So today I just paid to have a logo produced

[Sauk]

I went with logoworks to do the logo. I did the $399 package which will get me 6 original logo concepts from 3 designers and unlimited logo revisions.

I decided to go with 801 Images as the logo instead of my actual business name of Matthew Sauk Photography. Reason being, I am using 801 Images as my url that I tell people.

I had a post about the use of the url and so far when telling people the url it has been much better response than when I used my name. Easier to remember (801 is our area code and people get it right away) and two I think a logo could be made better using that name.

I love my name don't get me wrong, but when it comes to my last name it is not very easy to remember let alone spell.

Once the logo is finished I will be getting some business cards as well. Not through as of right now but through someone else.

Have any of you had your logo done through logoworks?

[danir.photography]

I went with logoworks to do the logo. I did the $399 package which will get me 6 original logo concepts from 3 designers and unlimited logo revisions.

I decided to go with 801 Images as the logo instead of my actual business name of Matthew Sauk Photography. Reason being, I am using 801 Images as my url that I tell people.

I had a post about the use of the url and so far when telling people the url it has been much better response than when I used my name. Easier to remember (801 is our area code and people get it right away) and two I think a logo could be made better using that name.

I love my name don't get me wrong, but when it comes to my last name it is not very easy to remember let alone spell.

Once the logo is finished I will be getting some business cards as well. Not through as of right now but through someone else.

Have any of you had your logo done through logoworks?

I do all my own logos... which is probably why they... uh...well. You know.

[breadandbutter]

Let us know how it goes.

I'm really interested in finding out your experience with them.

[Sauk]

Yeah I can do a logo as well, but I think I will leave the artistic to people who are actually artistic lol

I have done them in the past and I have never been happy with them. I figure I have a good chance to get something I like this way and with unlimited revisions at least I will get what I want (I hope).

[danir.photography]

Hey. Just sat down and created this. Rip it apart (it's what so many of us do best!!!)

[stathunter]

It is a little late for you--- but honestly I have found digital point forums to be the cheapest for logo work. Like the forum here-- but you post what you are willing to pay and ask people to submit the logo results -- I bought a few for $20 -- they came out fantastic!

[ChrisRabior]

I took a shot at creating a banner for my site. I think I did alright, considering that it took a whopping 90 seconds to make it, then create a second image in white. Check my site to see it in action.

http://chrisrabior.smugmug.com/photos/453695554_Z7cP7-S.jpg

[canonnoob]

if you dont mind. I would love to show you my new logo from someone who i paid 100 dollars for. took a day for them to do it and i get free revisions and all the help i need..

just let me know.Good luck with them btw...

[sevillafox]

Hmmm....there's some thread hijackers here. Search for the "show us your logo" thread and post there.

Matthew, good on you for making the investment in your business. I can't offer anything on the firm you chose but I wish you luck!

[Sauk]

lol no worries about the thread hijacking ;) I like to see creativity from people.

Dave W.

Sure man I would not mind at all ;)

Tiffany,

Thank you, that is what I felt like I needed at this point in time.

[canonnoob]

Here it is...

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f177/davidlwelker/Random/frontfinal.jpg

I have a mini logo that is white, with the cross and then DW underneath of it.

[Sauk]

very elegant. Nice

[Sauk]

Update:

I got 6 logos and I did not like any of them! I gave them creative freedom and they just did not produce anything I liked. So I canceled the project.

I have setup something locally with a guy that does them as well and will meet with him one on one to discuss a logo.

Quite disappointed by the logos they produced to be honest. But that is probably my fault to be honest.

So I lost 99 bucks.

[sevillafox]

Damn...that sucks!

[Sauk]

Yeah I was extremely excited to see what they would come up with and maybe I pumped myself up to much lol The logos were terrible. They were not logos, just a bunch of fonts put together.

[cdifoto]

I had an independent broke-ass girl do mine. I figured I'd rather help her out than some no-name company. See it on my website.

[sevillafox]

Share? :lol:

[Sauk]

I guess the main reason is I can not think of a logo that I want mine to look like. The name is 801 Images .

I really am not a creative person when it comes to logos. I just can not believe that what they presented was even worth 99 bucks lol

[cdifoto]

Share? :lol:
The broke-ass girl is all mine, dammit. :evil: :D

[sevillafox]

The broke-ass girl is all mine, dammit. :evil: :D


:p

I was talking to Sauk...I already have a logo mister ;)

[cdifoto]

Who's talking about a logo?

[Beowulfenator]

What did you expect for $99? A masterpiece? Sheesh. If someone says "6 logos from 3 designers", it's a load of crap right there. Actually, I work in a studio that does identity design among other things. English version of our site is under construction, but here are some links:

http://www.mart.com.ua/new/en/portfolio/styles/2008/screenshot/
http://www.mart.com.ua/new/en/portfolio/styles/2007/screenshot/
http://www.mart.com.ua/new/en/portfolio/styles/2006/screenshot/

That's what I call design. Only it costs a bit more that $99.

[cdifoto]

What did you expect for $99? A masterpiece? Sheesh. If someone says "6 logos from 3 designers", it's a load of crap right there.
Read before you act like a know-it-all.

$399 for 6 logos from 3 designers. He paid $99 and walked away with nothing.

[Beowulfenator]

Please forgive my know-it-all attitude. I stand corrected. $399 for 6 logos from 3 designers. Still a load of crap, though.

[Sauk]

Well it was from a kinda big business so I expected more. I think 399 is more than a enough to design a logo.

[cdifoto]

Yeah I would think $400 would get you some fabulous choices.

[Beowulfenator]

Well it was from a kinda big business so I expected more.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I understand how the "big business" that screwed you over works. They hire a bunch of "designers" by going through freelance forums and portals. Then they take your order and give it to some freelancers. If the client happens to like the trash they produce (which usually happens because the client knows no better), they earn $399 and the designer gets a little bit of this sum. If the client doesn't like it, they earn $99 and the designer doesn't earn anything.

Anyway... For $400 do you want a logo and a card from the guys who designed this:

http://mart.com.ua/portfolio/styles/2007/gc_style/portfolios/styles/gc_style/gc_style_1.jpg

and this:

http://mart.com.ua/portfolio/styles/2008/musson_style/portfolios/styles/musson_style/musson_style_1.jpg (http://mart.com.ua/portfolio/styles/2008/musson_style/portfolios/styles/musson_style/musson_style_1.jpg)

[elgillet]

That's the pits.... But did you still have to pay them??? Even though you did not like them???

[Sauk]

Ed,

Yep I had to pay them the 99 dollars. Thank goodness not the rest of it (300.00)

[elgillet]

Good thing then, but still ouch for $99.00. That could have been a 750G or 1T hard drive.... But then it is a business expense...

[Sauk]

yeah to say the least it was a disappointment. Hell even my wife looked at them and thought they looked terrible.

[sfaust]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I understand how the "big business" that screwed you over works. They hire a bunch of "designers" by going through freelance forums and portals. Then they take your order and give it to some freelancers. If the client happens to like the trash they produce (which usually happens because the client knows no better), they earn $399 and the designer gets a little bit of this sum. If the client doesn't like it, they earn $99 and the designer doesn't earn anything.

It's basically spec work. Similar to 'On Request Images' where they would send out assignments to multiple photographers, they would all shoot it for submission to the client, and which ever one the client picks gets 50% of the fee. The others get nothing.

You can imagine how well that went over with the photography industry!

[S-Man]

As someone in the Sign Industry, I've dealt alot with people wanting logo design. My brother more so since he's been in it much longer, and I've observed his experiences with such.
Designing a logo from scratch is a difficult task. (and that's an understatement) The client doesn't know what he wants, that's why they hired us, and we don't know what they want, so it's a tossup. We just have to use our artistic abilities and design style to try to come up with something that the client digs. Depending on who the client is, (what field they're in) you can kind of guess at what style they like and go from there.

But I've seen several where they absolutely hate every last design.
More often than not though, we'll spend hours and hours on a really cool design, and expect them to pick that one, but they end up going with the one that took like 15 minutes and -from a professional perspective- looks awful. It's funny, really.

But the same way people think that photographers are expensive for "pushing a button", many people think that graphic design should be pretty inexpensive. But it indeed takes much time and ability, as well as talent, to do it well. While a "big Business" logo designers may farm out work to Chinese sweatshops, sometimes its good to sit down with a local guy and throw him some ideas, and see what he comes up with.

It's a shame they couldn't come up with something you liked. And they should have, for $400. But they do have to be compensated for time spent on what they presented.

[Canonymous]

Sauk,

Just wondering if you were asked to supply a brief before they went away to work on your logo?

Most decent design companies help the client to work out a brief which then defines the clients requirements. This may include information about your business to aid in the concepts. The styles and designs that you like including examples that you supply to aid the look and feel. Also possibly styles you dont like so that they stay away from them in the design formation. Also I would expect that there would be several rounds of review for you to supply feedback. That way no one is wasting their time.

Was any of this part of the process?

Perhaps the $99 was well spent in the fact that you now know not to use this company in the future and perhaps find a better design company that can offer you a more meaningful service.

[clltexas]

I used The Logo Company. thelogocompany.net They show examples of logos so you could see if you thought you liked their work.

[Karl Johnston]

I just did our own in about an hour in photoshop.

I feel like a bastard for saying that

[cdifoto]

I just did our own in about an hour in photoshop.

I feel like a bastard for saying that
That's sad, considering it's not really a logo.

Unless you mean the one on your "About" page. In which case, you wasted an hour.

[Karl Johnston]

That's sad, considering it's not really a logo.

Unless you mean the one on your "About" page. In which case, you wasted an hour.

Meh, beats that hiroglyph you got on your page :p

[cdifoto]

I didn't know it was a contest.

[Karl Johnston]

Not anymore ! Muhahah ! :p I win !

[sevillafox]

You are both lame.

[cdifoto]

You are both lame.
Lo siento, madre.

[Karl Johnston]

I challenge you to a logo duel, black udder man ! (now we're lame)

[cdifoto]

Speak for yourself. I'm still awesome.

[Jeff]

Hold on....gotta get the popcorn. :)

[sevillafox]

Lo siento, madre.

Don't make me put you to bed without supper mister!

[cdifoto]

Don't make me put you to bed without supper mister!
Ooo that would be hot. You're married though. :(

[cory1848]

Well it was from a kinda big business so I expected more. I think 399 is more than a enough to design a logo.

And some people think $399 is more than enough for a 6 hour wedding. This kills me when people on here say what you have said.... Its so hypocritical. At one moment people are complaining about the $500 wedding photogs cause they bring the industry down, then on the other hand, the same people bitch when they have to pay for something like a logo design.

As a designer in my day job, the standard industry rate for corporate identity is minimum $500-$750 for a logo. Usually 50% retainer fee to even get started. What you are paying for with this "logo" service is equivalent to the microstock industry in photography. In all honesty, all $399 will get you is a bunch of different font designs. You get what you pay for.

Sorry if this comes across as strong but when pricing something out, people really need to start comparing what they are buying to what they would charge for a service in a similar industry and compensate accordingly.

[Sauk]

Cory,

I went and talk to local people around here and 399 is pretty darn standard for a logo design. And no not a font design, an actual logo design.

So yeah I think 399 is more than enough to produce a logo to be honest ;)

[cdifoto]

Phil Knight paid something like $35 for the swoosh back in 1971. That's about $184 in today's dollars.

[Sauk]

Phil Knight paid something like $35 for the swoosh back in 1971. That's about $184 in today's dollars.


wow you serious? lol That thing is worth billions now :)

[Sauk]

Yeah I filled something out to give them an idea what I was looking for. They had a standard questionnaire in the sign up process.

I always hate wasting money, but to be honest I would have never got the logo that sevilla designed for me if not for them failing. So yeah it's all good :)

Sauk,

Just wondering if you were asked to supply a brief before they went away to work on your logo?

Most decent design companies help the client to work out a brief which then defines the clients requirements. This may include information about your business to aid in the concepts. The styles and designs that you like including examples that you supply to aid the look and feel. Also possibly styles you dont like so that they stay away from them in the design formation. Also I would expect that there would be several rounds of review for you to supply feedback. That way no one is wasting their time.

Was any of this part of the process?

Perhaps the $99 was well spent in the fact that you now know not to use this company in the future and perhaps find a better design company that can offer you a more meaningful service.

[cdifoto]

wow you serious? lol That thing is worth billions now :)
Yeah I paid about $120 for mine, so I'm hoping I have similar success. :D

[Kendoway]

Sauk - can you post the 6 logos you didn't like? I'd be curious to see them.

[cory1848]

Cory,

I went and talk to local people around here and 399 is pretty darn standard for a logo design. And no not a font design, an actual logo design.

So yeah I think 399 is more than enough to produce a logo to be honest ;)

Well, dont complain when people start complaining about your photo prices. Its all relative.. Hope you get what you are looking for that price cause what you should be expecting is what you already got.

[Sauk]

Cory,

I have yet to have someone complain about them, but if I do I will take it in stride. It's part of the business, you can't make everyone happy, you can just try to do the best you can.

I will listen to that person and tell them thank you for offering your advice.

[Sauk]

Sauk - can you post the 6 logos you didn't like? I'd be curious to see them.


I no longer have them, but I can see if my wife got a screen grab.

[chrisvl]

wow you serious? lol That thing is worth billions now :)
Yes it did. But he later compensated the designer with stock worth quite a bit.

[cdifoto]

Yes it did. But he later compensated the designer with stock worth quite a bit.
Which, of course, was not something he had to do. In other words, it wasn't originally contracted that he gets the logo for $35 on the condition that he pays her millions in stock if he's successful.

[Sauk]

Well folks since I have went into Road Biking (riding a bicycle) I decided to get a customized jersey made :)

I have a Tour de Cure (American Diabetes Association) ride coming up in June (13th) I wanted to get my own jersey instead of showing off some other product.

(in case you wish to donate to help the cause head to my site and sponsor me, sorry small plug)

Here are a few images of my top

Back
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3654/3596137632_405129b39f_o.jpg

Front
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/3595330775_88e2d76a99_o.jpg

[sevillafox]

AWww....look at my creation all grown up.

It looks GREAT!!!

[Kendoway]

Pretty snazzy Matt (and yes, we're all jealous) :-)

[cosworth]

801 images in 10 point comic sans font beats %97.54 of the design I see out there today.

[Sauk]

Tiffany,

Still loving the logo :) And thank you again

Chris,

Thanks :) Wish I had the money because I would have done a full gear setup that way (shorts, socks, etc..)

Jason,

I believe that is a compliment (sorry my brain is mush) so thank you ;)