8 Comments

  1. Posted November 11, 2009 at 8:42 pm | Permalink

    Hi Fatima,

    Do you think there are ethical issues surrounding the “resell” of creative work graphic designers have done for clients in the past? I think Brandstack is a neat idea, but I can forsee extremely awkward situations for a designer if clients found out about the designer’s Brandstack marketplace.

  2. Posted November 11, 2009 at 3:42 pm | Permalink

    Hi Fatima,

    Do you think there are ethical issues surrounding the “resell” of creative work graphic designers have done for clients in the past? I think Brandstack is a neat idea, but I can forsee extremely awkward situations for a designer if clients found out about the designer's Brandstack marketplace.

  3. Posted November 11, 2009 at 9:02 pm | Permalink

    Good question Nathan!

    I imagine a scenario where if I am charging a client a certain amount of money for branding – which is to look at their target market, competitors, and all the research that comes with it. To me it would add even more insult to injury that they see a very similar concept on Brandstack (if they researched me to begin with). To them it would read that I didn’t put nearly enough effort in their project for what I am charging.

    I don’t want to compromise the level of pricing that I have earned and neither do I want to be disrespectful of a clients project.

    Now is it wrong that I save up these unused concepts for myself and reference them with a selective focus group when it comes to a roadblock on a project that could benefit from it? On the contrary I think it is very wise, but not a first choice, as again I do branding, not just draw whatever the client says and say here you go.
    Design and branding is a tailored service, not a product IMO.

  4. Posted November 11, 2009 at 4:02 pm | Permalink

    Good question Nathan!

    I imagine a scenario where if I am charging a client a certain amount of money for branding – which is to look at their target market, competitors, and all the research that comes with it. To me it would add even more insult to injury that they see a very similar concept on Brandstack (if they researched me to begin with). To them it would read that I didn't put nearly enough effort in their project for what I am charging.

    I don't want to compromise the level of pricing that I have earned and neither do I want to be disrespectful of a clients project.

    Now is it wrong that I save up these unused concepts for myself and reference them with a selective focus group when it comes to a roadblock on a project that could benefit from it? On the contrary I think it is very wise, but not a first choice, as again I do branding, not just draw whatever the client says and say here you go.
    Design and branding is a tailored service, not a product IMO.

  5. Posted November 11, 2009 at 9:53 pm | Permalink

    I agree — quality design can’t be bought off a shelf. It’s a research-oriented service requiring a firm business relationship. Brandstack has its pros and cons — obviously the biggest pro is to turn an unused concept into a commodity worth value. It’s a way for designer’s to maximize their ROI (investment being the time they’ve put into this design item) — and with some light experience designing logos in college, I know what it feels like to not be able to use something you’ve worked so hard on.

    I like your idea of the reference portfolio. If I were a client, I’d be impressed by someone who could show me his/her full range of design capabilities and preliminary options for creating something similar based on an unused concept in the past.

  6. Posted November 11, 2009 at 4:53 pm | Permalink

    I agree — quality design can't be bought off a shelf. It's a research-oriented service requiring a firm business relationship. Brandstack has its pros and cons — obviously the biggest pro is to turn an unused concept into a commodity worth value. It's a way for designer's to maximize their ROI (investment being the time they've put into this design item) — and with some light experience designing logos in college, I know what it feels like to not be able to use something you've worked so hard on.

    I like your idea of the reference portfolio. If I were a client, I'd be impressed by someone who could show me his/her full range of design capabilities and preliminary options for creating something similar based on an unused concept in the past.

  7. Posted November 11, 2009 at 10:24 pm | Permalink

    Branding responsibilities isn’t that of just firms, but ethical freelance designers as well. I don’t see that as a very convincing pro you highlighted. I think the more correct questions to ask are:

    #1 Is the value of a designer’s work worth the $150 when they can make a lot more by using that same time and energy to write a quick post on a blog and gain revenue from passive advertising or even better spending a moment to get in touch with clients who would want a more personalized solution?

    Or even better make a premium theme for $20 – 40 that can be sold several times and generate more supplementary income than Brandstack could. You still get your word and work out.

    #2 How long will your logo even be visible on the top searches with people dedicated to just dumping quick work into Brandstack? If you notice a lot of the highlighted members are friends of Brandstack that specialize in just that. It doesn’t take long to realize this.

    I saw Brandstack as a waste of my time and loss of opportunities to make real investments. I want clients who I can work one on one with, not ones who will chose the design next to mine because it was $100 cheaper. They obviously don’t value their own business as much or are not even aware of benefits they are missing out on. It takes money to make it.

  8. Posted November 11, 2009 at 5:24 pm | Permalink

    Branding responsibilities isn't that of just firms, but ethical freelance designers as well. I don't see that as a very convincing pro you highlighted. I think the more correct questions to ask are:

    #1 Is the value of a designer's work worth the $150 when they can make a lot more by using that same time and energy to write a quick post on a blog and gain revenue from passive advertising or even better spending a moment to get in touch with clients who would want a more personalized solution?

    Or even better make a premium theme for $20 – 40 that can be sold several times and generate more supplementary income than Brandstack could. You still get your word and work out.

    #2 How long will your logo even be visible on the top searches with people dedicated to just dumping quick work into Brandstack? If you notice a lot of the highlighted members are friends of Brandstack that specialize in just that. It doesn't take long to realize this.

    I saw Brandstack as a waste of my time and loss of opportunities to make real investments. I want clients who I can work one on one with, not ones who will chose the design next to mine because it was $100 cheaper. They obviously don't value their own business as much or are not even aware of benefits they are missing out on. It takes money to make it.

2 Trackbacks

  1. [...] else entirely. Almost simultaneously, designer Fatima Mekkaoui explains in fairly dense detail why she pulled all her logo designs from Brandstack. I’ve always been non-plussed about IncSpring, whoops, Brandstack, so it’s interesting [...]

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