Designs For Name Brand Logo's

I wouldn't recommend this path. These companies usually have a policy in place of not accepting unsolicited ideas and they are also very protective of their trademarks and copyrights. It would also be better for you to build your portfolio with original ideas. Good luck with your art career.

i wouldn't touch trademarks with a 10 foot pole. if nike wanted it, they would ask, otherwise you'll get notes from lawyers. trying to gain money with someone else's hard work, isn't the way to make the money, its a good way to lose it though.

make your own ideas, in your own way. don't use trademarks.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

That is a good start point... have you ever had any design experience or taken a class?

I would say if you have a young child depending on you that you get a "real" job and do art as a hobby to make some extra money for Christmas or college fund.

The major brands pay big design firms MILLIONS of dollars to design their logo. I doubt they will even LOOK at an unsolicited rebranding and if they did, they might turn it over to their attorney.

If this sounds mean and harsh, it is! That is life. Earning a living in art is VERY difficult. You have a child to think of. If you live in a big city you may be able to get regular work as a graphic designer, but you normally need a degree for that.

Large companies don't need logos, they have in house designers and contracts with ad agencies. You won't get a penny from unsolicited work.

If you like designing logos I bet there is a place on the web where you can offer your services. Small businesses would be the market. I would create a contract that spells out exactly what the small business gets - like web banner, business card, etc.

Google "logo designer" and services come up from $49, $99 and even prices starting at $5 on Fivver.com. Online you are in competition with the world. Some people have a lower cost of living than you do and can offer cut rate prices. Better advertise to your local business communitiy via the newspaper or direct mail.

Check this out - http://99designs.com/logo-design (talk about the race to the bottom)

I wouldn't recommend it either. I was a graphic designer for 15 years. These companies are not going to welcome your ideas. They already have massive design departments full of designers they pay. If you have a graphic design degree and a portfolio, I would pursue traditional employment avenues like ad agencies, printing companies or in-house art departments.

its sort of like going to the mint and telling them about how you print your own money. its sort of like that anyway. best not to get into it. not with their trademarks anyway. they protect them because they can lose them. same thing with doing stuff with team names and other things like that.

---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

"Has anyone ever tried sending your ideas to these companies with any success??"

You would have a better chance of getting an audience with Obama then getting your idea seen by the right guy.

These large companies are mostly using large advertising firms with a huge staff of artist and creative directors.

You have to find out who the right person is in these company just to address an envelope to and then it will get tossed in the circular file.

No creative director worth his salt is going to take an out side idea. How does he tell his boss, well, you paid me $1.8 million last year including stock options, but I couldn't come up anything. But here is this idea from some stranger I got in the mail. He does that and his career ends up in that same circular file.

Thank you all for your responses. I appreciate it greatly. As for you Mr. John Crothers, I work as a young business professional for a highly prestigious company therefore I have a "real" job. Your snide remarks are incredidibly uncalled for with you being completely oblivious to my professional background. My passion has always been in the arts but unfortunately with my upbringing, I have been taught that choosing a career that offers stability trumps one that offers happiness, with that being said I never pursued it. I now know that the best of both worlds is possible. I am not as educated in this particular area as most, if not all, of you are. I am sure my post came off as naive and foolish but I also know there is no question that's not worth asking. In the end we are all working towards the same goal, happiness. Thanks again for all of your responses, I'll head back to the drawing board!! *Badum tis*

its not a snide remark. very few artists can say they are making a living by making art alone. it a very hard subject to get into. its better that your in a real job, paying steady wages, something you can predict each month. a place that pays your health insurance, plans your taxes, etc.

still stay far away from trademarks. your store will be ruined in a single moment when the lawyer drops by. make your designs without the border of a known logo. or better yet - make an entire complete alphabet with the design. you can be a store of initials. that's a way to make money.

and it is true, a company will spend a lot on its brand, and a design. showing a company you want to sell that design or even made it will only spell trouble down the line. as an artist you have to have a thick skin, and if someone mentions what he mentioned, well you have to kind of get over it. he only speaks the truth.

my main goal is to make money.. its not happiness. art is hard to make, hard to do. you have to advertise everywhere. you'll be working very long day, 7 days a week, no real holidays. the schedule is flexible but not really. you have to make a lot of art to be successful at it. a company really has to like your art in order to do a segment with it. once i was contacted by MTV, they wanted something for an animated short using steampunk. i turned them down, because i don't do commission, and hadn't a clue what they wanted, or cared. but you have to be in the business for a long time to be seen.

so for now start posting something.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I don't think John meant to be rude, he has experienced trying to work in the design field and doesn't want you to go through what he has trying to find work (I don't think he lives near a big city). It is competitive although I have read once you have experience and are good like everything else you can find work. I have been interested in graphic design and have done some research. I don't totally agree with John, if you have experience you don't have to have a degree, although I do agree you will need some training for the different editors. It seems to be all about getting experience even if you have a degree. I saw an ad in my city for an intern for a design firm stating qualifications that were minimal like knowing PS basics and some photography work for a website, no degree was mentioned. All job ads I have seen only qualify by experience.

You can get training online, you don't have to go to a traditional school and earn a degree. I have read this advice from designers working in the field. Lynda.com (there are probably others) is a teaching website that also gives certifications for the different editors once you complete the course (PS, Illustrator, Indesign, AcrobatPro, etc.), they even will put these certifications on the business social site (name escapes me at the moment) in your profile. I have also found I needed to buy books to supplement study and reference for the different editors and design concepts. Message me if you take classes from Lynda.com I have advice that can save you money if you don't choose to go the yearly course rate. Amazon is a great resource for used (and new) books that are in good or new condition. Sometimes the newer editions are not needed because the editor may not have changed that much only incrementally.

I don't have a degree and have been recruited by a crowd sourcing company to work for them. In the beginning I may not win but it would be good design experience like an internship plus working with an experienced design supervisor who can answer my questions. If customers like your work they will hire you for other jobs.

There are pros and cons mostly coming from design firms about crowd sourcing as a lessor means for design. They feel, for example, if a crowd sourcing company does only a logo design and not study the company as a whole which takes time and money the logo will not be the best concept. If a company is small and doesn't have a lot of products and services like a bigger company, having an identifying logo of their product or service is all that is needed. Bigger companies often need to have logos for example that represent many different products and services which would include more study of the company. As for web function that may include more study especially if there are products, I'm not sure how that works at a crowd sourcing company. I would assume bigger companies would go to a design firm if they don't have one in-house and have bigger budgets.

.

Mike, creating an alphabet is a great idea. My desire is not to become a millionaire or anything, I would just like to be financially comfortable and happy with my career. Suzanne, I will reach out to you at a later date after I do a little more research on Lynda.com. You seem to be very educated about this topic and your suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch for all of your responses!!

still very hard to do it on art. do the art on the side until it picks up. could take years. in any case, stay away from art that has already been made, such as nike and the rest. especially disney.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

I think the consensus, put your energies in your career. Art on the side as a hobby is fine but in the long run you'll do better moving up the ladder at your highly prestigious company. Once the bosses get wind of your aspirations to become something different, you'll find yourself getting passed over for promotions.

There is truth behind the starving artist myth because for most people its true. They can't make a living as an artist. Neither can most actors. Or any other creative field. You don't become an artist to live a comfortable life, you are an artist because that is who you are.

According to the Bureau of Labor there are 259,500 graphic designers in the USA back in 2012.

Check out the Bureau of Labor for more information. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/graphic-designers.htm

There are jobs in graphic design in nearly every city of any size in the country.

I am in what they refer to as a small media market. I know at least a dozen graphic designers that are making a living and another dozen making significant money working part time.

Some of these people own their own shops and have several people working for them. Others are working for ad agencies, television stations, news papers, penny savers, and other print media.

Stay positive and pursue you goals by looking for reasons you can achieve and do not dwell on all of the reasons you are going to be told that you can't succeed and how hard it is. Of course it's hard. With few exceptions, nothing any good ever comes easy.

One of the designers I know came to town with nothing and got her start by going to all of the private shops, ad agencies and all of the TV, newspapers and other publishers. She did not apply for a job. She showed them her past work and asked them to keep her in mind if they ever had any overflow or was offered a project or job they could not do. She now owns here own shop with two artist working for her.

This can be done. But it will not be easy. There are a ton of great graphic artists out there. The ones that succeed are not always the best artist... they are the hardest workers at pursuing the work.

I do agree that if you want to make a pretty good living in the visual arts that supports a family, graphic design is the route to take. Back in the '70s when I was a kid, my dad saw I was artistic and he advised me to become a sign painter. His thinking was that people would always need signs. He saw it as a practical application of my talents. In a sense, he was right. I convinced him that "commercial art" (as it had been called for decades) was the perfect solution for my career choice. I went to design school and then had a successful and satisfying career, first in ad agencies (both on staff and freelance) and then in-house for a travel company. The only reason I quit was that I chose to be a stay-at-home mom.

You might not need a design degree, but you will certainly need a portfolio full of good work to show.

Nothing I can say that hasn't already been said.
I've been a graphic designer now for 25 years...and a "hobby" photographer for around 15 years.
I wish you all the best in your endeavors.

Margaret, I wasn't making "snide" remarks. I was being honest. You didn't say you " work as a young business professional for a highly prestigious company" in your original post. You said..."When I think of wanting to pursue a career in art and design the first thing I think of is "starving artist" having a young child relying on me it's terrifying"


Based on what you SAID I assumed you were considering a full-time career in art and I just tried to discourage you because you have a child depending on you. I think any responsible person would do the same.

Floyd, sounds like encouraging advice based on experience and people you know in the field.

Margret,

Go for happiness. You will learn as an artist how you want to make a living later on.

Go for the happiness. It is a mistake not to.

My favorite professor in art school used to say, "artists become the best business people
out of necessity".

Don't waste your life being unhappy.

Dave

Margret,

Get a job at Nike or with the ad company that works on their logo.
If you get a job with them even for less money you have lost nothing.

Happiness is knowing as your own boss that you will take an approach to dealing with business because you have nothing to lose.
Unhappiness is working a job that does not make you happy or get you into spreading your business wings.

Dave

I'm new to FAA but have you looked into licensing images in general? There are licensing expo's out there like the Licensing Expo in Vegas and the Surtex show in NYC that are frequented by national and international publishers and ad agencies and they may be more interested in licensing YOUR designs to those very same big companies who are THEIR clients. This way you can do your artwork, be with your family, do your job, enjoy your life, etc. and let the publishers get your work out there in the formats that their clients want. This way if Nike wants your images included in their logo they can license it from you and/or your publisher. The publisher/graphic designers affiliated with Nike, who are either on their staff or subcontracted, will take the licensed images from there and incorporate it however they want. This way you may make some $, the publisher may make some $ and Nike is happy that they don't have anyone using their logo.

especially without a portfolio in hand... i don't think you can just "get a job" there. and they may not want it redone anyway. its just one symbol, they don't do much with it.

build a portfolio first.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com

if your going to go to an expo like that you have to prove you know what your doing with your skill... and there better not be any logo's in that booth. but trust me i'm certain there are many other people trying to get into nike's pockets and the rest. the chances are rather slim to simply be invited because you do something. it doesn't really matter if nike is happy. they will simply get the lawyer to talk to you.


---Mike Savad
MikeSavad.com