Hewlett-Packard, that personal computer maker that wants to be so hip it hurts, has announced they have acquired Logoworks, a company that sells clip art as logos. The move was made in order to "provide small businesses with access to professional design solutions at a fraction of market cost."
Says Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP:
Making small look big is so vital to good business and HP knows it.
The technology giant is rumored to be making even more acquisitions in order to help inflate organizations around the world. Analysts predict HP will soon offer their own line of products to include: Viagra, Hummer H3 (likely to be called Hummer HP), platform shoes, breast implants, North Korean hair dryers, and Mac Pros.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
Only 32 seconds left on this deal and then we're moving on!
There is a reason that professional design costs money, and that is because it's done by professionals. Professionalism costs money, not just in design, but in any industry. Maybe I'll go pay a some dudes to put a new roof on my house at a fraction of the market cost! Hot damn!
I think it fits them well. HP has always been a very 1990s company... Welcome back to the past!
Actually HP has been around since 1896 (har har)
Jason, you're getting it all wrong. It's a matter of "striking that balance" of professional quality and complete shit.
I just wanted to point out that I have a bag of popcorn ready for when HP starts selling logos that look like this
This situation seems familiar...
You think your example of a ripoff is bad?
Compare this, the cover of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, with this, part of HP's ad campaign. And they're supposed to be innovative?
I can't see any obvious connection (maybe it's just me), so i'm a bit curious; why the title 'Swedish.'?
I likes HP with me chippies and fish.
Do they still sell computers? I know they used to but I haven't seen one on anyone's desk for a while.
I resent the implication!
*snicker*
I built myself a desk and book shelves when I started out on my own 20 years ago. It was all I could afford at the time. I've since replaced the desk and book shelves with lovely cherry finished SOHO furniture.
Was that a bad thing? Should I have just gone into debt for brand spanking new furniture right from the get-go? Did I do something wrong?
@nuzzaci - possibly the Swedish Chef from The Muppets (by Jim Henson). He used to gibber gabber all the time and throw lettuce everywhere...
wasn't much of a chef at all.......
and if i remember correctly, the only cullinary talent Swedish Chef knew involved a BOOM BOOM blunderbuss!
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Swedish_Chef_Action_Figure
as for HP having a magnetic chef hat, that's to be decided. ;)
Maybe I'll have them work on my own logo, it's sooooo cheap!
Seriously though, this is sad, no wonder I get solicitated for work that people put zero value in, thanks for cheapening our profession. I'm going to head to my dentist and see what kind of starter packages he has for root canals.
meatballs
Seems like a match made in ridiculous, copy-cat heaven.
@Ray
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Was that a bad thing? Should I have just gone into debt for brand spanking new furniture right from the get-go? Did I do something wrong?
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Professional identity design isn't a million bucks, it's probably less than you think. And it's worth it. A good visual identity contributes to your competitive advantage, it makes you money, it pays for itself many times over.
A desk, well sure, I agree you don't need to spend money on a desk, it just needs to be flat and sturdy and hold your stuff. I still use two big flat folding tables that I bought for a hundred bucks. Why? Because a more expensive desk has no return on investment.
Good design does have an ROI, so you're not really going into debt to get a proper visual identity, you're investing in your business. I think you'd have to be pretty broke not to be able to afford at least an entry level pro design.
Oh dear...
@Greg P
I didn't think building my own desk was a bad thing nor do I think cheap throw away logo design is bad either. It has it's place and it serves a purpose. Granted, it's not for everyone.
If we're talking about the bottom line and fiscal responsibility, especially in those early years when money is tight and building a strong client portfolio is of paramount importance (been there-done that. have you?) then I think we're both signing from the same song book ; ) Broke is broke whether you're a bum on the streets or someone who has thrown everything you have (including the deed to your home) into new machinery. There are priorities and then there are PRIORITIES. Sometimes a snappy logo design isn't always at the top of the list regardless of what the design books say.
The point I was trying to make is that YOU as a designer are not going to loose any business because of a company designing $49 logos. There will always be people who need and are willing to pay for the services of a professional designer. Anyone who is serious about their business will eventually want to take the time and spend the money on branding the business they've worked so hard to build. There will also be people who simply need a cheap logo to slap on a business card until they get their financial feet under them. You, or anyone else out there, shouldn't feel threatened by Logoworks any more than a highend steak house should feel threatened by Harvey's new Angus burger. I mean seriously...
Wonder if a professional carpenter or an interior designer would agree that you can get by with a really crappy home-made desk but a $500+ logo is absolutely necessary and pays for itself......
The fact is that not every company will need a professional logo starting the day they open their doors. I've worked for startups before that didn't even have logos until their 3-4th year in business.
@Ray
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The point I was trying to make is that YOU as a designer are not going to loose any business because of a company designing $49 logos.
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This is a good point you bring up Ray. I would argue that professional designers do lose business. I'll give you an example in a different, but related industry. I have a friend who is a pro photographer, and when I say pro I mean this guy is one of the best photographers I've ever come across, really high end.
Now, what has happened with the rise of digital photography is that a ton of hobbyists are now in the photography business. The result is that there's no middle market left in the industry. There's the low end market, and the high end. The middle market pros who were good but not great got pushed out of the market, and now most people (around my area anyway) get their photos done by hobbyists, meaning there's an overall decrease in quality in the entire industry. It's also harder for the high end market, because they're getting squeezed.
Basically, when a low end supplier cuts a swath through any industry, it damages the profession. I've seen this happen in web development, people get cheap websites that don't work very well, they talk to their other business friends about how their site doesn't work, and it all fosters an opinion that websites don't work very well. I spend a lot of my time educating the market I work in, to fight this idiotic idea that websites aren't a good marketing and communications tool.
I think this is there way to try to diversify (obviously). The price of hardware keeps dropping - more and more people are making better PCs, etc.
I don't think the companies using this service will really get what they need but that's business, I guess.
HP has been a long time financial backer of Logoworks. And hey, logoworks is making money, so from a business standpoint, I guess it's hard to knock'em.
America loves its crap and will pay for it, it seems.
As for why logoworks isn't a great idea...it's not because it's cheap, it's because it's not a good value for the consumer. For the cost of a lot of logoworks product, you can find a designer to work directly with you, and often come up with a better product.
It's sometimes better to just not have a logo than to buy something from logoworks. Just as sometimes it makes sense to skip lunch when the only option is McDonalds. ;o)
I'm not a designer, so I ask this in all seriousness:
If a client is willing to settle for a naff, mass-produced logo design, are they a client that is worth having?
Just wondering.
@Beerzie
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If a client is willing to settle for a naff, mass-produced logo design, are they a client that is worth having?
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In my experience, no. But, they might be worth educating. I have seen many designers, web firms, etc do a poor job of explaining the value they provide. You can't expect clients to know that what you do is valuable. Some do, some don't.
You can't just say 'professional design has value', you need to back it up with profiles and case studies and research that you can present to the client. I've done this for years and it works. If you can prove to a client that spending 10K will help them make 100K, you'll have no price argument.
Maybe as designers we need an international campaign that promotes the value of design, with concrete examples of ROI, etc. This probably exists, I don't poke my head out of my little work cave enough.
Beerzie Boy is right...in a perfect world everyone would value what we do. That's just not the case. In fact there isn't a product or service out there that EVERYONE values. Why fight it? Identify and work with clients that value the professional work that we do and let the others work with LogoWorks. Businesses who use LogoWorks are probably the same companies that print off their perforated business cards and tri-fold brochures on their HP printers. Now it's seemless for them! :)
Logoworks is like Wal-Mart. Some people know it's cheap crap, and don't mind it, and buy from there. That's fine, as they know what they're getting and a market is being served.
However, a lot of people go there expecting a semi-decent product at a good price. Eventually, those folks learn their lesson after their Wal-Mart blender dies after 2 months or the knock-off Home Depot radial saw starts eating their crown moulding. Fortunately, those folks don't buy again from those vendors again.
The nightmare I've run into recently with these DIY logo and graphic design sites is that the small business owner becomes attached to the craptastic logo. Since they spent two hours deciding between Comic Sans vs. Arial Black, or the Pyramid vs. the Globe, they consider it their baby...just like pro designers sometimes do (but our babies are usually cuter). So they start thinking they are designers, and they want THEIR logo to be the face of their business. I narrowly averted a situation like this after designing and showing almost 10 viable logo candidates all the while being compared to variations of a Logoworks-esque, DIY piece of complete garbage. Several times I heard Will Ferrell's voice in my head, "Am I taking crazy pills here?" Now, I'm dealing with them thinking they are web designers because they added some text to a template! Ugh!
Stock photogrpahy and Logo/identity:
There exists (in the design and Marcomm industry) a backlash agaist stock photography. A certain and welcome fluctuation in the market. Photographers has suffered for some time due to cheap, monotonous images that proliferate communicatons media...real, and relevent photography is making a slow comback. Yes, it is more expensive than a quick download from a cheap stock house... the same will happen to logo and Identity development, although it may take some time, businesses will understand the value in unique, creative visual solutions and how they effect their bottm line. When all the logo/identities begin to look the same, there exists a muted visual voice...this market too will rebound. Good design=good business,
Don't forget Statue of Liberty keychains.
In my experience, clients want the cheapest thing because 1) they don't see the value in our work 2) we can't justify our value to them 3) others have done it for cheaper 4) their don't know any better. I am in an in-tangible profession that is being replaced by software.
I am still looking into convincing clients of our need for their input. I use the "buying a car" analogy with some success. They wonder why the brand is important to their website. I compare it to purchasing a Ford vs Honda vs Ferrari. All of them do the same thing, yet they each command a different value.
If clients continue to want the cheapest thing, we still deliver and we are reminded that we are just another business.
This was the very topic I wanted to see at the recent ALA event in Boston. Sigh. Did anyone who went learn how to communicate with clients, to help them not dig themselves an early grave with bad design choices? There has to be a way.