Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
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Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
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Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#2I'm curious to know what others think of using services such as 99designs, a kind of spec work market place. Most designers absolutely hate it [1].
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#3I'm curious to know what others think of using services such as 99designs, a kind of spec work market place. Most designers absolutely hate it [1]. [1] http://www.no-spec.com/archives/tag/99designs/
All you can really say to the people that use 99designs is "You get what you pay for."
There's always going to be people that don't understand the cost and importance of good design, and as much as I am continually put off when I hear business owners praising it, these are the types of people that would rather use WordArt for their logo if such a service didn't exist anyway, so there's not much to complain about.
I've also heard horror stories from both sides in the process, particularly when these cheapskates tend to be the ones who are the most nitpicky.
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#4I'm curious to know what others think of using services such as 99designs, a kind of spec work market place. Most designers absolutely hate it [1]. [1] http://www.no-spec.com/archives/tag/99designs/
I've used a service like 99designs (logosauce, I think it was), and I was relatively happy with the results. I will probably use a crowdsourcing service for upcoming projects as well.
I can understand why designers hate it, because the industry becomes a race to the bottom, and devalues the profession by making it seem like a commodity. The same thing happened with professional photography, especially in the wedding photography segment.
But I don't have a lot of money to spend on design. I can mock a piece of crap myself, or pay what I can afford to someone willing to do the work (or in the case of a crowdsourced service, compete) for it.
A higher priced designer isn't really losing revenue from me, because I was never able to afford him/her in the first place - and at least a designer is getting some money from me.
Having said that, you do typically get what you pay for. For $300, you're typically not getting as well thought out a design as you would for $10,000.
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#5I'm curious to know what others think of using services such as 99designs, a kind of spec work market place. Most designers absolutely hate it [1]. [1] http://www.no-spec.com/archives/tag/99designs/
All you can really say to the people that use 99designs is "You get what you pay for." There's always going to be people that don't understand the cost and importance of good design, and as much as I am continually put off when I hear business owners praising it, these are the types of people that would rather use WordArt for their logo if such a service didn't exist anyway, so there's not much to complain about. I'v…
>> "You get what you pay for."
That really is the key point.
For a one or two person bootstrapped startup, a designer can be cost prohibitive, especially if there's not a lot of money in the bank.
For a sustainable multi-person company that's making money, they should really spend more money on a freelance designer vs going the crowdsourced route.
The companies that could afford to hire a designer but opt for something like 99designs are usually difficult/annoying customers, so in some respects, sites like 99designs are doing the higher end designers a favor.
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#6Hey, if people can get something for free, they'll take it. I think you're talking to the wrong people here.
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#7We are completely with you here. When people aren't willing to pay for work, they inherently value it less too. If a startup needs to get something done, they should be willing to pay for it. It doesn't mean that you need to fork over 10K and then stuck with a sucky design, but at least pay the designer for a trial period. If you don't get along, you don't lose much money and the designer is happy. Win-win.
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#8I'm curious to know what others think of using services such as 99designs, a kind of spec work market place. Most designers absolutely hate it [1]. [1] http://www.no-spec.com/archives/tag/99designs/
I've used a service like 99designs (logosauce, I think it was), and I was relatively happy with the results. I will probably use a crowdsourcing service for upcoming projects as well. I can understand why designers hate it, because the industry becomes a race to the bottom, and devalues the profession by making it seem like a commodity. The same thing happened with professional photography, especially in the wedding…
> For $300, you're typically not getting as well thought out a design as you would for $10,000.
You're likely to get a temporary logo that lasts you 6-12 months until you need a real logo. On the other end of the pricing extreme, Vancouver supposedly spent $239,000 on a logo design.
http://archive.citycaucus.com/2009/12/239000-dollars-for-gre...
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#9I'm curious to know what others think of using services such as 99designs, a kind of spec work market place. Most designers absolutely hate it [1]. [1] http://www.no-spec.com/archives/tag/99designs/
All you can really say to the people that use 99designs is "You get what you pay for." There's always going to be people that don't understand the cost and importance of good design, and as much as I am continually put off when I hear business owners praising it, these are the types of people that would rather use WordArt for their logo if such a service didn't exist anyway, so there's not much to complain about. I'v…
You imply good design cannot be had at places like 99designs. I find that unfair, and a bit conceited.
Re: Startups: Quit Asking for Spec Work
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've used a service like 99designs (logosauce, I think it was), and I was relatively happy with the results. I will probably use a crowdsourcing service for upcoming projects as well. I can understand why designers hate it, because the industry becomes a race to the bottom, and devalues the profession by making it seem like a commodity. The same thing happened with professional photography, especially in the wedding…
> For $300, you're typically not getting as well thought out a design as you would for $10,000. You're likely to get a temporary logo that lasts you 6-12 months until you need a real logo. On the other end of the pricing extreme, Vancouver supposedly spent $239,000 on a logo design. http://archive.citycaucus.com/2009/12/239000-dollars-for-gre...
One company I worked for during the first dotcom bubble paid six figures for a branding exercise that included a logo that amounted to being a knockoff of the belt buckle of the original X-men.