Guest article by Big Blue Currant aka Kitchen Foil.

I've been a logo designer with DesignCrowd for many years now and I was recently asked the question, "what advice would you offer a Project Owner to get the best out of the DesignCrowd community?"

And so here, in bite-size chunks, is my answer...

#1. Be interactive

The logo is the key identifier of your venture, so it should be important to you.It will appear on your website, your literature, your products, and all of your marketing materials so don't just start up a logo contest and wait until the end to pick one that comes close to what you want. Be prepared to get involved and to...

#2. Provide a good design brief

Providing a clear and concise indication of what you are looking for (including references to logos/styles you like and dislike) definitely helps, but please don’t be 100% reliant on it to get the message across.

Although that might sound a bit odd, on a logo design auction site like DesignCrowd, you have to remember that each submission is a designer's interpretation of the brief and each designer will interpret the brief differently. You say toh-may-toe, I say toe-mart-oh.

If you find that the designs are not hitting the mark then you could always update your brief, provide more direction and hope that designers notice it. But, the best method would be to...

#3. Feedback and eliminate with comments

We designers like to know what's going on so please put us in the picture. We're a talented bunch who spend hours putting together designs for often zero reward, so feedback and eliminations are key to us improving our submissions.

We're used to eliminations, it is part of the design crowdsourcing process and we've probably seen the words "please try again" thousands of times, but those words alone are not that helpful.Constructive criticism with reasons why the design failed or suggestions for how to improve it are far more useful than a pat on the back for the bits that we got right.

Design is very much a two way process and you should be prepared to bounce ideas and have a bit of Q&A with designers to help increase your chances of the final design meeting your requirements.

If you’re not getting the right vibe from a designer’s submission then you can always opt "Please don't submit any more designs" feedback, but we'd prefer that than just hearing nothing until a design is selected - at least we know what's going on.

But don't restrict your opinion on someone's style by the submissions they've entered to your project. Be sure to...

#4. Check out portfolios

As touched on previously, a designer's first submission may be way off the mark but that doesn't mean they are not capable of achieving the logo style you are looking for. Designers like to showcase their best work in their portfolios, so check out their designs before ruling them out of the project. And finally, you could...

#5. Guarantee Your Project

If you choose to wait to see initial submissions before guaranteeing a project payment, you may not get the volume of submissions you would get if you guaranteed the payment from outset. Some designers will only submit to projects where payment is guaranteed and so the start of a project can be a bit of a stand-off with both sides being cautious about parting with their time/money.

However, with a non-guaranteed project the competition is less fierce and that makes the risk a little more appealing to certain designers so the submissions will come in. A designer will be just as disappointed when a project is refunded as when the work goes to a rival, but obviously it is much better for the community if someone is getting rewarded for their efforts.

If you do start with a non-guaranteed project then be sure to guarantee it as soon as you find good submissions coming in. This will make your project more appealing because not only is there now a payment attached but it also indicates that you are taking an active role in your project.

Conclusion

The more involved you are in your project, the more involved we will be as designers, which gives you a much greater chance of obtaining the design you dreamed of.

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