Minimum prize level ?

[snkdesigns]

Hi all,
I was just wondering why don't we have a minimum prize level set in this forum ?
This forum has got quality designers like guetizo, will7, koncepts, savestheday and many others who produce great logos. However, the prize if you win a contest is very low in my opinion.. i mean 15-40$ for a high quality logo ? It's simply not fair to us.

Shouldn't we have a set of rules for contest holders aswell. A logo should atleast cost around 50-100$ if not more.

I hope i've posted this in the right section.

 

[Saves Th3 Day]

Sounds like a good idea to me..

 

[mav]

I agree. The more money in the offer, I think the better logo you will get anyways. Sure, there are some people that can't afford it, but really a logo takes time and patience to please the customer.

 

[JYM]

Right, well there are some people who offer $50 for a design contest. But, if the price is too low then the designers simply won't bother.

Some logos can be made in 30 minutes, so if you can win a contest with 30 mins work and get $20, it's not bad.

The higher the prize, the harder everyone works. I think it's fine..

 

[sjaguar13]

I think it's kind of stupid. If someone offers a prize that's too low in your opinion, don't participate. Other people may feel that the prize is good enough, especially those people who don't have a lot of work and would like to add to their portfolio. If there was a minimum prize level, it doesn't mean that everyone would increase their prize. They could just go somewhere else to have their contest.

 

[VYFX]

Hi all,
I was just wondering why don't we have a minimum prize level set in this forum ?
This forum has got quality designers like guetizo, will7, koncepts, savestheday and many others who produce great logos. However, the prize if you win a contest is very low in my opinion.. i mean 15-40$ for a high quality logo ? It's simply not fair to us.

Shouldn't we have a set of rules for contest holders aswell. A logo should atleast cost around 50-100$ if not more.

I hope i've posted this in the right section.

I agree.. Partially.

I actually emailed this suggestion as site feedback last week and believe it would be a great addition to this site. I can understand that low prizes attract beginner designers and are very good practice, however my suggestion was mainly aimed at vector image designs. I have seen a lot, and I mean a lot, of design requests over the last two months for a custom unique vector logo where the prize was only $15-20.. Typically vector logos cost in upwards of $200-250. After thinking about it for the last few days, I personally think it would be very fair to have a $50 minimum prize for logos/corporate identities and $100 for vector-based designs. For website designs/templates, $150 would be a fair minimum prize. This would not only improve the quality of designs here on NamePros, but also attract more designers and members to the boards.

Anybody who says this plan would draw away beginners has a good point, but I would imagine a higher prize would push the beginner designers to work harder and try to beat the more experienced members, thus adding greater quality work to their portfolios.

 

[1901gt]

For more advanced designers, I suggest the contest owner proceed to Sitepoint instead.

But if NP were to set a minimum prize money for certain contests, I reckon we will have more designers from SP coming over here as there are more logo design contest here daily than in SP due to the fact that SP charges a small amount to have your contest advertised whereas here, its free to post.

 

[DomainBELL]

there's nothing wrong with the way RJ already has the contests set up here on NP.... things are running along fine as they are... no changes needed...

designers can pass and not participate in a contest where the $$ prize is too low for them... yet it offered that contest holder the opportunity to work withing THEIR budget - whatever that might have been...

leaving things as they are - provides a happy medium for everyone...

lot's of new designers - like to practice in the under $50 contests...
where they don't feel as pressured or feel like their competition is too stiff...

new designers - have told me that in the contest where the prize is higher - their competition is too stiff... and they feel somewhat reluctant to even post their entries for critique because the experienced designers also participating might laugh at their attempts... (I can understand how they might feel that way... that's why I don't mind PM entries - as long as they are watermarked and when they tweak it to a certain acceptible point - then they need to post it IN the contest thread - - - etc...)

plus there are always a batch of designers that although HIGHLY experienced
may want to paricipate in even the lower $prize contest - simply because the project looks FUN - - - and they have designing in their blood... and love to do it...

I vote for things to stay as they are...

if a prize offered is too low - move on to the next contest....
simple as that...

smile...

~DomainBELL (Patricia)

p.s. I am on my second contest here - things have gone extremely well...
I will be holding more than 100+ more contest in the upcoming weeks...
generally one right after the other...





for sale:

 

[xpressions]

I NEED to put my 2 cents in:

While, yes, there are designers that will find a project fun, but, what makes anybody think that they would not like to be compensated appropriately? Let's face it, design... it's not just slapping a couple of elements together, though for someone who has no clue, it may seem that way. Which, I suppose, is the basis of this argument. Design takes alot of body and soul and thinking and desiging and.....well, I suppose another designer would understand what I am saying. As designers, I don't think we mind giving you all we have, for ALL YOU HAVE......make sense? Pretty much: what you put in, you get out.

 

[DomainBELL]

also keep in mind that - as contest HOLDERS - we are bound to the REQUIREMENT of choosing a winner - even if there may not have been any entries that we found suitable for that specific project...

and expecting a contest holder to MANDITORIALLY - pay upwards of $50-100 for a contest and there might not be any entries the contest holder finds specifically useful for a particular project - isn't a fair request...

there's always going to be pro's and con's for both sides...

and no designer ever is FORCED to ENTER a contest... while a Contest holder
is FORCED to select a winner no matter what... that's not ever happened to me... I've been lucky so far that super designers enter my contests and enter so many great designs it's hard to narrow it down...

that's why - if possible - I like to offer side project jobs to some of the designers that enter my contests... - when possible... so... for me...
in particular... it's never a contest with one winner getting a set fee prize...
I like to spread the love around to some of the others as well... when possible...

but I do understand your statement - that contest holders will get back what they give... that most definitely has been the case for me... it's been excellent for me to find designers I've hired for "other" things... and as time goes on - there will be many other designers I offer projects to...

I love NamePros.com

~DomainBELL (Patricia)

 

[JYM]

I agree with Patricia, there is already a rule which makes it bad enough for contest holders. 6 months ago, I started a contest and there were no entries that looked decent, until the last day when someone made a very nice logo.

The designers here aren't complaining... in fact, for a $25 logo contest you will see at least 4 different designers make logo attempts. It's fine the way it is...

PS: There are many $50 logo contests, so if a designer feels lie $20 isn't enough, he/she can just wait for a $50 contest.

 

[Matt]

Surely the answer would be to segregate the design element of the forums then

Keep a "Under $100 Design Comps" running, for those in the "New designer/doing it for fun" section....Keep in place the rules as they stand.

for the $100+ design element, remove the requirement of HAVING to pay for design. This would mean the seasoned pro's who want to enter and spend time, have a very good chance of winning/collecting on their time invested in the design process. I would be tempted to install a clause in entering this design area to people who are established within NP and have run X competitions within the "under $100" catagory. This would mean there's a very high chance of their acceptance of a winner for the comp.

*shrugs*, my 2 cents

 

[-Phoenix-]

The greatest minimum that can have is 40$ or 50$, above that is very bad... i talk by experience from another contest sites......

 

[xeno439]

I agree with Patricia, there is already a rule which makes it bad enough for contest holders. 6 months ago, I started a contest and there were no entries that looked decent, until the last day when someone made a very nice logo.

The designers here aren't complaining... in fact, for a $25 logo contest you will see at least 4 different designers make logo attempts. It's fine the way it is...

PS: There are many $50 logo contests, so if a designer feels lie $20 isn't enough, he/she can just wait for a $50 contest.

I have to agree with this. Let the market decide. I often up my prize money after I start a contest (well the three that I have had) after I realize that I am getting some attention. I think most of us looking for designs are weary about what will happen if we offer big prizes and don't get the results we want. We still have to choose a winner. I think the balance is fair. Must pay a winner, offer what you think will get the most people do your design. I have seen the work on the $20.00 logos. And I have seen work on the $100.00 logos. Everytime the $100.00 logos are far superior to the $20.00 logos. The designers reserve the right not to participate, and they also reserve the right to give an effort that is proportional to the prize offered.

 

[vivsin]

Having Minimum prize money.
BAD IDEA.

- We already have lot of dead contests, and minimum prize will double or triple the no. of dead contests.

- We have people here who hold contests here @ Namepros just because they can get something for low $$'s, and at other hand we also have people ready to work for them. So why loose all those good guys by setting up Minimum prize?

Its the best place for people who want to learn by participating in less complicated and messy environment, NP Rocks.

-VIVSIN

 

[DomainBELL]

Having Minimum prize money.
BAD IDEA.

- - - snip

Its the best place for people who want to learn by participating in less complicated and messy environment, NP Rocks.

-VIVSIN

I wholeheartedly agree with those two statements...

~DomainBELL (Patricia)




for sale:

 

[mav]

After reading this, I have to change my opinion. This isn't a high dollar corporate contest site. If you want to make more, go try against better competition at other forums/markets. The way NP is now, it evens the playing field so the designers each get a fair shot.

 

[Matt]

the point of my post, was to explain there is no reason why you couldn't have both sections within Design Contests.

high Value & Low Value.

 

[WhiteWebServices]

I've run one contest here, and ended up paying $40 to the winner and a second prize to a runner-up. The project that the prize was for isn't going to be big business, so I wouldn't really have wanted to offer any more for it. I also wouldn't have wanted to offer any less for it; I was aware that there were plenty of people putting time into the contest (how much time, I have no idea), and didn't want to mess them around.

I think a strict minimum would be a bad idea. It'd be a shame to lose contests that several designers would have liked to participate in, and there do seem to be designers that want to go for the lower prizes (after all, they keep entering the contests).

However, as someone who might offer contests, it'd be nice to have a guide for how much to offer. Perhaps an anonymous poll asking designers what they think is reasonable compensation for their efforts would be a good first step to establishing a fair going rate? If so, one of the options should be "Any price you like; I'll put as much work in as I think the prize is worth."

 

[tm]

I think even $50 is too much to pay for a logo you don't like or won't use.

This rule should have some re-working, i'm not sure what exactly, but i'm sure somebody can think of something.