Istock to sell logos

[SDX]

Potentially massive can of worms with this one and adding more to the debate about cheap and cheerful logos from stock sites and professional logos.

Article relating to the stoey on logoDesignLove and a few good links at the end: http://www.logodesignlove.com/istock-logos

Istockphoto blog post

We're excited to announce a whole new product coming to the iStock collection. Clients will soon be able to download a unique logo to brand their business or organization right here at iStock. This is a huge opportunity not just for existing iStock contributors, but for our community of designers as well. If you?re a designer, you've probably created hundreds of different logos over the course of your career and we're offering you an outlet to start selling logos to the world?s largest community of creative buyers.

Read all the details and join the discussion here.

Before we start accepting logo designs we want to share what we?ve come up with and we?d like your feedback on a few things. Here's what we have decided:

Vector files ? iStock logos will be downloaded as fully editable .eps files. If you?re interested in contributing, hang tight; we?re almost done the Logo Training Manual.

One-time use ? iStock logos will only be sold once. After a logo is purchased it will be indicated as ?sold? on the site.

File exclusivity ? Unlike other files on iStockphoto, logos can only be sold once and therefore need to be exclusive to iStockphoto. Once your logo is on iStock it will remain for sale for a minimum of six months.

Pricing ? Because each logo will only be sold once, they have a higher price-point, ranging from 100 - 750 credits. When designers upload a file, they will set a recommended price and our inspectors will then make the final pricing decision based on that recommendation.

Royalties ? iStock will pay a base royalty rate of 50% per logo design for the first 6 months. We?ll give advanced notice for the rate going forward after that.

Upload limits ? There will be no limits for the first six months. Go nuts.

Fonts ? If you are submitting a logo, you can only use fonts if:

? you own the copyright (in other words, you created the font yourself)

? you licensed the font with commercial rights to use the font for a logo for resale. Remember, there are many ?free? fonts that cannot be used in commercial applications.

The font itself will not be included in the file that the client purchases ? it will only contain the vector outline. Fonts must be converted to outlines before the file is uploaded.

All-new content ? Any logo submitted to iStock must not be in use or have been previously sold. It also cannot feature existing elements (including content from your iStock portfolio). These requirements allow our clients to confidently apply for a trademark on the logo purchased from iStock. Remember, your regular files are uploaded with the restriction that they cannot be used in logos and that still applies.

So that's what we've already decided. Here's where you come in:

There will need to be a certain level of interaction with the client when it comes to changing text inside the logos. Some clients will be capable of editing the .eps file themselves, but others will need help.

? What would you think if iStock acted as the intermediary between artist and client for only one round of changes (to insert a client?s company name)?

As a client?

? Do you want direct contact with the designer to change the name?

? How fast would you expect a name change to occur once you buy a logo from us?

As a designer?

? Do you want to just design the logo and not be involved in further changes?

? If you make a name change for a client, what would you charge for just that change?

? What is a reasonable timeframe to get back to a client with a name change?

? Policing logos is a tough job but somebody?s got to do it. How do you think the community can help us with this?

We?re really excited about launching logos, and we want to know what you think. All suggestions are more than welcome. Or you could just start designing logos for us to get that cash. Whatever works.

Thanks!

As an incentive to upload early, If you create one of the first 10,000 approved logo designs by January 1, 2010, we?ll give you a $5 bonus per logo and another $5 if we reach 10,000 approved logos by that date (Note, this is just a bonus not the selling price). So fire up Illustrator to create some amazing logos or dust off all those much-loved logos that never made it past the third round with a client.

[andrewharrington]

One-time use is key. This is a great way to get some use and cash out of all those abstract icons that got the axe in the beginning stages of a job. I wouldn't spend time crating new work to submit to iStock, but I'd certainly throw my old stuff their way. I wonder if they pay you in iStock credits, or in cash. Credits vary in price depending on how many you buy, so that might present a problem, unless you can cash in your iStock credits (I don't think you can). The last thing I want is tons of iStock credits.

[pcgd]

I saw that last night. If you can cash in your credits its a good deal. If not, I'm not interested.

But the payouts aren't bad. The logos will cost 100-700 credits which considering credits are a bit more than a dollar each, isn't that terrible for logos. Its not perfect, but its better than the $150 a logo places out there.

[DrJack]

So.... This makes me want to take all my work off the internet. Every concept I've done, every logo I've created, etc. How easy is it for someone to vector trace a concept posted here and then submit to iStock and get paid for it?

It seems like either I put my work on iStock first, or someone else will eventually.

This is wrong.

[paynomind]

I can't believe anyone is in favor of this who likes, supports, or creates design.

$5. FIVE DOLLARS. The designer gets five dollars.

istockphoto gets $200.

Ridiculous. Logos are not meant to be selected from a list. If you think your company just needs some abstract garbage logo from a stock photo site, I hope you get ghonorreah from your discount hooker, the crash your cheap car into a cheap hotel and die from sepsis in the mini-mall doc-in-the-box you went to.

This is absolutely horrendous. I want to start a group to hunt down every designer who sells their work to istock photo and harrass the $5 out of them.

Ridiculous. Terrible. Insulting.

[eRay]

So.... This makes me want to take all my work off the internet. Every concept I've done, every logo I've created, etc. How easy is it for someone to vector trace a concept posted here and then submit to iStock and get paid for it?

It seems like either I put my work on iStock first, or someone else will eventually.

This is wrong.

You know what? You bring up a very good point. If I had no morals and no means of income I could easily find design portfolio sites and trace logos and submit them. I could probably submit a couple dozen per day for a while. How is this policed and should we be worried? I know legal action can be taken, but assuming you don't search tirelessly everyday through their site this would be like finding a stolen needle in a haystack. I'm aware that other sites already do this and we should be worried already, but it keeps getting worse.

[pcgd]

I can't believe anyone is in favor of this who likes, supports, or creates design.

$5. FIVE DOLLARS. The designer gets five dollars.

istockphoto gets $200.

Ridiculous. Logos are not meant to be selected from a list. If you think your company just needs some abstract garbage logo from a stock photo site, I hope you get ghonorreah from your discount hooker, the crash your cheap car into a cheap hotel and die from sepsis in the mini-mall doc-in-the-box you went to.

This is absolutely horrendous. I want to start a group to hunt down every designer who sells their work to istock photo and harrass the $5 out of them.

Ridiculous. Terrible. Insulting.

Maybe I misunderstood...I thought the designer got the whole amount. If they only get 5 bucks that's total BS.

[DelayedPenalty]

I can't believe anyone is in favor of this who likes, supports, or creates design.

$5. FIVE DOLLARS. The designer gets five dollars.

istockphoto gets $200.

Ridiculous. Logos are not meant to be selected from a list. If you think your company just needs some abstract garbage logo from a stock photo site, I hope you get ghonorreah from your discount hooker, the crash your cheap car into a cheap hotel and die from sepsis in the mini-mall doc-in-the-box you went to.

This is absolutely horrendous. I want to start a group to hunt down every designer who sells their work to istock photo and harrass the $5 out of them.

Ridiculous. Terrible. Insulting.

Maybe I misunderstood...I thought the designer got the whole amount. If they only get 5 bucks that's total BS.

It mentions a $5 bonus per logo if you're one of the first 10,000 logos uploaded...that doesn't mean you only get $5 for your work.

[Jigga]

I can't believe anyone is in favor of this who likes, supports, or creates design.

$5. FIVE DOLLARS. The designer gets five dollars.

istockphoto gets $200.

Ridiculous. Logos are not meant to be selected from a list. If you think your company just needs some abstract garbage logo from a stock photo site, I hope you get ghonorreah from your discount hooker, the crash your cheap car into a cheap hotel and die from sepsis in the mini-mall doc-in-the-box you went to.

This is absolutely horrendous. I want to start a group to hunt down every designer who sells their work to istock photo and harrass the $5 out of them.

Ridiculous. Terrible. Insulting.

Maybe I misunderstood...I thought the designer got the whole amount. If they only get 5 bucks that's total BS.

It's a 50/50 split between the designer and iStockphoto.com (for the first 6 months anyway). As DP said, if you create one of the first 10,000 approved logos, they?ll pay you $5, plus another $5 if they reach 10,000 approved logos by January 1.

[Wasatch]

It's a 50/50 split between the designer and iStockphoto.com (for the first 6 months anyway). As DP said, if you create one of the first 10,000 approved logos, they?ll pay you $5, plus another $5 if they reach 10,000 approved logos by January 1.

This is so pathetic!

[Davidson]

i dont know. i think there is potential to make a bit of cash out of the old stuff you never used. that is obviously the angle they take when trying to sell the idea to potential contributing designers, but if you actually just gathered up all the old stuff youve done over the years and uploaded it, you could make a few quid. i still make £2/3 K per year from some illustration i did at uni that are on a similar site.

i think as long as you treat this as its own thing and dont view this in the same way you might view a relationship with a client, its not all that bad. you arent producing bespoke work and getting ripped off.

its more of a garage sale. youre just getting rid of the stuff you were going to bin anyways, and hey, you might make some beer money in the process.

i might give it a shot.