What happens if all the logos you get suck? Do you still have to pay a winner $500, even if you don't use that person's logo? How are you going to handle revisions?
The best designers are far too busy getting paid to make a logo that probably won't get them any money and they also don't need the publicity. I have a friend who had worked with a positively brilliant designer from Uruguay. The designer's quote for a logo for me was $500 for delivery within a month and $600 for less than a week.
If this gets you extra publicity, great. But I think you'd have a better chance of getting a great logo if you just found a logo designer with great style and paid that person $500. Does Kevin Hale do freelance logos?
It's not merely $500! The winner also gets a T-shirt. Pay attention, man! ;-)
We've tried the direct route. All of the logos we've gotten from designers sucked so far. Besides, we're having some fun with it. If you don't think design contests are fun, that's fine.
I tried LogoWorks for Virtualmin, Inc. over two years ago, and the suggestions I got back were horrible--really, truly, awful. One was the Verizon V-Cast logo (literally...not even a little different...same colors and all). I even paid them extra for additional concepts and such. It may have been a fluke, and really, SitePoint contests are the same basic concept; as far as I know, LogoWorks is a bunch of freelancers that work on spec, too.
The difference is that we get to have fun with the contest. we have a mailing list and a forum both full of users who'll get a kick out of discussing the logos. They'll also feel some ownership in the new logo, if they get to take part in picking it. I don't see how we can possibly lose on the deal (holding it at SitePoint assures that the worst case of nobody showing up doesn't happen).
There's also the tradition of Open Source projects choosing their logos via contests to uphold. Now that Webmin is a wizened old-timer in the Open Source world, it's got a responsibility to uphold the finest traditions of its community. Or something.
Ah, ok, I wasn't clear on the distinction between Webmin and Virtualmin... a logo contest makes more sense for an open source project.
For anyone else looking for a logo, I'd recommend you post a logo request on http://www.programmermeetdesigner.com/. The last time I posted I got a broad range of bids, from $30 to $500 to price unlisted. Then you look through everyone's portfolio and pick the person with the style you like the most.
Yeah, I've never used SitePoint contests before, and may never use them again (we'll see). It does rule out some of the best known designers, because the best known don't need to work on spec, but the hope (as with any of the methods being discussed in this thread) is that you'll get the "soon to be best known" designer working on your project.
If the logo we get sucks, it'll hopefully suck less than the current one, and we'll try again in a year. The entries so far aren't great, but they aren't all terrible either. We're only a few hours into the contest, and there's already at least one that I think is better than the current logo. So, we're already ahead. The other neat thing is that the SitePoint contests allow everyone to see what's already been submitted--it's a constant refinement process where everybody knows what everybody else is doing. I dunno if that'll really encourage everyone to bring their A game, but it certainly is more fun than staring at the 12-15 logo ideas I got from LogoWorks was.
I'm still groping to find the best way to get jobs like this done--so far, nothing has been satisfactory. But then, until recently, we had very little money to spend (I was going to put up $1000, but it seemed pointless--$500 makes ours the highest paying logo contest running right now...I might bump it to $750 before it's over, if it needs a little extra oomph). I still managed to waste plenty of money and time on logos, though. ;-)
Best case, the logo will rock, and we'll have found ourselves a little known designer who works reasonably cheap, but whose work we love. I'm not holding my breath, but it could happen.
I'm looking through SitePoint now and I'm actually rather impressed by the functionality and surprised at how well the contests seem to work, even for much lower dollar amounts. I have no doubt that you'll get some good entries and I imagine watching the logos come in is a lot of fun too.
Agreed. I had been there in the past, and it seemed pretty slapped together...but they've used their success wisely by investing in better technology. The contests system is, so far, top-notch.
The best designers are far too busy getting paid to make a logo that probably won't get them any money and they also don't need the publicity. I have a friend who had worked with a positively brilliant designer from Uruguay. The designer's quote for a logo for me was $500 for delivery within a month and $600 for less than a week.
If this gets you extra publicity, great. But I think you'd have a better chance of getting a great logo if you just found a logo designer with great style and paid that person $500. Does Kevin Hale do freelance logos?