24 Hours to go in the Logo Contest...

[ClarkP]

24 hours left... and a consensus is building around this design:
We like this design very much and it has consistently polled among you guys as the best available entry.  There are others we liked just as much... but none that we could say we liked more than this one.

The other current entries did not have the same impact with us and with you guys. See the polls:

Poll 1, Poll 2, Poll 3.

 

There were MANY good designers who entered very good concepts.  But it looks like among the current entries, this will be the winner.  Now, there might be a completely new entry that is superior... but with our long history of trying to have designers create a logo for us (for over a year!), we'd put the chance of that happening at about 0%.  We are not shutting down entries because it ain't over 'til it's over.

 

So how can we make this design better?  If this wasn't your favorite, what tweaks would you make to bring it into line with your "perfect logo"?  We are still revising this image so your feedback is important.

 

Thank you so much for your help.  Even if your favorite did not win, your feedback has changed the way each logo was updated.  We truly appreciate it!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I hope DK is a place where one can respectfully submit an opinion without inciting a rant. My choices for president don't always win either and having lived a lot longer than you I'm on to Life 1001. I never said the process was unfair to all entries but in fact but not having all entries included in the polls it was not. And if there is a great logo I I too will love it.

[Adina P]

Sometimes a rant is needed...this was a very stressful and time-consuming process so give the bald guy some slack =)

[Wendy and Eddie]

It was clearly stated for each poll that only 8 designs were represented and that anyone was free (and encouraged) to look through and comment on other designs. Having set up surveys and polls in the past, I know how hard it is to find a way to get meaningful results without getting buried in irrelevant data. And how much behind the scenes work it takes to set up a "simple" poll and then look at the results. The great thing about instant access on the internet is that you can get lots of people involved in the process, but it also increases the number of differing opinions and unhappy people as well.

 

Thanks for all your and Adina's hard work to keep DK up and running and set us up with a logo to represent our favorite doodle site!

 

[Adina P]

I'm really sorry this process has disappointed you and possibly others.  There's just no way to make this process entirely democratic.  Yes it was biased in that we had to pick a chunk of logos we liked and seemed to have promise for each poll.  I think that is understandable.  Most  organizations/companies do not even work with their customers/members/clients in logo development.  They don't present their ideas to a committee of 7000+ for input.  It's not feasible.  Can you imagine being a designer and having to please even hundreds and hundreds of committee members?  But we did offer a chance for all DK members to give their input.  We didn't (and wouldn't have) chosen a design that ONLY we liked and rated poorly on polls. But we also didn't (and wouldn't have) chosen a design that most members liked and we didn't.  So yes, we were biased but we certainly didn't let our personal opinion rule in the end.  Some had great concepts but were poorly executed.  Others were awesome designs but were missing something DK needed.  This one was indeed rated the highest on each and every poll.

 

Earlier in DK history we did actually have a contest SOLELY for DK members to participate in for our logo.  It was used for a year but wasn't quite a true logo and last year we worked with a young professional who did very good work, but it took months of back and forth and nothing strong came out of it.  99Designs offered us a chance to 'get 'er done' in a timely manner using concepts from several designers and this is what we needed. We could have dragged it out (well maybe not using 99Designs) for months again, but that is simply not a road we wanted to go down again.

 

Further, doodles are varied and tough to design without it looking like a pencil sketch or painting.  We did not want that look.  We've also gone down the road of 'kissing' dogs and people and other concepts too.  They didn't work and never looked right.  Nobody knew this because this is when we were working with an individual designer and we were tough enough critics--it would have been a nightmare to throw in all DK members as the logo design committee.  Even with only two critics it STILL took forever to get nowhere.

 

We wanted a clean, simple, professional, doodle dog design that popped.

 

Those who work in graphic design know that logo development can be a very arduous process--for both the designer and the client.  Clark and I worked quite hard (Clark especially!) at communicating our wishes to the designers and giving them useful feedback. Some were able to deliver changes faster and better than others.  I stand behind Clark on this because I was there behind the scenes.

 

I really do appreciate the fact that members like you love DK so much that you CARE about this logo greatly.  But I will stand behind our final decision and hope you can come to even like the little scruffy dog you'll see on the website once everything is complete. 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree.  The scruffy dog is a good representation.

With 7,000+ members, it would be impossible to make everyone happy.  I work in a political setting and our mottos tend to be "go with what ruffles the least amount of feathers" and "the goal is to anger different groups equally" (we joke on that one).  LOL. Might sound pessimistic but they are words to live by in some cases.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I appreciate your response and I do understand. You comment about caring about DK and therefore caring about the logo is spot on for me. I had asked myself why I was getting so involved with this and that is truly why. But to be fair DK is not a commercial  company with millions of mere consumers. I believe we are a community who contribute and share to make DK what it is and we are DK in the end. So I believe that while a truly democratic process would not be possible I do wish we had more time and input. In the end the decision is of course up to you the creators of this wonderful site. I do appreciate all the time and effort you and Clark put into the whole site, the thoughtfulness and occasional refereeing that go into it too.

[Adina P]

Thank you. You know when you've mentioned you were 'obsessing' over this I wanted to say "if YOU are obsessing...imagine MY obsessing!"  I think I dreamed in logos this past week!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I can imagine. Maybe you had some great images : )

[Bonne Bouche]

Having just read all of the above responses, I will keep my response here brief, but I did want to show my support as I, personally, agree with F. There are a thousand and one ways that this could have been done, and I respect that Adina and Clark chose the path that they did. It is certainly not the same path that I (or anyone else, for that matter) would have likely taken, nor the "best" path for everyone. This is frustrating for me, and I'm mad that I actually care so much. The process of voting and feedback was not "completely fair to all entries" and far from democratic (though it was noted from the beginning this was not intended to be a democratic process).  I mostly am upset that the designers were discouraged to continue to work toward an improved logo long before the deadline (which we ALL agree was too short to begin with). The designers are on the website to attempt to create something, if they were ready to give up on their own and out of ideas, they would and could stop at any time. We were over here discussing many many ideas that may or may not have been delivered to the designers, and could have been a goldmine of information for them.

F mentioned earlier a better way to have gotten feedback from the community, anything but 99designs polls would have been better.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Thanks for making me less alone in my opinion : ) I too am angry that I care too much.

[Bonne Bouche]

Nope, your not a lone at all ;-] I echo you completely!

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

Adorable!