Why Logo Design Contests Don’t Work

When I see the words “logo design contest” I literally cringe. Logo design contests are a great way for students and those designers new to the field of graphic design to build up a portfolio, but in the grand scheme of things, these contests ultimately devalue our industry even more than it already is. The idea of a logo contest looks like a win win in the eyes of a client. What’s wrong with keeping ones options open and having the pick of the litter when in the market for a logo? What’s wrong with this thinking is that most professional graphic designers may have participated in design contests of this nature in the past, but are sensible enough now to see that these contests rarely work out in favor of the designer or the client. Since seasoned, professional designers don’t participate in these contests, the client is not getting the best design possible. Clients inevitably pay for a bad design and will probably seek the services of a professional graphic designer to redesign the contest logo.

Logo design process is taken way too lightly. A logo is the face of a company and should not be designed in 5 minutes in the hopes of “winning” a $100. Logos take time to cultivate and grow into the vision a client has. Why not pay a qualified graphic designer x amount of dollars to create 2 or 3 solid logo concepts to choose from, rather than 30 mediocre designs, not one of which the client will even end up using but still end up having to shell out a chunk of money for? The logic of these contests is what I have a real issue with. There’s no room to revise and craft a logo into a design the client (and designer) will be happy with.

In Conclusion

Logo design contests aren’t going anywhere soon because there are always going to be graphic designers willing to participate in them. As a graphic designer who is very much opposed to these contests, I feel like it’s my duty to speak out against them because they are never in the best interest of the designer or client. I’ve received requests from (what I thought) were legit clients looking for one designer for the job, asking me to participate in these contests. I generally just decline the offer, thanking them for their time, but recently I’ve been e-mailing these clients back trying to make a solid case against these contests. I urge you to do the same when faced with the option of participating in a logo design contest. Logo design contests fall into the same realm as spec work, and that’s just unfair to you and your clients. I encourage graphic designers to find clients that will hire them based on their portfolio, not how cheaply and quickly they can churn out an inferior design that they might be paid for.