56 logo submissions, 25 designers, 5 place payments and 1 winner to choose.  We have a tough decision to make in selecting the best logo for DesignBay and we'd really like your help in picking a good one. 

The reason we're doing this (for the DesignBay brief and for every Open Brief posted on DesignBay) is it will help:

1. Guide the client
2. Identify which designs should not receive a base payment
3. Stimulate creativity

It is just as important to vote for the designs that you think are unprofessional as for the designs you like.  Imagine a young designer who has just finished a digital design course.  Fresh out of college he visits DesignBay, and decides to create and submit his first logo.  This is the first time he's ever done a logo (he majored in animation and web design).  Would you expect his design to be good?  No, you would not.  (Can you remember what your first logo ever was like? You probably cringe when you think of it).  This young designer put a lot of time in (because he was not practiced at making logos) but, unfortunately, it is still not a good logo and should never be used by any business.  However, I do not expect our clients to pay for poor quality designs and neither will DesignBay - this is why we have a discretionary clause in our Minimum Design Standards.  We will not pay for unprofessional designs (and especially not for designers milking the system for base payments).  However, I don't think any one person can be the authority on what is a great design and what is unprofessional.  But together we have the collective intelligence to make those decisions.

Most designers want to improve - so let them know how by giving them constructive feedback and comments.  Be selective when dinging designs as unprofessional and keep in mind that the designer may not receive a base payment as a result. 

If we pay unprofessional designs a base payment and show them to clients it will have the following effects:

1. It rewards poor behaviour.  We do not want to positively reinforce poor design practices with money.  We want to reward good designs!
2. It will reduce the money you can earn.  If a poor quality design is awarded a base payment, that is one less payment that could have gone to a worthy design.
3. They will reduce the number of briefs on the site.  If our clients are getting poor designs they will not come back and they will not tell their friends.

To guide you, I'd like to define an unprofessional design as a "Design that 1) could be detrimental if used by a client 2) is not worthy of a base payment or 3) should not be shown to the client as it could damage the reputation of DesignBay or the designer that submitted it". 

Occasionally, when given a choice of designs, a business will pick the worst design on offer.  It's our responsibility to make sure 1) we filter out poor designs to protect our clients and 2) give objective advice on which design we think is best. 

In an earlier DesignBay brief a designer submitted a design that was not client ready.  We did not pay a base payment.  She was disappointed, but she needed to get some feedback and after hearing it she thanked me.  This same designer just submitted her second logo design to the DesignBay brief.  It was 10 times as good as her first and she will definitely get a base payment and is eligible for a place payment.

We want to offer clients quality, creative designs.  We want to help all our designers improve.  We want to reward designers for good work.   We want our clients to come back.  We want to create as many opportunities for creativity as possible.

- Alec