Posts Tagged ‘graphic identity’

3 Reasons Crowdsourcing a Logo is a Bad Investment

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Most experienced graphic designers do not participate in open calls for logo designs. There’s a good reason why clients shouldn’t either.

1.You can count on your logo being developed by inexperienced designers. Because this process is seen as an opportunity for young people to build a portfolio, you’ll need to be concerned about potential problems from poorly executed solutions. Incorrectly formatted files that don’t print properly and logos illegible at certain sizes are just a few of the issues you might have to confront. Also, who will tell you that “looking good” doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a good or appropriate design for your logo?

2. Your logo will be an isolated element, not really part of an integrated corporate identity. Applications of your logo are likely to be no more than a case of pasting it wherever it’s needed—and that’s not an identity. Designers that have a track record depend on more than their sense of design to deliver successful solutions. A familiarity with marketing strategy and the big picture—and asking the right questions—result in a successful and consistent approach that inexperience just doesn’t deliver.

3. The best designers will leave the field after a time because they can’t make a living based on this model. That’s bad for everyone. Our ability to communicate should not be based on the work of amateurs. This process is sometimes defended as a way for young people to get experience, but it’s not sustainable. When one gets paid for his or her thinking through competitions, then the effective hourly rate is pretty low. If this really were the smart use of “group intelligence,” as it has been heralded, then it wouldn’t be a competition, but cooperation instead—and that’s not what clients want to shell out for.

In short, you get what you pay for. If we continue to rely on this approach, after a time it will be hard to find the kind of expertise required to develop an identity that does its job effectively because the professionals will all be doing something else. (By the way, how do you like my writing?)