What's the status on the new SmugMug logo?
scritch
Registered Users Posts: 14 Big grins
Wondering how the whole crowdsourcing process went for you and whether you've made a decision about the winning entry (out of over 4,000) and all that good stuff. Scoop, man!
0
Comments
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
See this thread http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=169595
DayBreak, my Folk Music Group (some free mp3s!) http://daybreakfolk.com
We changed the logo
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
(Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or anything, just seems like a big production for what ended up being a changed font).
Smuggy changed too
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
WARNING! WARNING! RANT ENSUES! (Hey, I'd make it flash if I could)
I do know it was difficult for me, as a trusted professional, to watch. I actually entered with a design almost identical to the new logo with the express intent of strongly advising you through example and essay, as a professional who cares far more about your brand, the people behind it, and what it stands for than any amount of money, to keep your brand close and why. So, I chose to enter the contest because that was the platform you chose to do this in. I also advised you that the amount of money you were offering was going to draw submissions for all the wrong reasons, and create an energetic suck zone... and as you received well over 4,000 submissions, the majority of which sucked *ss, I think it's safe to say that's probably accurate.
Had I been your branding adviser/designer, your bill would have come to approximately 2% of what you paid. That's two percent. Yeah. $5,000 would have gone solely to buying equipment and memberships to youth showing promise in photography who could not otherwise afford it, because I could never in good conscience utilize money that I would never charge someone for a simple update on a well-established brand. Had I been your brand adviser, and you insisted on a radical change, I would have referred you to another branding professional after advising you against such a decision.
Having said all that, and restraining myself from saying much more, I am very glad you came to the conclusion a professional would have brought you to for a fraction of what you paid in money, time, and energy. And even though that sounded incredibly nanny-nanny-boo-boo-I-told-you-so, I really mean it sincerely, as in big sigh of relief. Really. No, really.
Professional branding is based on more than a dozen factors that are taken into consideration. It's a process between trusted professional and client, not between contest holder and hundreds of very hungry people who range from professional to complete and utter amateur with zero scruples. I guarantee that, with a $5,000 kitty at stake, there were precious few participants who actually had your back, so to speak. Let's just say you had a sea of cartoon figures with huge dollar signs in their eyes and drool at the corners of their mouths swarming around your feet for a month. For that kind of action, I would have hit a local carnival or 6 Flags (or downtown, but that requires a shower after). Wayyyy cheaper and more fun.
An apt analogy would be inviting a hundred photographers to do a shoot, but telling them how to set up their camera, what exposure to shoot with, angle and lighting, and composition, and then, in your professional opinion as a non-photographer, you'll figure out the good shots. Why bother with a professional at all? You've now reduced the integrity of the profession and the process to nothing. When you do that, it negates the profession and the skill and knowledge of the professional. It cheapens the field and waters down the pool of available talent and expertise. Most importantly, it wastes your time, energy, and resources, and you might end up with crap because you didn't heed the advice of the two good professionals who actually showed up to the shoot.
(Oops. My restrain button slipped a little. Sarry.)
Okay, end of lecture/diatribe/rant/vent/scream/noxious emission. Messy on accounta I'm kinda fiercely loyal and supportive of SmugMug and I don't want any idjits hurting you.
Tooooodayyyyyy.
We learned a lot.
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter