|
The saying goes to "never judge a book by it’s cover,” which is becoming more and more difficult in our high-impact visual society. Specifically for business and companies, a custom designed logo goes a long way in making a statement about them before a potential consumer even knows what they are selling. So in order to help small businesses and entrepreneurs put their best foot forward, visually speaking, in 2010 a group of freelance designers came together to create 48HoursLogo.com.
Since then they have had over one million logo designs submitted to their almost 20,000 contests. The contests offered include designs for logos, stationary, icons, t-shirts, and websites. They can be completed in as little as 48 hours, or extended for as long as one week.
If You Need a Design…
On the homepage simply select "START A PROJECT” link and you’ll start a simple survey about what type of design you are needing. If you know exactly what you want or are just looking for creative ideas, there’s opportunity to let the designers know here. Below that information there are contest options you can include, such as boosting it to a featured contest, keeping it private, and increasing the prize money you’re offering. Finish by paying $29 to see what comes in or go all in by prepaying your contest in full.
Now that your project is up submissions will start rolling in. It’s important to rank the designs, rate them with one to five stars, and give designers feedback on what changes you would like to see. Once the Qualifying Stage is over, the initial time you set for your contest, you can choose a winner or select up to four finalists to continue fine tuning their designs. When you select a design as the winner, the designer will be notified and will upload two vector files, an EPS and PDF, a high resolution JPG, and a PNG with a transparent background. You can download them at the bottom of the contest page.
If You Want to Design…
At the top of the homepage click "Join as a Designer” and create an account. You’ll need an email address, a nickname, and a valid PayPal account. Once that’s done you’ll need to submit a design to finish your application, the subject being a re-design of the 48hourslogo.com logo. Once approved, you can log in, read the designers Code of Conduct, and begin browsing contests to enter.
The benefits of being a designer at 48hourslogo.com include a portfolio page for your personal work, including designs you have submitted to contests and outside work. 1-on-1 Projects allow you to build relationships with clients and get hired directly by them. Payments are made through PayPay within 48 hours and it’s free to join.
Why Vector is Important…
All designers at 48hourslogo.com create their designs in vector editing software such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. This is important because it ensures that clients receive artwork that they can scale to any size for any format. You will not see image distortion in vector files, and they’re easier to edit because vector graphics are created in pieces as opposed to pixels. They typically have smaller file sizes than raster graphics too.
What’s New at 48HoursLogo.com…
Each month logo designers and Contest holders can nominate their favorite logos in the Logo of the Month contest. On a website where there’s a lot of competition this is a way to come together and celebrate the best work. Votes are taken for three weeks, then the designer of the winning logo and the person who nominated it receive a cash prize.
In November of 2013 48hourslogo.com had received their 1,000,000th logo design. The accomplishment reflects the steady growth they have achieved in the past three years. To accommodate their progress, 48hourslogo.com has promoted their Community Manager Rick Mullenix to Business Development Manger and hired Charles Floate as an SEO Manager. Rick has an Associates Degree in Visual Communications and have been a Graphic Designer since 2005. Charles is the owner of God of SEO and Godlike Marketing, and has been an SEO for over five years.
In Conclusion…
48hourslogo.com is an amazing resource for business owners to obtain professionally designed logos. For graphic designers it presents an opportunity to demonstrate your skills, build a client base, and earn a little cash too. I would love to hear from you, if you’ve held a contest or participated in them share your experience in the comments below!
| 
