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Logo contests. Bad for clients. Bad for designers.
Crowdsourcing and other design zaniness (part 2).
 (< prev) Logo design contests are very bad for the folks holding them, and there's little, or no protection for 'clients'. My studio's own work, ripped off another site, has turned up in one of these design contest sites (not the one mentioned above) and actually made into final selection and presentation (it was for a client of the person who had originally posted the contest). And as the people behind the site waive any responsibility - who would be on the hook if things go awry in a particular project? Nobody. Developing a company brand is a serious matter. It involves intellectual property laws (copyright and trademark), liability, and exposure. Why would any company hire someone to create their identity when nobody that they're 'hiring' is responsible for the outcome? Ya got me. The people who approach their corporate identity in this manner need their heads examined. We're also dealing with a flawed concept - the idea that logo design is 'visual spam' - i.e.: create enough attempts at a logo then maybe *one* might be the appropriate one. Hmmm - missed that philosophy in art school. The same has been said about Shakespeare and monkeys. Trouble is, it's not true (it's actually a study in probability and outcomes - NOT the most effective way to write Romeo and Juliet). Logo design is about tailoring a design solution to a specific situation - not throwing enough icons and swooshes at a project in the hopes that if given enough choices, the client might like one.
Don't get me wrong - I'm all for competition - competition is good. Free-for-all competition is bad. Easy concept really. I can create a fairly decent logo in a few hours (though getting a little slower in my old age). That ability took me years of education, practice, research and experience and not just a little genetics courtesy of my folks. I'm certainly *not* going to submit anything that I created in that time to a contest, to 'maybe' be used as the pivotal part of any company - their logo - while 'hoping' to get paid if I won. It's a simple business forumla (and the 'professional' bit in 'professional design'). Neither would any designer with any sort of gravitas. Effective logo design is more than just the time required to push shapes around a computer monitor and should be billed out as such. Designing a *great* logo may take me a month. Why would I, or anyone for that matter, give that away for free? The design (unless for a charity logo) is being used for business, so why isn’t its creation viewed as a business also. The idea that *any* designer would spend $10,000s in education, spend years subsequently honing their craft, in order to give work away, in the hopes of getting paid is beyond me. Most trained and experienced designers (the good ones) are looking for a career - not to enter freebee contests. These contest forums jeopardize that career by creating a 'performing seal' mentality about the design industry. It also plays into the idea that anyone with a bootleg copy of Illustrator can be a 'graphic designer'. I can buy a dentist drill. Don't make me a dentist. Einstein worked out his theory of relativity with a pencil. If I have a pencil, I'm just a numpty with a pencil. I guess I wouldn't have so much of a problem with this, if these forum sites didn't promote themselves as a 'Unique Design Firm' with 100s of professional designers on staff, ready to act on the client's every whim. Cause that claim is total BS.
Logo design contests - bad for designers.
Here's a few comments from one 'contest holder' on a currently running project.
"Come on, you can do better! Give me a logo that means something. Stay away from those cliparts."
"Sorry to have so many requests, didn't really know what I wanted untili I saw some more samples. Thanks!
"Come on designers, I want to some creativity on this one!! Hurry, contest ends on Wednesday. Appreciate all your hard work!"
"Hi all, I'm interested in seeing more submissions and have extended the project to 11/22. Thanks."
"Can you give me an icon with 3d and/or gradient effects on it. It doesn't have to be the "P" shape. Something with a smooth look."
Nice. If part of a paying gig, all part of the creative process (though none of the comments will ever help create an effective corporate logo). And why would anyone put up with this kind of abuse for nothing? Hard to tell really – certainly not for the princely prize money. And what about that pricing? On a purely business level, logo design contests set unrealistic pricing expectations for 'real' corporate identity (I've got a Ferrari for $100 - any takers? $25 for a 55" plasma. Whaaaa, no-one interested? That's because you know something is 'not right'). An effective logo requires R & D, a (combined with sliding scales) skilled, trained and experienced designer, a legal understanding of the issues (copyright vs. trademark, etc), etc. It also involves time using the sum of these experiences. In order to submit 'spec' work to contests, some of the ingredients have to be dropped. The rates are so insanely unrealistic that "real world" clients may begin to question even the most moderately priced projects. Besides, isn't marketing any design based solely on how low the price is, and how many designers are willing to throw 'designs' at the project, a rather poor way to select the source of the logo that should last the lifetime of your new company. I'd argue that flea market design is not conducive to clients, the graphic design industry or the designers themselves. Logo design contests also abuse young struggling designers (or even wannabe hobby designers) who act like performing seals for the 'chance' to earn $100 (or less) if their design is ultimately chosen. That's not professional. That's not effective for the project. That's not conducive to the design industry. And besides - who's bright idea was it to make commercial art into an amateur sporting event? On top of all this, there are no protections for designers when it comes to their work. Designers generally waive all rights to "any and all' of the material they submit to a contest, particularly those shady contest forums. How can anyone argue that this is even sane, let alone conducive to good business practices? How does one even get involved? You are invited (after 'careful selection') to 'join their design team'. Wow. Imagine getting invited to work (without any pay) for a 'unique design firm' while giving away all the rights to the intellectual property that you create, and if you get paid for that work, it is a fraction of what you should be getting paid in the first place. Doesn't actually encourage designers to spend the time and effort to improve their craft now, does it? Why buy the books, attend the lectures, read the articles, attend college - all to work for free with no safeguards in place? Another disturbing aspect of these logo design contest forums is that many clients bail in the middle of projects (while site owners still have the dough safely socked away), leaving all the participants in the lurch (there's some form of 'vote' which borders on lunacy). Designers have given the 'client' carte blanche on their original artwork and/or concepts which can be saved to disk (not really difficult) and then convert to usable files. Designers can't complain because they've given the rights away in the first place. I protect myself from this through (signed) purchase orders, (signed) contracts and (signed) terms of understanding. A Pay Pal number is *not* evidence of understanding terms. It is only 'iffy' evidence of payment for 'something'. Bottom line - the designer exposure is 100%. The clients is $100.00. The web site in question is $0 (actually, the TOS insure they always make their ten points).
Who submits work to design contests?
There are poor designers. There are mediocre designers. Any everything in between. There are people who have access to design software and call themselves designers. People who are hobbyists, and play around with a bootleg version of Adobe Illustrator on the side. And then, there are the designers who set the trends in the industry. The top-shelf designers. Now, do you think they are submitting their work to logo design contests for twenty bucks a pop? Not a chance. Logo design contests are for designers to cut their teeth on, with the added bonus of making a few bucks in the process. Not for company's who want to build a cohesive corporate identity that screams out success. That needs face-to-face time (either real or virtual) with the actual designer, not broken communication with a freelancer, using the contest company as a conduit. Considering all this, it's a pretty safe bet that you're not going to find top-drawer designers hanging out at some forum, waiting for the next contest to come their way.
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