[thelist] thelist] Logo Contest Question

Jose Hurtado jlhurtado at gmail.com
Sat Feb 4 09:39:55 CST 2006


I' ve worked with professional designers for years, from the talently
challenged to the amazing genius.  Even now I keep their friendship because
these guys are very good, and took a while to know and be friends with.

Most of them by far appreciate constructive criticism and usually they will
change or modify their work within reasonable limits for free, they want you
to be happy with their work, it's their portfolio!

So this is what I advice you do.

First please do not lie.  The fact that you will pay this person anyway is
an excellent stand you decided to make, but lying to him is just plain
wrong.  No one will benefit from your lie.  The designer will think he did a
good job, but he did not.  You will have to pretend to like his job and
might even use a logo you do not like, I see no point in lying, it always
messes things up.  Stay away from lies, I prefer a painful truth to a lie
anyday... the truth helps you correct yourself and see things clearly.

What I suggest you do is this:

- Tell him he won and he will receive the money, and that you appreciate the
time and effort he took in designing it.
- Be truthful, and say that you have many problems with how the logo looks,
but you will post a blog like entry about the contest and how he won,  but
will probably do a contest in the future or hire someone to do a better
design.
- If you think there is something in his logo that might be worth a
modification to be put to use for a year at least, ask him to do it, if not
just leave it there.

This way everyone wins:

- The designer:
     * gets the money for his effort
     * learns he has to work at his design skills more, he is still not good
enough
     * gets paid anyway and respects you

- You and your site:

    * get positive reactions from the public, you offered a contest, you
paid, there was a winner, this is the logo, you build trust.  Next time
people will know, even if you do not like something you honor your word,
your contests are real.
    * you learn that you should put a clause in your next contest that says
"We reserve the right to use at our discretion, and time of our choosing how
the logo will be used".
    * you discovered $100 does not attract the best talent.

Have a nice weekend,

Jose L. Hurtado
Web Designer / IT Professional
Toronto, Canada



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