Thank you for fixing our URL link, that was prompt.

I would also like to say I do like the layout of your website, clean and fresh. Well done!

We do not give out refunds. Instead we allow the client to extend their contest and up to 4 times if need be. Every time a client extends the contest we give them feedback on how they can further improve their contest. This is much better then a full refund.

We also include robust IP violation tools that allow any registered designer to report a design on the fly. The design gets locked out for everyone to see and the reporters name and nature of the violation is published in the comments section at the bottom of the contest page. All registered users can vote on the design, a “Yes” or “No” as to whether it is a violation of IP or any other issue the reporter mentions.

We believe our system is going to improve the way contest sites are run which make it fairer for both clients and designers.

My personal take on design contests is as follows: design contests can be very effective for a company that is floundering around looking for the direction they want their brand to go design wise, but the end of the contest is not always the end of the brand creation process (although it sometimes is) and sometimes the company needs to spend some time and money working with the winning designer to fine tune the design (or with some other designer, as the case may be.).

And as far as the designers are concerned: contests can be a very good source of income (we have designers earning $1000+/month, but it is not GUARANTEED income so should only be used as a supplemental source of work, a successful approach to freelancing can include design contests as one aspect of it, in my opinion.

So that’s my 2 cents, for what it’s worth!

George – eLogoContest.com’s last blog post..Prize payments for 9/14 – 10/01 have been sent out

Anyway, you got a great logo!

Keane’s last blog post..So You Wanna Be A Web Design Superstar?

Thank you for your comment. I agree with the points you made.

It was an interesting experience to take part and win that small contest.

How about this?! A week after I won the contest the client emailed me and said that they needed stationary designed…and that they “could pay $15″!!

You can imagine the responses I wanted to write back!

Oh, I imagine I could come up with a few choice words myself

Btw – when reading over my comment, my reference to ‘you’ and ‘your’ wasn’t ‘you’. If you know what I mean. It was only after rereading it that I realised the snafu.

Catherine Wentworth’s last blog post..Notice: Designers who Blog on Alltop.com

What do I think about contests of this sort? Like others above, I believe they are no more than a cheap bid for spec work. Only, instead of asking one designer for spec (which is bad enough), they broaden their reach.

You know, there are thousands of deserving non-profits out there looking for help. So really, the excuse of needing to get your name out there via contests is weak.

By donating all or part of your skills to a non-profit, you have a good chance of meeting the very people you need to know. Business owners.

How? Because business owners also donate their skills to non-profits by sitting on boards, etc. So you’ll have the perfect opportunity to show them what you can do, as well as how you do it.

Contests take away the communication between client and designer. And that’s a big part of what we do, communicate.

Without communication designers are just throwing something against the wall in the hopes it’ll stick.

So you put a contest driven logo in your portfolio and a client contacts you for a meeting. In the meeting, what do you say? Do you describe how you met the needs of the contest driven client by problem solving? Cannot, lah … not with contest driven designs.

Pro bono (done right) is a win win situation for all.

If you want to know more about donating your time pro bono, check out Tom’s series on businessofdesignonline.com

Note: I am a part of both no-spec.com and businessofdesignonline.com. And you just happened to ask the right questions

Catherine Wentworth’s last blog post..Notice: Designers who Blog on Alltop.com

Thanks for the comments, and I have been visiting your blog regularly and am impressed with what you have achieved in just a few months!

The design comps you talk about sound like a much better idea than the standard “company needs a brand” online contest.

I agree with you also about the $100, it really isn’t worth it to work on a logo for a contest and then not win.

I’ll check out the no spec site also, thanks