This is the one we chose, we had several options from different designers at Crowdspring. You can give feedback on various designs that people can adjust until your deadline is reached.
Many people around me show contempt for building website, I always reply with "Google is just a website too". Non-tech people usually have difficulty in seeing the difference between a highly complex webapp and a static web page.
Google is more of an application, which is accessed primarily via their web UI (other options for access are clients such as you find on various mobile devices and desktop widgets).
A static web page is much much different than Google or a similar webapp. Not to say that developing a static site that adds value for a business isn't worthy, but it's quite different from Google.
I think you misunderstood me. I mention Google just to show them an example that a website can be much more complex beyond its web UI. Non-tech people usually have difficulty in seeing the difference between a highly complex webapp and a static web page.
Business person rings up to ask us to develop a software package to run his business. The spec is always somewhat vague and very idiosyncratic. The businessman then explains that once we have developed this software for him then we will be able to sell it to lots of other businesses and that he will only ask for half the income in exchange for his amazing business knowledge. Plus, of course, we will be able to use his (free) implementation as a reference site.
We usually manage to contain our enthusiasm and decline these wonderful offers.
I used to turn those around and make it in to: how about I give you a 30% discount on what I'll charge everybody else for the package if I believe it has the market potential you cite. Several pretty good lines of business resulted from that (webvod, webpay), and the respective customers went overboard to help spec 'their' package.
You can't blame a guy for trying, it is up to you as a front line contact to try to negotiate the best deal, declining them outright is not always the best course of action.
I have deep inroads and personal connections into the design industry, and it recently cost me $1500 to get a preliminary, temporary identity done, not including any printing costs or anything. That's a rock bottom price for good work.
I'd personally prefer this sort of link not be posted here. To me it seems exactly the sort of thing that Paul's referred to as dangerous in the past: amusing, but with no actual meat.
I suppose it's a stretch, but there is the implied point of many people seeming to think that the software 'does all the work', in a sense. You see it all over the place, too - how many old-school rock fans believe that electronic musicians are talentless because "it's all done on the computer"?
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I can't scream from the rooftops loud enough to stay away from spec work. Some bad things happening from it on all sides.
Google is more of an application, which is accessed primarily via their web UI (other options for access are clients such as you find on various mobile devices and desktop widgets).
A static web page is much much different than Google or a similar webapp. Not to say that developing a static site that adds value for a business isn't worthy, but it's quite different from Google.
The software equivalent I find goes like this:
Business person rings up to ask us to develop a software package to run his business. The spec is always somewhat vague and very idiosyncratic. The businessman then explains that once we have developed this software for him then we will be able to sell it to lots of other businesses and that he will only ask for half the income in exchange for his amazing business knowledge. Plus, of course, we will be able to use his (free) implementation as a reference site.
We usually manage to contain our enthusiasm and decline these wonderful offers.
You can't blame a guy for trying, it is up to you as a front line contact to try to negotiate the best deal, declining them outright is not always the best course of action.
If you must outsource the design, you should pay more than $400 and reiterate probably 5 - 10 times to get what you want.
It has a "contest" model and I am leaning towards trying it out ($39 is not recoverable if the contest is a disaster).
Asking someone to complete work for the chance of payment is downright evil in my book. I view it as the pyramid scheme of the design world.
Best thing to do is look at other contests, find a designer you like and contract them.
http://no-spec.com/