Can you name any major firm without a logo? Bet you can’t! And this is because big and successful businesses are built on the foundation of well-developed, strong logos.
A strong logo is the most crucial visual element in branding. It gives your prospects a positive first impression, fosters brand loyalty, grabs your target audience’s attention, etc. So, how do you get a suitable logo for your business? The answer is: through Crowdsourcing.
Crowdsourcing involves obtaining projects, opinions, information, or creatives from a large group of individuals who submit their work and data through apps, websites, or social media. Among the most reliable crowdsourcing platforms for logo designs is the Logo Tournament.
This post discusses everything you need to know about the Logo Tournament, including what it is, its benefits, how it works, how it compares to other crowdsourcing platforms, and more.
Let’s get started!
What’s The Logo Tournament?
As the name suggests, Logo Tournament is a tournament for logo designs. Founded by Tyler Quinn, a former web developer, this crowdsourcing platform connects clients with some of the best logo designers worldwide. Currently, the platform features about 3,548 designers, increasing the pool of logo design talents.
The contest-based graphic design firm is widely known for its high-quality, affordable logos. For as little as $275, you can get the best logo design, which you pick from hundreds of creatives. Even better, you get a money-back guarantee when you choose to work with this crowdsourcing company.
But how exactly does the logo tournament work? Let’s see below:
How Logo Tournament Works
Like any other tournament, the Logo Tournament has several ‘teams’ but only one winner. So, to get the winner, a client submits their request, designers submit their creatives, and the client selects their favorite design.
Here is what happens in each of these steps:
1. The client completes a logo questionnaire and posts a prize
First, visit the Logo Tournament website and click on contests. To start a contest, click on the Start on your logo. Here, you’ll fill out a logo questionnaire detailing what you need. Among the questions found in the questionnaire are your brand name, favorite color, logo type, etc.
Here is a step-by-step guide on the details needed in the questionnaire:
a. Vitals
You’ll be required to fill in the vital details, including the name of your logo, what your brand does, your target audience, and your business’s industry. Below is an image of the vitals section of the questionnaire:
b. Visual inspiration
This step involves choosing up to six logo styles you like. Your choice of logos will inspire designers to make a design that resonates with your brand. You can choose the six logos from hundreds of available logos.
c. Style
Here, you’re given a chance to drag the slider between two opposing words to show that which describes your business. The designers then use these properties to create a logo that resonates with your business.
Here is an image of the opposing words used to describe brands:
d. Colors
Next, you’re prompted to enter the color you’d love to see on your logo – colors that resonate with your brand. To make it easy to choose a color, Logo Tournament describes the meaning of different colors.
For instance, red means love, anger, passion, and battle, while Purple means royalty, imagination, and wisdom.
e. Ideas
In this step, you’re prompted to enter concepts or ideas for your logo. You can either type the ideas or upload a file. If you upload a file, you’re required to mark a box to confirm whether you own the logo’s idea or not. This helps avoid trademark infringement and lawsuits later.
f. Price and upgrades
This step involves choosing the pricing that fits your budget. There are four pricing packages, including Starter, Standard, Plus +, and Epic – in that order. Starter goes for $275 and includes 50-100 designs. The price varies depending on several factors, such as the number of designs you’ll get and the quality of designers.
You can also choose an Upgrade if you’d love one. Logo Tournament has two main Upgrades, including Featured and Private. The Featured Upgrade costs $50 and attracts more designers to the contest. On the other hand, Private Upgrade hides the clients’ contest from Google and competitors.
g. Payment
Add your email address and billing information in this last step. You must also create a username and a password for your accounts.
2. Designers submit their work while the client offers feedback and rankings
Once you’ve started your contest, the designers will submit their creative works, and you’ll provide feedback and rankings. The rankings are based on individual designers’ merit on that specific project.
Note: other logo designers can’t view each other’s designs.
3. The client selects their favorite logo file and downloads it
After ranking, you select your favorite logo among the submitted projects. You can then download the logo files. Although rare, you can request a refund if you don’t get a logo that fits your needs.
Next, we’ll look at the contest phases.
Contest Phases
Overall, Logo Tournament goes through three main phases: the Blind phase, Finalist phase, and Selection phase. Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these phases:
1. The Blind Phase
The purpose of this phase is to explore as many logo concepts as possible. Designers can submit their creatives here, but they can’t see each other’s designs. Logo Tournament prefers this phase to be ‘blind’ to increase the variety of initial ideas.
As you might expect, some designers will strictly follow your instructions to the latter while others will want to be creative and add some features. As the client, you’ll provide your feedback based on the projects you receive.
Pro-tip to clients: Refrain from asking designers to copy design or concept. You can talk to the support team from Logo Tournament if you have an already implemented idea that you’d like to be copied.
2. The Finalist Phase
The designer works with the finalists to create more personalized and dedicated logos in this phase. The list of the five finalists is based on your ranking and feedback. You can move the designers up or down the list based on your projects.
Logos are visible to all Logo Tournament designers at this stage.
3. The Selection Phase
You work with your favorite designer to finalize the logo design. Only the first ranked logo designer can submit their work in this phase.
Once you have your winner, you can select them by clicking on the “Select Winner” button on their ranking page. The client can’t turn back or request revisions once they have selected a winner.
4. Extras
Here are some other things you need to know about the contest:
a. Contest completion
Once you’ve chosen the winning logo, the following things happen:
– The winner uploads the final logo files in 1-2 days
– You receive an email containing a link to download the final project files
– You can then download and approve these files. The prize is then transferred to the winning designer.
b. Open phase
If the contest requires more time after the Blind phase has been completed, Logo Tournament offers an ‘Open’ phase. This phase serves as a Blind phase. It is a period where you get more logo ideas from designers. The only difference between the Blind phase and the Open phase is that designers can see each other’s work in the Open phase.
Pro-tip to clients: Contact the support team if the Blind phase has ended and you’d like to see more logo ideas.
Contest Timeline
Now comes one of the most critical questions for Logo Tournament clients: how long until my logo is ready?
Here is a timeline for the contest:
1. Qualifying round – the blind phase (4 days)
Designers submit their designs and concepts during the first four days. You’re encouraged to give feedback in this phase to help designers get closer to your final logo. If this time is not enough to interact with incoming concepts, you can request extra time from the support in what is known as the ‘Open’ phase.
2. Select finalists – finalist phase (3 days)
You have three days to choose up to 5 designers to move into the final round. The contest becomes guaranteed once this step is complete. The designers can’t submit changes until you confirm the finalists.
3. Choose a winner – selection phase (0-7 days)
You have 0-7 days to select a winner. If you can’t choose a winner in the allocated time, you should contact the Support Team for a time extension. If the winner hasn’t been selected within 14 days after the contest ended, Logo Tournament will email you asking for approval.
If there is no response, the Support team at Logo Tournament selects a winner based on your latest ranking, feedback, or community voting.
Why the Logo Tournament?
The Logo Tournament provides its clients with innumerable benefits, ranging from cheap rates to high-quality logo designs.
Here are some of the reasons why you should consider the crowdsourcing platform:
1. Talented creatives, lots of choices
Perhaps the best thing about Logo Tournament is that you get a pool of talents, all working on your project. All the 3,548 on this platform are carefully selected for originality, quality, and knowledge. The designers come from various countries worldwide, increasing the possibility of a creative product.
2. Full legal ownership
Let’s face it: no business wants to undergo the costly, lengthy, and resource-consuming lawsuit for trademark infringement. We’ve seen firms fall due to copyright infringement cases.
Logo Tournament understands the assignment to avoid trademark lawsuits against its clients. How? By creating 100% unique logos and providing you with a transfer of ownership. Every project from this crowdsourcing firm includes legal contracts and policies that protect your intellectual property.
3. High-quality logo design
Logo Tournament gives your projects to thousands of qualified and experienced logo designers, ensuring a great result. Even better, you get a refund if you aren’t 100% pleased with the design project.
4. Affordable pricing
Logo Tournament is among the most affordable crowdsourcing platforms, compared to 99designs and Crowdspring. For as little as $275, you can get the logo of your dreams.
The company has four different price packages, as shown in the image below:
What’s more, the upgrades associated with the Logo Tournament are affordable for clients. For instance, for as little as $50, you can have your contest information hidden from Google and third-party websites before beginning the contest. Only the client and the designers can view the contest details.
Here is an image of the upgrades:
Note: all the Logo Tournament’s pricing is in U.S. dollars ($U.S.)
5. Money-back guarantee
Logo Tournament has a money-back policy, which states that your money shall be refunded if your contest doesn’t receive at least 30 unique logos. What’s more, you can claim your money if you aren’t 100% pleased with the design project.
Cons of the Logo Tournament
Every yin has a yang, so let’s look at some of the drawbacks of the Logo Tournament.
– The only major drawback associated with Logo Tournament is that private designers may cost more than regular designers. But you can be sure to get superior quality of design.
Final Thoughts
Logo design contests provide clients with the quickest and most affordable way to design their logo. Designers globally participate in the contests, giving the client an advantage to get various designs.
Are you thinking of getting a great logo for your business? The world’s most successful small businesses, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and agencies turn to the Logo Tournament for quick, effective, and affordable logos.
With a 100% money-back guarantee, exquisite customer service, and affordable rates, Logo tournament can help any business get a custom logo design that their audience will love. It’s no wonder 65,038 businesses have trusted this crowdsourcing platform with their logos.
