BRAND. Logo? That's old school. Today, it's about branding. Think about it. Why do love the products that we use everyday? The one's that you recommend to your peers without hesitation? The one's that introduce a new product and you know right off the bat that you have to have it! They have built a BRAND. And I would bet that brand didn't begin as a $299 logo.A design studio understands this. And if you understand the studio, they're gonna be willing to work with you. Designers are creative people just like you. A logo for $299? Doubt it. There's so much more to it. Isn't your brand-what you stand for, what you provide to your clients, what makes you love what you do, worth it more than $299?- - - - - - - - Devil is in the details. Or is that caulk?
Logoworks is a sweatshop of often plagiarized work.We've been through this before in these forums. If you want a cheap-#### logo for next to nothing, no one is going to stop you, but think about what you are asking for.You are asking for people to perform spec work. That's less than ideal for both the person doing the work and you, the person hoping to receive some nice solution. Both parties tend to loose in this situation.Would you voluntarily draw up construction documents based on my request in a web forum? Probably not. But I'm sure plenty would. Would you consider a solution obtained in that matter a good solution for me? A good logo doesn't have to be expensive. Talk to some local graphic designers. You'll pay a tad more than the sweatshop web sites, but you will get a customized logo geared specifically towards your business needs and goals.
HEre's some info on logoworks from a differing POV:http://www.underconsideration.com/mt-static/mt-comments_su.cgi?entry_id=2395http://www.howdesign.com/forum/messages.asp?topicID=301499Just as in home construction and remodelling, you get what you pay for.
My post of Logoworks was by no means an endorsement. I simply offered ####resource that I had read about in response to draftguy's question. The responses about the organization's underhanded tactics are enlightening.I am a marketing consultant who works with firms from the Fortune 100 down to small companies. Logo design is a particularly tricky area. Of all the graphic design disciplines, I would say it is the most challenging, because a logo is asked to capture so much in a concise, simple graphic image (as outlined in the 5 rules article). High end logo firms commonly charge $10,000 and higher (often multiples thereof) and produce less than inspired work. A local designer might provide a much better result for $1000 or less. I've paid for iteration after iteration of disappointment only to find someone else who instantly comes up with a brilliant concept.Unfortunately, even with large established companies, there is often an unwillingness to pay for logo design. "$5000 just for a little one inch drawing!" Much like the happy homeowners who question the BT guys all the time for why they charge so much for "basic carpentry." Small businesses are frequently reluctant to spend thousands of dollars for logo design, so a concept such as logoworks is intriguing. Apparently, the execution leaves much to be desired.