Nate Voss' blog, Vossome 2.1, has an excellent article about why it is a bad idea to go on the cheap when designing your company's logo. The word directly from the designer's mouth, er, keyboard:
In a Troubled Economy, Why Logo Design Contests and Crowdsourcing Can Do More Harm Than Good.
Read my Feb 19, 2009 blog post, Logo Design Contests Are Bad Design, Bad Service, Bad Business Model.
Showing posts with label logos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label logos. Show all posts
27 April 2009
19 February 2009
Logo Design Contests Are Bad Design, Bad Service, Bad Business Model
Forbes calls graphic designers "snooty" and lowballs a graphic design for their website as a ploy to tick off designers so they would blog, post, and comment (read: promote for free) this marketing ploy for crowdSpring: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0216/062.html.
Link to the Forbes design contest on crowdSpring
I rather like the winning design, but many of the other designs don't follow good design principles or use stock imagery. Stock photo sites such as istockphoto.com state clearly in their usage licenses that their photos and images cannot be used in logos. Therefore, even if Forbes loved a logo including stock imagery, they couldn't legally use it.
As manipulative as this campaign is, it started an interesting discussion within the design community about how good branding design is done and how companies do themselves a disservice by going for the LCD when choosing a logo that will represent their company and products.
Link to discussion I participated in on Graphic-Design Forum
Link to snarky, but accurate blog post about "crowdsourcing" logo design
Although some will claim any artist or designer upset about logo design contests are "elitist" or, dare I say, "snooty," I disagree. It is about some level of standards and service to our clients. Not every young company or entrepeneur can afford a full company branding program, but you get what you pay for.
Link to The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment
Link to Comparison of Cheap Online Logo Companies
As you can see in the above case studies, purchasing a "cheap" online logo cost the client time, customer service, and getting a design that actually represents his company. Having looked at the negative impact on the client, let's take a look at the negative impact logo design contests have on the designer.
Participating in an open, public design contest (crowdSpring, 99designs, etc.) is a bad business model for the graphic designer.
1. The "prizes" offered are less than what one could earn with a regular client.
2. Designs are often stolen by other participants and reworked/reused to submit in other contests (or the same contest!).
3. Professional designers are competing against people with no design education and possibly stolen software.
4. Design skills become commoditized.
5. Participants are paid only if they "win."
It's this last item that is the nail in the logo contest coffin for me.
In a Feb. 19, 2009 survey of the top five "creatives" on crowdSpring (based upon number of submitted logos), the following statistics show how logo design contests don't pay:
Shannonjyl participated in 480 projects, submitting a total of 1873 entries. She won seven times (1.5% of projects, .03% of entries).
PANTERA (a designer claiming 15 yrs experience) participated in 291 projects, submitting a total of 1569 entries. He won thirteen times (4.5% of projects, .08% of entries).
Moonwelldesigns participated in 304 projects, submitting 1467 entries. He won twelve times (3.9% of projects, .08% of entries)
Jose participated in 322 projects, submitting 1377 entries. He won twenty-nine times (9% of projects, 2.1% of entries)
Ninet6 participated in 311 projects, submitting 1301 entries. He won thirty-eight times (12.2% of projects, 2.9% of entries)
If you are paying a mortgage/rent, feeding yourself, and keeping the lights on with your creative skills, you should get paid for more than 3% of your time.
Link to the Forbes design contest on crowdSpring
I rather like the winning design, but many of the other designs don't follow good design principles or use stock imagery. Stock photo sites such as istockphoto.com state clearly in their usage licenses that their photos and images cannot be used in logos. Therefore, even if Forbes loved a logo including stock imagery, they couldn't legally use it.
As manipulative as this campaign is, it started an interesting discussion within the design community about how good branding design is done and how companies do themselves a disservice by going for the LCD when choosing a logo that will represent their company and products.
Link to discussion I participated in on Graphic-Design Forum
Link to snarky, but accurate blog post about "crowdsourcing" logo design
Although some will claim any artist or designer upset about logo design contests are "elitist" or, dare I say, "snooty," I disagree. It is about some level of standards and service to our clients. Not every young company or entrepeneur can afford a full company branding program, but you get what you pay for.
Link to The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment
Link to Comparison of Cheap Online Logo Companies
As you can see in the above case studies, purchasing a "cheap" online logo cost the client time, customer service, and getting a design that actually represents his company. Having looked at the negative impact on the client, let's take a look at the negative impact logo design contests have on the designer.
Participating in an open, public design contest (crowdSpring, 99designs, etc.) is a bad business model for the graphic designer.
1. The "prizes" offered are less than what one could earn with a regular client.
2. Designs are often stolen by other participants and reworked/reused to submit in other contests (or the same contest!).
3. Professional designers are competing against people with no design education and possibly stolen software.
4. Design skills become commoditized.
5. Participants are paid only if they "win."
It's this last item that is the nail in the logo contest coffin for me.
In a Feb. 19, 2009 survey of the top five "creatives" on crowdSpring (based upon number of submitted logos), the following statistics show how logo design contests don't pay:
Shannonjyl participated in 480 projects, submitting a total of 1873 entries. She won seven times (1.5% of projects, .03% of entries).
PANTERA (a designer claiming 15 yrs experience) participated in 291 projects, submitting a total of 1569 entries. He won thirteen times (4.5% of projects, .08% of entries).
Moonwelldesigns participated in 304 projects, submitting 1467 entries. He won twelve times (3.9% of projects, .08% of entries)
Jose participated in 322 projects, submitting 1377 entries. He won twenty-nine times (9% of projects, 2.1% of entries)
Ninet6 participated in 311 projects, submitting 1301 entries. He won thirty-eight times (12.2% of projects, 2.9% of entries)
If you are paying a mortgage/rent, feeding yourself, and keeping the lights on with your creative skills, you should get paid for more than 3% of your time.
13 January 2009
Don't Buy this Copyright Myth - or You'll Pay!
If you need any kind of artwork for your business, from a logo to a brochure to a theme song to a promotional video, don't hire a graphic designer who says, "I can take someone else's already created artwork and change ten (or twenty or thirty) percent, and then it's OK for you to use."
In fact, run far, far away from this "professional!"
Whether he or she is just ignorant or a blatant liar, the designer is putting your business in jeopardy of being sued by the original copyright owner.
From the US Copyright Office website:
You cannot take someone else's work, change part of it, and claim it as your own.
What does this mean for your business if you really want something kinda sorta like it was inspired by and captures the feeling of your favorite photo, painting, or song? By hiring a design consultant that knows and follows the law, you can have your art and keep your business too!
Here's a real case example of how to be inspired by, but not rip off, a logo.
The cousin of a graphic designer I worked with wanted a Native American company logo inspired by the Orange County Choppers logo.
As you can see, I could change ten percent (one square), twenty percent (two squares), or even thirty percent (three squares), and the integrity of the original design is still maintained.
If you hired someone to take an existing logo, "make a couple of changes," and then try to claim it as your own, you and the designer would be guilty of copyright infringement.
The graphic designer never came up with the requested design (she didn't feel "inspired" or whatever), but the idea stuck in my head.
Zoom forward four years to the recent Christmas holidays. I had some free time, so grabbed a paper and pen and looked at the OCC logo.
I noticed the flowing, abstracted style and how the initials are incorporated into the chopper. I decided to use a flowing, very abstracted style for my image, but did not use any letters. I also looked at photos of choppers. I didn't trace or copy/paste anything from the images I was using as reference material.
I wanted to have a rider in my image, one that could indicate a Native American. I thought about the beautiful flowing straight black hair of many Native American people, and decided to use that in the design.
What I created could have several meanings - I see a motorcyclist, a chopper rider, a Native American, a recumbent bicycle rider, and a bicyclist wearing a racing helmet.
What do you see?
For more information about US copyright law, visit Step Inside Design magazine and copyright pages on About.com
In fact, run far, far away from this "professional!"
Whether he or she is just ignorant or a blatant liar, the designer is putting your business in jeopardy of being sued by the original copyright owner.
From the US Copyright Office website:
How much of someone else's work can I use without getting permission?
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all the circumstances. See FL 102, Fair Use, and Circular 21, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians.
How much do I have to change in order to claim copyright in someone else's work?
Only the owner of copyright in a work has the right to prepare, or to authorize someone else to create, a new version of that work. Accordingly, you cannot claim copyright to another's work, no matter how much you change it, unless you have the owner's consent. See Circular 14, Copyright Registration for Derivative Works.
You cannot take someone else's work, change part of it, and claim it as your own.
What does this mean for your business if you really want something kinda sorta like it was inspired by and captures the feeling of your favorite photo, painting, or song? By hiring a design consultant that knows and follows the law, you can have your art and keep your business too!
Here's a real case example of how to be inspired by, but not rip off, a logo.
The cousin of a graphic designer I worked with wanted a Native American company logo inspired by the Orange County Choppers logo.
As you can see, I could change ten percent (one square), twenty percent (two squares), or even thirty percent (three squares), and the integrity of the original design is still maintained. 
If you hired someone to take an existing logo, "make a couple of changes," and then try to claim it as your own, you and the designer would be guilty of copyright infringement.The graphic designer never came up with the requested design (she didn't feel "inspired" or whatever), but the idea stuck in my head.
Zoom forward four years to the recent Christmas holidays. I had some free time, so grabbed a paper and pen and looked at the OCC logo. I noticed the flowing, abstracted style and how the initials are incorporated into the chopper. I decided to use a flowing, very abstracted style for my image, but did not use any letters. I also looked at photos of choppers. I didn't trace or copy/paste anything from the images I was using as reference material.
I wanted to have a rider in my image, one that could indicate a Native American. I thought about the beautiful flowing straight black hair of many Native American people, and decided to use that in the design.
What I created could have several meanings - I see a motorcyclist, a chopper rider, a Native American, a recumbent bicycle rider, and a bicyclist wearing a racing helmet.
What do you see?
For more information about US copyright law, visit Step Inside Design magazine and copyright pages on About.com
10 November 2008
Multimedia Company Exposed on Virtual TV
We recently updated Totem Media's website portfolio. We are displaying many of our logos and photo composites in Flash galleries. Also, we have links to live client websites.
All of these wonderful images and links are available through our virtual Totem TV. Go to www.totem-media.com. Click on the "Portfolio" button on the main menu remote. Using your mouse, scroll through the onscreen menu. Whenever you want to return to the Totem TV portfolio list, click on the "Portfolio" button on the main menu remote.
All of these wonderful images and links are available through our virtual Totem TV. Go to www.totem-media.com. Click on the "Portfolio" button on the main menu remote. Using your mouse, scroll through the onscreen menu. Whenever you want to return to the Totem TV portfolio list, click on the "Portfolio" button on the main menu remote.
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