Crowdsourcing: Driving the future of Logo Design in UK

Some people allege that crowdsourcing is “evil” and logo design contest are “bad”, but simply making proclamations against a concept means drawing a bleak picture of the subject. Before opposing any contest, let alone logo design contest, one should realize that contests are not obligatory or binding on the participants. On the contrary, they are voluntary and solely on the willingness of the contestants. Designers who wish to show their mettle and earn a quick buck enter into logo design contests on their own free will.

Before coming to any conclusions, let us analyze the crowdsourcing issue in a balanced way. Let us look at both the benefits and drawbacks of crowdsourcing.

Benefits of Crowdsourcing
• Crowdsourcing provides a platform for logo designers to demonstrate their talent
• It gives an equal opportunity for designers from all parts of the world to compete
• It brings the emerging and promising logo designers into the limelight
• It creates an environment of competition, which in turn yields higher quality of logo designs
• Crowdsourcing is a prompt and convenient way of carrying out logo design transactions
• It provides a chance for designers in the third world countries with insignificant portfolio to earn a living
• Serves as a social hub for designers to get acquainted with their counterparts and learn
• It benefits designers in the long-run, with possibility of further projects once their design is selected.
• A practical and feasible option for companies with budget constraints

Drawbacks of Crowdsourcing:
• Crowdsourcing usually yields only one winner and the rest of the designer feel neglected
• Although it is a low-cost solution for companies, it may compromise on quality of logo design due to time constraints.
• Preferences of the winning design are made solely on the basis of client’s decision.
• It is believed that crowdsourcing devaluates the prices of logo designs.
• Crowdsourcing may involve legal concerns as there is a possibility that the logo design violates copyright and trademark issues.
• Since logo design contests are time-bound, they may produce low quality of logo designs in haste.

How is crowdsourcing serving logo design in UK?
There are numerous examples to suffice that crowdsourcing is playing a vital role in the field of logo design in UK. The latest case in point is the logo design contest initiated by Greenpeace UK to redesign the BP logo. Designers of all ages and experiences are thrilled to join this contest, even though it does not entail any prize money.
Another case in point is the recent EU organic logo redesign obtained through an online contest. The contest adjudicated the best three logo designs, each with respective prize money. The winner received €6,000, while the runners-up collected €3,500 and €2,500 respectively.

Initiating the rising trend:
One of the major reasons for criticism and reprisal against logo design contest and other crowdsourcing sites is that it undermines the well-established logo designers and their potential work. Frankly speaking, being intimidated by competition is not a satisfactory rationale for opposing new trends. Irrespective of what crowdsourcing antagonist feel, it is a proven fact that logo design contests are a rising trend and a useful and bright prospect for emerging logo designers.
Keeping in view the emerging trends, we here at logoguru.co.uk, have initiated our very own logo design contest site where designers are invited to participate and earn.
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Crowd Sourcing and Disruption

Pratt's Undergraduate Communications Design department will host a panel discussion on the emergence of crowd sourcing models in the design and communication industries.

Crowd sourcing is a new and often hard to define term that refers to using information technology to parcel work out to a large group.

Crowd sourcing models have already completely changed the stock photography business and appear to be spreading to other sectors of the creative economy.

The speakers will help the audience uncover what crowd sourcing is, what the implications are for designers and what an appropriate response might be for those working in affected industries.
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Crowdsourcing: 5 Reasons It's Not Just For Startups Any More

Next-generation enterprises looking to drive efficiency and innovation have recently been able to tap into online communities to offload work. For the first time since outsourcing became prevalent in the 90s -- making it easier to move tasks out to partners that could do something better or more cheaply than you could -- businesses now have a new, potent, and often far cheaper option thanks to the Web. Frequently referred to as crowdsourcing, and a darling of the Web 2.0 industry, it has recently come of age as the tools and marketplaces for on-demand work capacity on the network have expanded far beyond the early volunteer communities that originally proved out the concepts. These pioneers, which include the world of open source software and online services such as YouTube and Threadless, get most of their value from a large group of people or community through the simple use of an open invitation.
How Crowdsourcing Works...

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Designchords.com crowdsources itself into a crowded design space...

This was twittered to us. New from India...A new startup with an aim to create a level playing field for both new startups and upcoming designers across the globe. By establishing a virtual market through creative crowdsourcing, they hope to show the world the untapped potential of the POWER OF THE MASSES.
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GeniusRocket crowdsources brilliance!

It started as a coincidence, turned into a real possibility and resulted in a bona fide solution to my problem. At the risk of translating my giddiness into hyperbole, the idea behind GeniusRocket (and CrowdSPRING, the company that led me there -- see a ReviewCam of CrowdSPRING here) is well on its way to becoming THE new model for custom service exchange on the web. I'm sold, if for no other reason than because it delivered. GeniusRocket is an online creative service experience, where you can submit your project, name your price, set a deadline and, through a network of artists and experts, you suddenly begin to get the creative solutions you were seeking. Not just ideas or sketches, but real work. As the deadline draws closer, more bids come in.
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Crowdsourcing work...

I have been interested in crowdsourcing for a while. The power of the internet is the power of connections, and crowdsourcing allows people to make connections that would be impossible without it. This is true whether it links fans of some obscure 80’s TV show, or people looking for work. I have a Google alert set up for crowdsourcing, and it recently threw me this blog post criticizing one of the freelance logo design sites. In these sites, you typically put up a prize of around $250 and many designers compete to try to win the prize. I have used these kinds of sites before, and been happy with the results.
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Portland businesses criticize city's bid for free Web redesign

Crowdsourcing is hot in the business world, with companies asking the public to design T-shirts, shoes and more -- then vote the best entries into stores. Portland city officials joined the fray this month, launching a contest to help redesign the government's Web site. They see the project as a hip, tech-savvy way to engage a city known for civic pride. "Portland has a lot to live up to in terms of public input," says Roy Kaufmann, spokesman for Mayor Sam Adams. Not cool, Portland. By asking amateurs to design for free, creative professionals say, the city is disrespecting a signature industry and botching a chance to brand Portland.
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Frenden, an illustrator has a big problem with crowdsourcer Cameesa...

I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard enough time making a living from illustration in the current economy. The ever growing list of crowdsourcing, spec-generating sites like 99Designs has added another to its tally, Cameesa. This is a particularly hard pill to swallow. Cameesa’s crowd-funding philosophy was almost an ubuntu-esque, anti-spec treatise...
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Crowd-sourcing site launches NSW Government logo

A crowd-sourcing website has organised a competition to find a new logo for the NSW Government, after Premier Nathan Rees spent thousands of dollars designing a "botched" version, the website said. DesignBay.com, a marketplace operated by a 25 year old entrepreneur in Sydney, has launched a $1,000 contest to redesign the logo. The NSW logo, which was designed after 18 months of research, was meant to resemble the state's floral emblem, the Waratah, but botanists and gardening experts have said the logo is the spitting image of a lotus. DesignBay will give $1,000 to the best designer of a new logo. The contest will run for 30 days, and has already received 10 entries.
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Is Crowdsourcing Museums the future of the memorable experience?

In the museum environment, it is sometimes suggested that audiences/creators and producers are willing to pay more for products and services if these are provided in an atmosphere that generates ‘memorable’ experiences...This thought-piece hopes to explore the demand-driven environment for design innovation, supported by establishing partnerships throughout the value-chain of development through a participatory process of design which seeks to engage both audiences and users in the design and development of cultual interactive experiences.To Learn More Click Here

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