The other day I ran into a post on a forum I frequent. The poster was asking what the other small business owners did in regards to having a logo created. One of the answers was to utilize the power of the web.
99 Designs is a website created for the mutual benifit for all parties. It brings the designers of the World in contact with small, medium, and for that matter, Fortune 100 companies. For a fee of $39 dollars (or credits as they call them) anyone can start a contest, describe what you are looking for in a logo, a website, business card, letterhead, etc., post a prize amount, then sit back and watch the magic happen! 99 Designs uses the power of "crowdsourcing" to get maximum imput for your design.
What is crowdsourcing you ask? It's the power of sourcing skills, in this case design skills, from a group of people. In this instance, the group of people who are members of 99 Designs. Contests run for 7 days (or shorter if you find what you want and award the prize sooner), then you choose the best design, pay the designer, get the copyright, and you have a new logo!
I used 99 Designs to design a new company logo for my company, Networthy Systems. I had hundreds of submissions. One tidbit of advice: if you truly want designers to participate, you need to continously rank the designs, and leave lots of feedback for each designer. They like feedback, good AND bad. If you don't like the design, tell them!
I got a wonderful logo for $325.00 US. I had a hard time choosing between some of them, so I offered a lesser amount to some of the runner-ups, and secured those logos as well.
So, if you need a new look for your company, but can't afford thousands of dollars, give 99Designs a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
To your Success,
Tim