The Altimeter by Charlene Li Goes To The Logo Darkside
I spoke with Charlene Li, the author of Groundswell recently. She’s smart. And she’s got a brand new successful business up and running. I’m on her RSS feed. So I was shocked and actually saddened when someone as smart as Charlene did this:
I’ve had good success setting up my own business at Altimeter Group but one thing I never got around to doing was getting a logo done. Last summer, I was briefed crowdSPRING, which is a marketplace for creative projects. So I’ve decided to put my logo up as a project there, where designers can submit their ideas.
Why put my brand logo design in the hands of complete strangers? Well, I figured that anything is better than the simple font-based brand identity I have now! I also looked at some of the existing projects that are on the site, like the logo design for Zodiac Tea — which has 360 submissions as of this post.
All for a $400 fee. That’s not smart.
It’s really disappointing to see this stuff happen from professionals. And it shows her total lack of understanding when it comes to branding and brand identity. Having hundreds of people guess at the soul of her company by drawing “pretty pictures” is insulting not only to the designers for participating but to professional companies who design strategic logos for a living.
Here’s her first comment to her post:
I’m a graphic designer. This type of thing is called ’spec work’. It devalues the creative process and the design business in general. It is also a disservice to you as a client.
You can learn more here:
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/position-spec-work
http://www.zeldman.com/2007/08/14/dont-design-on-spec/
thank you.
I agree. This from a woman that charges tens of thousands of dollars a day to her clients. Maybe she should just work for free (or $400) and if her clients like what she does she’ll get paid. Sad, sad, sad.
What say you kahunas? You think she’ll get a logo that leverages her brand identity (whatever that is)?
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November 20th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Well said Big Kahuna
November 21st, 2008 at 10:23 am
I have to disagree with you here, Scott. Of course, the graphic designer is going to raise a stink about spec work. They would rather charge you by the hour and be the only one who communicates with the client. I have seen some designers put a limit on the number of concepts they will create for you while charging five times as much as Charlene is paying. Maybe Charlene could afford to pay more, but most small businesses cannot afford that type money for a quality logo.
I currently have my own logo project up and have had two successful client logo projects purchased through Crowdspring. I have been very happy with the results. Currently there are 74 submissions for my logo with a pretty good range of creative options. That range would simply not have happened with me and one designer sitting across the desk from each other.
You do bring up a good point about guessing the soul of the company. The key is to write a detailed creative brief and then provide feedback to every design submitted. Communicate directly with each designer.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:15 am
If I read this correctly, you are saying that Crowdspring is bad because people are trying to design a logo for which they know nothing about the company. If this is false then ok, but if that sentence is true well then we have a problem. I totally disagree with you that putting your logo into the hands of crowdspring is disastrous to your brand identity. In previous companies I have spent $100’s to pay for one person to try to come up with a logo that wasn’t even that great. When I used crowdspring I paid $175 and received 40 submissions of which 30 were awful, but 5 were amazing and 5 were decent. But even the awful ones may have taken your idea and created something that you never thought of before. Why pay for one persons brain when you can pay for 40 +.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Okay, that’s cool we’ll have to agree to disagree. Providing free services or “spec” work is not in my vocabulary. You wouldn’t go out to dinner and only pay for the meal if you liked it. I don’t do free work and I’ll never approve of it.
I also think we’re way off on what a real logo costs. In my world a logo is tens of thousands of dollars upwards of $100,000. Not hundreds of dollars. So I think we’re really discussing two different things.
Thanks for your opinions, keep em coming!
November 21st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
And as we know, BIG, the logo doesn’t make the brand. it’s the brand that makes the logo…
November 22nd, 2008 at 7:40 am
Yup, no disagreement there. Except that a well executed logo that leverages the company’s brand identity will support the branding.
December 8th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
i think the subject is like this that if you like the design then its worth it I mean look at Nike but if you dont then its no good hard to say either way ya know?
March 11th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
The Nike logo was designed in 1971 for 35$
That works out to $182.47 in inflation adjusted dollars today.
So in short, we’re dead.