Sunday, January 8, 2017
Years ago I became a certified diver. Eager to learn more, I then became a Divemaster. Used to flash my Divemaster before boarding a boat, so proud I was of my new credentials.
Big mistake. If people think you’re qualified, they hold you to to a higher standard. You’re expected to know your shit. In my diving example, I was expected to help out the dive charter and any beginner divers.
Being a Divemaster actually ruined my dive. I quickly learned to flash my basic certification card and act stupid, people left me alone, and I could get back to my original goal – enjoying a leisurely hour underwater. Acting like a novice actually helps me enjoy scuba diving.
People expect less. The same principle holds true for logo design contests. The fact that people who aren’t really designers, and don’t have any real professional experience make up the majority of people participating in design contests works to your favor.
Nobody expects someone who’s submitting logos as part of a design contest to actually know anything about design, logos or the intracies of intellectual property. Whatever you do, don’t boast how you’re a professional in your profile. It’s better if you write something about your dog, or your cat.
Buyer’s like that sort of stuff – it humanizes you. Buyers are already a little squishy about the vibe of exploiting unpaid labor, but they won’t mind exploiting you if they think you’re a ’snooty’ design professional bragging about their qualifications.
Buyer’s positively hate professional designers – and why shouldn’t they? People who own design contest sites spend all day twittering and blogging about how pro designers are ‘elitests’ and ‘gatekeepers’ trying to keep the ‘little guy’ down. So be one of the ‘little guys’.
Design contest sites also claim that design experience and qualifications no longer matter (level playing field and all that) so boasting about your design degrees and years of studio work will only be frowned upon by ‘buyers’ who’ll view you as a ’snooty’ interloper who deserves to be put in your place for not “adapting to the new reality”.
On the other hand, you might get a ‘buyer’ in the guilt department if your profile paints a sympathetic character who’s struggling to get by, and who also happened to own a couple of puppies. Puppies with epilepsy is even better. Shilling as a design dork also allows you to claim ignorance on everything you do. “I’m a housewife with 3 epileptic puppies, but I’m really sorry that I messed up your logo” goes a lot further than bragging “I have a BA in graphic arts, 30 years agency level and I set your damn files up the right way!”. Speaking of setting up files…
Adapted from thelogofactory.com
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