We’ve all seen ads on social media for “$5 logos.” Fiverr and Logotournament are just two of them but they are everywhere. As designers and especially creative entrepreneurs just starting out, it can be extremely tempting to participate in these kind of gigs through companies, commonly known as logo mills. As unsuspecting business owners, it can be equally tempting to get a logo, for little more than your morning joe. Seems harmless, right? You get a cheap logo, a designer gets work. What could possibly be wrong? Well, let me tell you.

SPEC WORK
These sites operate on the concept of speculative work, or spec work. This means that they enlist the help of a designer, have them work for free, and if they like it they’ll pay for it. Seems fair right? If you don’t like your coffee often times the barista will remake it for you on the house. Why should you have to pay for something you don’t like? Seems innocent enough, and it’s pretty convincing, too! The difference is that at a cafe, you’ve paid for a drink. You placed your order, you paid for the product and you received a product. Money changed hands, someone got paid. Now let’s say you walk into Starbucks and ask them, “Can I have a grande mocha just to try?” The barista will say, “Sure! I can make you a little sample!” You respond, “No I want a grande mocha just to try, and if I like it then I’ll pay.” That’s when the barista rightfully gives you a look like you’re kind of a crazy a-hole and she wants you to get out of her store. This is the problem with spec work. It expects free product and payment is conditional upon the subjective opinion of the customer. You can’t run a business on spec work. You don’t expect your mechanic to run a garage like this, you don’t expect your dentist to fill your cavities for free, you don’t expect anyone else to work for free, so why should you expect that of a designer?

A LOGO WITHOUT A BRAND
Fine, go to Fiverr. You get that $5 logo. But that’s all you’re getting. You give a few points about what you’re looking for and you want a quick turnaround. You think you’re satisfied until you see your competitor’s work. It’s way better than yours and really fits their business model and what they do. All your logo does is look sorta cool. It says nothing about who you are and is honestly kind of generic. You know why? Because your competition hired a professional. That professional used a creative brief, they got to know your competitor’s story, their customers, their business, and them. They did their research. They studied your competition. They got into the roots of what makes the company what it is. That’s why they paid so much. The $5 you paid may have gotten you something kinda cool looking, but, in addition to bearing a weak reflection of your company, it also may have gotten you a copyright or trademark infringement.

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
So you have your $5 logo and let’s say you’re totally happy with it. What could go wrong? A great logo for $5. It’s almost too good to be true. Well, get ready to open up your wallets because not only is your logo subpar and without a brand, you’ve just gotten a cease and desist, because the design you bought was ripped off. Logo mills, have people working to produce sometimes hundreds of options for a client in a short period of time. In order to have enough options, many workers rip designs off just to make it work. They say they police that, but they don’t do it very closely. You never know if your bangin’ new logo is a rip off unless you do your own research, and unless you understand copyright law, you might not know exactly what to look for. Copyright violations and ripoffs aren’t terribly high on the priority list for logo mills.

EXPLOITATION
You run a good business, right? You treat your employees well, you pay them fairly, you go above and beyond for your customers? Even the best business owners are tempted by logo mills. Heck, I’ve even been tempted to get work from them. The truth is, their designers are exploited. They enter a ton of work in a competition with a hundred other designers, and they don’t get chosen. Some of the people creating work aren’t even designers, and have no idea what they’re doing design wise. Those who are designers and aren’t isn’t ripping off logos are cranking out high volumes of work for very little or no return. If their work isn’t chosen, they’ve just wasted a lot of effort for nothing. Do your employees compete for their paychecks? Do you pay the one whose work you like best? Then don’t do it with the person making your logo. Your business is better than that.

QUALITY
The quality you’ll get with a logo mill doesn’t hold a match to the quality you get with someone working as a professional designer. What you see when you view their “portfolio” is not what you most often get when you solicit work from them. Because of how we dive into your business and involve you in the process, the work of professional designers just comes out better. We have the experience to know how long things take, we have a method to our madness, we are able to stage out our work so we can communicate where we are, we know what questions to ask, and we give ourselves the time necessary to produce something that is worth your money. When you are working with a professional designer, you can know they take the time to get it right. When all is said and done, you will have built up your brand, invested in your business, and established a new relationship. In short, you get quality both in product and customer service. You’re not just someone waiting in line for a $5 logo.

TAKE YOUR PICK
I’ve done some research to see what kind of work comes out of logo mills. With what I’ve learned, I’ve created a logo similar in quality to the ones a few of my former colleagues received. I would show you the logos they chose, however, I’m not here to throw them under the bus. The bottom is a design that is in my portfolio, and the top is a version that is similar to what might be received from a logo mill. It’s done quickly, it’s poorly thought out, the concept is obvious and cliché. In designing the bottom one, I took the time to choose the typeface, the colors, and what the client said the logo needed to convey. It’s simple, clean, and is crafted with care and attention to detail, none of which you get with a logo mill.

If you are looking for a rebrand, please get in touch with me and steer clear of any website that promises an inexpensive logo with a quick turnaround. I would love to learn about your business and get to know you as a person. Not only do I give you my time, but I give you some seriously good design work. I won’t be moving on to the next project after 20 minutes of work on your project. With design you get what you pay for. Make sure you’re paying for something that works.