8In the aftermath of the stolen logos scandal, Robert Wurth and I discussed the commoditization of design and how designers can strive to improve designer/client relationships. We went a little long today but it was a great conversation with a lot of value.
12This afternoon, “LogoGate” takes a strange turn. After boasting that “my mind is now prepared” and stating on many boards and blogs that he was looking forward to speaking with me during our previously scheduled podcast tomorrow, Jeff Kearl, LogoWorks’ Chief Marketing Officer, abruptly cancelled.
Here is what he had to say: (more…)
1Well it has been quite a busy week so far for LogoWorks and its employees. Particularly the last 24 hours. At some point, we may know the reason for LogoWorks recent flurry of activity. As for now, I took the opportunity to speak with two current LogoWorks freelancers whom I met on the HOW Magazine discussion forum.
Molly
The first person I spoke to is a pleasant woman whom we’ll refer to as “Molly”. Molly is married with children and lives in the Salt Lake City area. She spoke very positively about LogoWorks and lept to their defense in the hostile waters at the HOW forum. Admittedly, I was skeptical. There are quite a few new users with accounts not even one day old who have mobilized in the defense of LogoWorks of late. (more…)
7Well it looks like Jeff Kearl, LogoWorks/Arteis Chief Marketing Officer, has had his hands full. He has issued several official responses to the raging controversy over LogoWorks and the stolen/copied logos. Here is the response he left as a comment to one of the posts on this very blog. We’ll be speaking with Jeff via podcast interview this Friday. I’ll try and get the podcast up as quickly on Friday as possible. Stay tuned! (more…)
14This story has legs! Still no response from the LogoWorks folks. Maybe they don’t check email over the weekends?
The design community, however, has been very busy this weekend! Here is a link to the blog of Katz-i International, where Cat Morley has compiled a great list of links and resources related to the whole LogoWorks debacle.
Also, Von Glitschka of Bad Design Kills, has been keeping a running gallery of “suspicious coincedences” between logos that LogoWorks sold to their clients and other designers created previously.
.chris{}
19Dear Wall Street Journal Editors,
My name is Christopher A. Gee and I am owner of an interaction design firm called Cube Interactive, LLC. I also run a design industry blog called ThePreparedMind.com for which I write regularly and record weekly podcasts.
I read your June 15th, 2005 article about the firm LogoWorks entitled “Firm Offers Design Talent For Logos at Bargain Prices”. It was a wonderfully written and upbeat article about a unique enterprise that utilizes the Internet to connect independent designers with small businesses in order to supply low-cost logos.
It gives me great pain to inform you that your reporters did not do enough homework with respect to LogoWorks. There is, by now, a great deal of evidence to support the notion that they have sold logos (or at the very least, represent them as their own work from their website) that were created by other designers, not LogoWorks or LogoWorks’ designers. (more…)
5Word is getting around about the two logos that were ripped off by LogoWorks. It’s only a matter of time before the many designers who will be scouring the LogoWorks site start to find more stolen logos.
I realize that all of this is one-sided and extend LogoWorks the opportunity to appear on a podcast with me in order to present their side of the story and to defend themselves from what looks like a clear case of theft.
I won’t lie, I’ll ask some pretty tough questions. It won’t be pleasant, given what we’ve seen so far. But I will give the opportunity to be heard.
.chris{}
33The existence of cheap, logo mills is nothing new. They’ve been around for quite some time and generally produce pretty hideous results. But lately a company by the name of LogoWorks has been getting quite a bit of media attention.
LogoWorks has recently had extensive positive write-ups in the Wall Street Journal and the pages of Entrepreneur Magazine.
The WSJ piece starts off innocently enough, telling the story of small business owner Stephen Foster:
Stephen Foster dropped about $4,000 hiring designers to create a logo for his small Benicia, Calif., real-estate development company, Mobius Development Inc. Unsatisfied after several attempts — “they never grasped my idea” — he finally hit the Internet, where he turned up a firm called LogoWorks.com.
For $385, the company promised to put three designers on the job and offer him as many as eight different concepts. Mr. Foster was initially skeptical. “I thought there was a catch.” But within a week, he had a full package of designs that, he says, “were on the mark.”
A custom logo for $385? How can that be? Is it possible? What designer would change so little money to craft and refine a custom logo for a client? The article continues: (more…)
2Niti Bhan, founder of Does Size Matter?, sat down with me and spoke a little bit about some of her experiences/observations while working at IIT’s Design Institute, one of the country’s most well-respected D-Schools. Niti also lets us know what she’s up to with her new consultancy. Give it a listen!
2Here is an interesting article about “Design Thinking”, a word that is being tossed around quite a bit these days.
What IS Design Thinking?
What are your thoughts on Design Thinking? (more…)
2Emily Cohen is a consultant to creative professionals. Having been a designer in the past, she brings unique insights into working with creatives to shore up the business end of their practices. Emily and I had a great conversation about the business of design and the many concerns designers face. Give it a listen!
Recommended reading:
2I sat down with Ralf Beuker, who runs the design blog Design Management, on the topic of design management and why it is important to the industry.
- 0:01:20 What is design management?
- 0:15:45 Why design must cross the bridge to management
- 0:20:31 Design management and students
- 0:50:51 Ralf’s work at Zollverein School and Ed Annink
- 1:00:08 Why some companies constantly innovate
Mentioned during this podcast:
- More definitions of what design management is
- ERCO
- IKEA’s business model
- Design Management entry about Peter Gorb at DesignThinkers
- The Substance of Style by Virginia Postrel
- Paul Nixon’s website
1Roger L. Martin, Dean of Rotman School of Management, writes a great piece on BusinessWeek Online, comparing the mentality and practices of traditional firms with those of design-shops.
The topic of design is as hot as a pistol these days. Everywhere you look, you see cover stories and conferences. If it’s design-related, people are talking about it. Firms everywhere want to revolutionize themselves by turning design-oriented. They look wistfully at the stupendous growth that the iconic iPod has provided previously stagnating Apple Computer (AAPL), and believe that design can help them create their own version of the iPod and restart their growth engines.
Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as hiring a chief design officer and declaring design as your top corporate priority. To generate meaningful benefits from design, corporations will have to change in fundamental ways before they can operate like the design consultancies who advise them on how to sharpen their design focus. To get the benefit of design, companies have to embed design into — not append it onto– their business.
Design organizations vary significantly from traditional firms along five key dimensions: flow of work life, style of work, mode of thinking, source of status, and dominant attitude. Left unchecked, the stark contrast between traditional firms and design consultancies will impede any attempt by traditional firms to become more design-oriented.
