Don’t want to get labeled as a snooty designer (again), or an elitist gatekeeper (again) so rather than turn this into another “some designers on 99designs swiped our stuff” whiny baby screed (again), perhaps we should use this example of spec work ‘inspiration’ to demonstrate how to enter a logo contest on 99designs in ten [...]

Continue reading about How to enter a logo design contest in ten minutes flat. Without having to design anything

Remember how graphic designers were told that spec work is the “new reality” and that in order to continue working in the graphic design industry, they’d have to “evolve or die“? That translated loosely to “be prepared to work for free, cause other people are“. True, most of this hyperbole came from web-based platforms that [...]

Continue reading about Crowdsourcing hyperbole. Rumors about demise of graphic design industry greatly exaggerated?

This isn’t your typical “best logo design ever” Hall of Fame. Far from it. These logos haven’t been selected because they’re they’re the best, or even because they’re any good. Nope. These graphic elements and logos were hand-picked as being the most popular of all time. Not popular as in “I like that“. Popular as [...]

Continue reading about Hall of Fame for the most used, abused & overdone approaches to designing a logo

From the “Here We Go Again” Department. No point in rehashing the dangers of logo design contests, save this simple “spec work is bad” equation:
A whole bunch anonymous people who may, or may not, be actual designers +
A very small chance of getting paid for their design work +
A web-based logo design contest on ANY [...]

Continue reading about Spec work hackery redux. More of our work copied & entered into 99designs logo design contest

Couple of days ago, we told you about the internet flap about the Missile Defense Agency logo, in which conservative blogs found an Islamic crescent, (or stripes from the Barack Obama campaign logo) on an obscure National Defense website and staged a collective freakout. Some even claimed that the MDA design cribbed the Iranian Space [...]

Continue reading about Logo design schadenfreude. Missile Defense Agency ‘Logogate’ goes mainstream on CNN & FOX