The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment
February 17, 2009 • 5:51 pm • POSTED BY Jim Walls
A couple of weeks back, Forbes ran a little article deeming graphic design “a snooty business,” before profiling a site called CrowdSpring where clients go to throw spec logo projects to a pool of 13,000 Photoshop jockeys. The winning design gets about $200 or so, the rest go back to their day jobs. For some, apparently, the day job unfortunately involves designing more free logos for other contest sites—a career that likely ranks second in salary behind “Hopelessly Addicted Scratch-Off Lottery Ticket Entuhsiast.”
Of course, the design community went apoplectic in response to the article. “Ethics!” some lamented in the comments. I’m sure a few of them even dashed off another design manifesto or two or fifty.
Here’s the truth, though, and why all the good designers need to relax: the vast majority of the self-described designers on sites like CrowdSpring aren’t really designers. Sure, they may have a (likely pirated) version of Adobe CS4 and spent an hour or so on a few online tutorials. But owning a copy of Pet Sounds doesn’t make you Brian Freaking Wilson. And from the looks of things, most submitters are doing nothing more than manipulating a few drop-down menus to add type over top of some clip art and calling it a logo.
I think I’m pretty good with the computers and the Facebook, and I can do that clip art stuff too, but I’m not a designer by any stretch. I’ve worked alongside enough mind-blowingly great people to know the difference. The truly talented should never, ever have to work for free. And there will always be good clients who recognize the value of what they’re getting when they pay experts. Likewise, there will always be the pizza shop owners and recent MBA grads launching their next Basecamp rip-off who get what they pay for when they go for the lowest common denominator.
Oh, I saw this trend coming though. So, in the spirit of participation, I launched an experiment that lasted throughout much of 2008. Among my many online ventures lies CheesesOfNazareth.info, a URL purchased on my behalf by one of our aforementioned talented designers as a Secret Santa gift in 2007. From what I understand, all hangers-on in the agency business are ceremoniously slaughtered by interns on the day before their 40th birthday, which is why I’m making plans to have my online cheese and cheese product empire up, running, and thriving well before that day comes. But the first step was to get a logo for the cover of my business plan.
I turned to the cleverly named 50DollarLogo.com, a site based in Sri Lanka or somewhere promising six logo designs, unlimited revisions, and a 1-3 day turnaround. Who needs messy things like research, insight, or even a modicum of information about my business, when I can have unlimited revisions? I quickly gave them my information, credit card number, social security number, and bank account routing number, and we were off to the races.
Excerpted below is the actual yearlong conversation that followed between a hapless client (me) and a helpful Internet robot named “Abina.” I’ll leave it to you to decide whether the outcome was worth my 50 bones. I’ll let you know when my first round of VC funding rolls in.
—-
Me:
Dear 50dollarlogo.com—Help! I’m looking to launch my online cheese and cheese-food product distribution and fulfillment company, but I need a logo that can explain to buyers right away that I mean business! (And hopefully lots of it ha ha!) The name is cheesesofnazareth.info, so it should probably involve cheese(s) in some significant way. Also needs to have energy, speed, and pizzazz, which judging by your porfolio, you have in spades! The other direction I should give you is that it shouldn’t be something like Nike or Target, but more like a Web 2.0 company—think Flickr or eHarmony.com. Look forward to seeing the six designs your creative minds and hands come up with!
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Jim Walls,
Thank You For your order.
Please ensure you have or about to make payment. We require the payment for the order before we can start working on you designs.
Note, you are entitled to a 100 percent money back guarantee on your order. Further, you are entitled to un limited and free revisions to your logo designs until you are fully satisfied.
Thank You Kindly,
Abina,
Customer Services
50dollarlogo.com
—
Me: [four days later]
Any update on my order?
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for the email.
We are very sorry for the delay.
We will send you the sample as soon as possible.
Thank You,
Abina
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your order.
Having studied your requirements we now provide you the low resolution samples of your logo in jpeg format meant for evaluation purpose. You will receive a high resolution format after you are fully satisfied with your final logo. Font files used in the corresponding logo will also be sent along with the source file so that the logo will be 100% resizable and editable.
You now have the opportunity to request unlimited revisions (free of charge) to one of the samples given here. This will allow you to fine-tune the sample so that you are fully happy. Note, many logo firms would only allow one round of revision.
Its practically impossible for any logo company to meet a customer’s imagination without some revisions. Thus, we are now open to your requests for revisions. This can be done by replying to this email and stating:
1. The sample you most prefer (we can also blend the design between more than one order sample if you desire).
2. The revisions you wish to be applied to this logo sample. i.e any alteration on colors, fonts, size of text, images or anything generally you wish to have altered.
If you do not desire any revisions then please simply state the logo sample you require. We will then send the files appropriate for high resolution and editing which will be helpful for you in the long term.
As soon as we here from you, we aim to meet your design requests within 2 business days.
Ultimately, we are here to receive your feedback so that we can strive to provide the exact logo you have in mind.
Thank you kindly,
Abina
—
Me:
So many good things about these logos! But I’m afraid they’re not quite there yet. 
Can you finesse them?
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for the email.
We have informed our designers about your request. We aim to send you the improved logos within 2 working days.
We are happy to provide you as many numbers of revisions as you want. We strive to make our customer fully satisfied.
Thank you,
Abina
—
Me:
HELP! It’s been two weeks since I last heard from you.
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Sir,
Please receive the improved logo samples of your company enclosed herewith.
We have made improvements as asked by you. Hope they are like the one you have asked for. Please do let us know your view so that we can proceed further.
We are happy to provide you as many numbers of revisions as you want. We strive to make our customer fully satisfied.
Thank you, Abina
—
Me:
Abina—SOOOOOO creative. Where do get your ideas? From an idea well? Must be bottomless!
One major problem that my wife pointed out, however. The company name is CHEESES, not CHEESE. Can you please revise? Also, can you combine the cheese man with the woodcut styling of #4 from your original round?
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Sir,
Thank you for the email.
We have informed our designers about your request. We aim to send you the improved logos within 2 working days.
We are happy to provide you as many numbers of revisions as you want. We strive to make our customer fully satisfied.
Thank you,
Abina
—
—
Me:
This version is definitely adorable, but my sales team is concerned that the smiling, gesturing Swiss cheese suggests we only sell Swiss—which is certainly not the case!!? Can you include a variety of anthropomorphic cheeses in the logo alongside the Swiss? Some of our biggest sellers include:
Cheddar
Mozzarella
Brie (doesn’t ship well)
Gouda
Philadelphia Brand(r) Cream Cheese
Havarti
Taco
Feta
We also carry a limited but delicious selection of gourmet dates.
Also, my warehouse is yellow (with large “holes” painted on it), so these logos will blend in too much. Consider other colors, like Target.
—
[several months pass]
—
Me:
Abina-
Upon further consideration, I feel that you guys have really missed the religious connotation in my company’s name, and we really want to play this up. Is there a way to emphasize this connection? Specifically, when you redesign the various cheeses, is there a way to approximate DaVinci’s “Last Supper”? I do think the Swiss cheese could be positioned roughly where Jesus is located, since Swiss is a very prominent cheese.
Thanks for your continued hard work. We’re close!
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Jim,
Thank you for the email.
We have informed our designers about your request. We aim to send you the improved logos within 2 working days.
We are happy to provide you as many numbers of revisions as you want. We strive to make our customer fully satisfied.
Thank you,
Abina
—
Me:
How are the redesigns coming along? It’s been nearly three months since my last request!
—
50DollarLogo:
Dear Jim,
Thank you for the email.
We are very sorry for the delay.
We will send you the improved logo within 24 hours.
We apologies for the delay.
Thank You,
Abina
—
Me:
[still waiting]
[...] Ever heard of 50dollarlogo.com? Read this to see what it’s really about. click here to read [...]
Haha….hope you will receive your cheesy logo by end of this year :p
Jim, you should probably try out a 40 dollar logo experiment instead….Logodesigncreation.com is offering customers with a $39 logo! Not sure if they produce great quality graphics but apparently they appeared on LogoLounge 5….would like to see if it turns our hillarious.
[...] Cheeses of Nazareth – The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment "Likewise, there will always be the pizza shop owners and recent MBA grads launching their next Basecamp rip-off who get what they pay for when they go for the lowest common denominator." (tags: cheap dollar graphic design funny) « Gheorghe revine [...]
[...] one was posted last month, I had to include it. Jim Walls from 160over90 conducted a test called The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment. As designers, we’ve all had clients argue about pricing by pointing out that they can get a [...]
LOL, that was really interesting, and too Funny.
Thank you for the story
As a designer, I’m inclined to think sites such as crowdspring and 50-dollar logo are destined to churn out garbage… But then again think about photography… think about what istockphoto and fotolia have done to the photographer’s market. It’s made a lot of people mad by replacing quality with crap… but it’s getting better. Much better. After my companies budget got slashed due to the recession, we almost exclusively use istockphoto. And it’s getting harder and harder to tell the difference.
I see potential for sites like Crowdspring to attract, challenge and even inadvertently teach (by association) amateur designers. I think it may ultimately raise the bar for designers. If (or when) that does happen, I gladly say ‘bring it on’. I’m just looking for an impetus to drive graphic designers into our next stage of design evolution.
Well, we NEVER got our logo. I was told, after an angry letter from me, that I would have my logo in 24 hours. Three days later I got something that looked like it was made by a child.
Many of you wondered what would happen if you asked for your money back. Well, I did just that. And I was told it will take 21 days and they are sending me a check……..a foreign check! They are in a foreign country. So it will probably cost me $50.00 to cash the check…and that’s IF I ever get it. I was robbed. Learn from my dumb lesson.
All this seems to be tainted… its hard to know if its really true, because some things seems to be so stupid..including the logo samples.
shadys work exp was fish lol lol lol lol lolo lol llo lol lo l olo l o l o l o l o l o l o l o l
I hope nobody will ask me something like that. Hate this kind of brief.
I am a small business startup. I have no idea of even putting a clipart on a letterpad. I just need something. Getting business cards cost me more than $50. So what are my options? I guess, I’ll have to use either one of these 50dollarlogo or logodesigncreation. I am in Canada so http://www.50dollarlogo.ca is offering same price in Candian currency CAD$50, after exchange rate logodesigncreation’s US$39 is a little more than CAD$50
I will make a decision very soon and will go ahead with placing my order.
[...] Read the rest here… it is worth it for the giggles >> [...]
The name of this website shows what might will happen and it goes around that…;) I think, that this is not a real company…only a one-man action, who gets, in this case, enough money for his “hard” work. There might be many guys using some of those clipart logos, i think. I’m excited, whats going to happen next…if there will come any response…;)
Hey man, I salute your patience and the cool manner you have used to bring this all to us. I think this experience should get to more people and if you don’t mind can I share it with my readers on my blog with proper linking?
definitely. Thanks for the linkage.
After unsuccesfully waiting for my logo, I asked for a refund. I was told it would take 21 days for me to receive a check. It has now been a month and I still have receieved nothing. Stay away from 50dollarlogo.com.
[...] For an entertaining look at someone who tried one of these $50 logo companies click here, “The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment” [...]
Having the same problem!
[...] more in a professional, original website. Reminded me of a wonderful blog I read a while ago – http://www.160over90.com/blog/2009/02/17/the-50-dollar-logo-experiment/ – a delight for all the designers out there who have ever been pushed on price! It is also a good [...]
[...] actually came across this post over at 160over90 a few months ago. Someone over at Forbes not too long ago ran an article about [...]
what the F.U.C.K do u expect from a 50$ service…. go F.U.C.K.. there are some people living in 3rd world countries and they deserve to work too.. if u dont like it… go eat ur own S.H.I.T.. Its only u who outsourced the work to these people and u cant blame now. Just Shut ur trap and F.U.C.K Off.
It occurs to me that your entire point may well mean nothing to the entrepreneurs at $50 Logo. I applaud anyone who finds a way to make a living on their own terms, sophisticated or not. Their market differs from that of corporate America, and their standards of course do as well. Anyone looking to pay only $50 for a logo knows this.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
[...] 50 Dollar Logo Experiment – A cheeky designer using a spec work service. Category: Visualisations Author: Ben Posted: Sunday, May 10th, 2009 [...]
I only wish I had read this before I placed my order. It has only been 11 days for me but I am definetly feeling your pain…
Your experiment isn’t finished.
Show us your design. Same brief.
While I appreciate the delays occurred in the order could have been from the supplier but the client never wanted a logo. All he wanted an excuse to make fun of human skills. I am sure there are so many success stories around. When you pay a fraction of the design agency cost, you would expect a few rounds until you get there. Trust, most design agencies get their work done from these online designers and make a fortune out of it. They know how to pass the correct brief, how to ask for the revisions and most importantly they have a genuine desire to have a positive outcome. Next time try with an intetion of getting the job done, call them up, speak to someone and try to explain what you actualy like and what you do not like. I am sure you will change your openion.
Damn! I was gonna contact them for my “Pork Chops 4 Mecca” project”
[...] Tags: $50 dollar logo, experiment, logo, online design companies Today I read about the “The $50 Logo Experiment” on 160over90’s [...]
Just posted this to the #aigaconnect hash tag in Twitter. Lots and lots of discussion on this very topic at the AIGA (National) Leadership Retreat this past weekend. Thanks for posting!!
This is really a great post. Its hilarious. I think every online desingning companies gets little lesson from this. I pity on the devlopers and self proclaimed designers at 50 dollar. Its not about the dollar you spend but the quality you want. They should have given just 1 or 2 logos but of good quality. Not just putting a clipart and gradient on the text, and look at the colors.
Sickjoke please mind your language. You are in third world because you work like that. I wonder how many people might have just taken a logo from 50 dollar and dumped it unsatisfied and hired anther one, as you can see they can’t even get refund. Its sad people work for only money. We get a very good t-shirt with a good logo in it or even a good pair of jeans for $50, its not a small amount.
[...] professional designers be worried about crowdsourced spec design sites? Jim Walls spent $50 to find [...]
[...] Check it out here….enjoy! « Wii Tagging Get it Off Your Chest » [...]
[...] particular article is called the $50 Dollar Logo Experiment, and describes one poor chap’s experience outsourcing his company’s logo [...]
The results arent that bad for this price an no one cant expect more.
[...] The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment [...]
[...] being undercut by subpar designers they decided to try the experiment out for themselves. See it here, one of the best parts about it is the company name. Tied in with the smiling “cheese” [...]
my friends and i have used 50dollarlogo several times and the results have always been excellent. it must have been a one off.
[...] called TheRoot42, and we decided to collectively find out. Inspired by Jim Walls epic ‘Cheeses of Nazareth‘ experience, we quickly raised the requisite $50 in donations, and ordered our logo. A couple [...]
This story is horrific. But as they say, you get what you pay for. I couldn’t imagine any quality work coming out of a business such as this. Anyone who thinks that any of those logos hit your mark is severely misinformed about the purposes of a logo and the effective communication of ideas that it must convey. I propose a moratorium on any such services, especially the substandard “create your own logo software” that has recently grown in popularity.
~J
On behave of al the designers out there…thank you for the post.
[...] their tarket market, and other such pesky details—but from now on, I may just send them over to The 50 Dollar Logo Experiment by Jim Walls (found on BlogLESS). It’s far more entertaining, and probably far more convincing as well. [...]
[...] lots of clipart ) later he’s is still waiting for his logo. Jim has been kind enough to share the entire conversation with his “designer” for a little insight into what can be expected from cheap logo [...]
Thank you for this entry! Steve
[...] The 50 dollars logo experiment Article that you should send to your clients looking for low-cost design work. [...]
The 50 Dollar Logo owner Tommy O’D
email : tommyod46@hotmail.com
ph. no:+441865327575
+447951786689
I am still unsure as to what this is proving. For 50 dollars you don’t get a quality logo? THRILLING AND UNEXPECTED
does anyone know, can find out where these guys are located in sri lanka? an address?
they have ripped me off along with many others. will not give refund.
can anyone help find these people??
ok, really funny post. I’m sure we all get enough fun out the 50 bucks. But for a mon and pop shop, paying $50 to get 6 logo choices isn’t such a bad idea after all.