This is a post for all of the designers who read this blog, and for anyone else who has an eye for design. Upstart Blogger needs a new logo. Something simple and clean that would look good in different situations both on screen and in print. The logo will be used on this blog and as a link graphic for all blogs in the Upstart Blogger network.
If you’d like to get a one year PR6 link to your blog in the form of a sidebar graphic, whilst at the same time having your work on show here at Upstart Blogger and across the Upstart Blogger network, submit your designs via email to contact@upstartblogger.com, or if you want to grab some immediate exposure, post them on your own blog and leave a link in the comments below.
You have a completely blank canvas to work with. I’ll pick a logo at the end of January and then place a one year banner link to the designers blog in the sidebar of Upstart Blogger.
I have a quick update to add to this post. It’s been brought to my attention that this offer could be seen as asking designers to to work on spec and potentially devalue their work. Having taken a look at the no-spec.com website I can appreciate the concern. I’m not a designer, I’m a musician, but there are parallels that can be drawn between the two careers in this regard. Because of this I’m changing the offer. It’s now a fully paid gig. If you are interested in designing a new logo for Upstart Blogger then leave a comment below along with a link to your portfolio or details of how to contact you. The designer who gets the gig will still benefit from a one year PR6 banner link in addition to the design fee.
I can totally agree that UpstartBlogger does need a logo, however I feel you may be going about getting a new one the wrong way. As a designer, and I assume you are one as well, you should never do “spec” work like you are asking. It undermines the work designers do. Take a look at http://www.no-spec.com to see where I am coming from. Don’t get me wrong I am not trying to flame you with this comment, just trying to bring to your attention that “spec” work is truly evil. A link to the person website would do no good if the designer didn’t have a website or didn’t have a way to make the money back from visitors that they would have made from actually having you commission them to make a logo. I would just like to ask you to think about what you are asking here as a designer yourself, after viewing the No-Spec website, because I would hope that you don’t contribute to people asking for designers to do “spec” work. Keep in mind I am not flaming you just wanting to make sure you and others are informed on the issue.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Jenkins. This is now a fully paid gig with no need for spec work. I’ve updated the post to reflect this change.
I just wanted to say that I’m really impressed by your response, Ashley. I’ve noticed you’re working hard to up the traffic and move forward with the site; I really think it will pay off for you.
Keep it up.
That is cool that you understand where I was coming from on this. I really hope I didn’t step on any toe’s or anything of the sort because it was not my intention. I think you will get better quality work from real designers who value their work. Too many times I have seen people ask for spec work and then they end up getting “junk”. It is kinda one of things things, where you get what you pay for. Just be sure you choose someone with a quality portfolio, because alot of people are just “players” and not really a pro.
Another site you may check out where you can find a solid designer is http://www.logopond.com . I go there quite often when I need to hire a freelancer. People have their portfolios of logos on the site and it is setup rather well. You may be able to find someone there too.
Good luck in your search. I look forward to the new look.
Personally, speaking as only an amateur myself, I really think you should go with a strictly typographic logo – maybe some custom font work, but nothing overtly graphic. Granted, I think it would be obvious to any designer (or anyone with an aesthetic sense for that matter) that the site design forgoes flashy images, instead focusing on the type and content and that a logo would need to keep with that wonderfully utilitarian approach.
I doubt I’m saying anything you don’t already know, though.
Jenkins, I think you made your point far more graciously than is often the case. A few times I’ve seen people broach the subject of a “logo competition” only to be attacked for daring consider it. I’m glad to see a level of maturity here; now if only we could spread that to the rest of the internet (and, maybe then, the flesh and blood world).
Andrew – Thanks for the kind words. They are very much appreciated. When I read Jenkins’ comment it immediately occurred to me that musicians like me, and all artists for that matter, are in the same boat as designers when it comes to spec work. The penny then dropped and it dawned on me that I was, in fact, putting designers into an on-spec situation so I made the changes to the gig.
I agree with your second comment also. Well presented text is what gives Upstart Blogger its unique look, all credit to Robert for that, and I do want to keep that look intact with any future redesign. I need something that can be used as a link back to Upstart Blogger for the network member blogs. I’ve got some text based ideas in my head so if nobody comes forward I’ll put something together and post it to get some feedback.
Upstart Blogger has a good readership and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone act irresponsibly. I’m very lucky in that respect. I’m sure other bloggers would love to have such an intelligent subscriber base.
Jenkins – Thanks. You haven’t stepped on anyones toes. You were right to make the comment and, as Andrew correctly states, you did it in a gracious and professional way. Funnily enough your second comment draws even more parallels between musicians and designers. I’m a professional and I charge a price that reflects this. But, I lose a lot of gigs to non professionals who push themselves into every gig with a “we can do it much cheaper” attitude which ultimately hurts everyone in the business. The only way out of this situation is to just pitch for gigs where the person responsible for the booking cares about the music and not about the money. And those gigs are often few and far between.
@Andrew: Thank you for the comment, I appreciate it. Also, I agree with you idea that the type should be typographic in nature. There are so many things that can be done with text alone if someone just takes the time to do it. I have been in the graphics/printing industry for going on 13 years (I am going on 31), and I have seen way too many people with no idea of what they are doing. I find too many people don’t think about how the logo will be used, and put something together in Photoshop that is full color. A logo should be designed with a vector based program such as Illustrator. It could have a couple different colors, but it would need to be able to be turned into a 1 color logo if need be. Too many logos are done the wrong way and when it comes time that they need a 1 color version, they can’t do it. I highly recommend checking out Logopond.com (not to promote another site), but there you can find tons of logos that are great designs and get an idea of what is good and bad design.
@UpstartBlogger: I totally see where you are coming from about the gigs and people under-cutting prices. Only if the idiots in this world would quit breeding we wouldn’t have to worry about morons polluting the gene pool. Good luck in the hunt for a logo, and should you need any help reviewing comps you get from the designer, or need them critiqued I would be more than happy to help.
Kudos to Jenkins for bringing up the no-spec! And thanks to Ashley for his open mind. :-)