4 ms·

Drawing you a horrible logo for only $5

112 points by imjustcreative 16y ago

Tichy 16y ago
I actually like these logos. Lapland cracks me up.
- fwdbureau 16y ago
  On the other hand, why pay $5 when you can get 20 microturks do the same for 5x less (and give you 20 choices)?
  - tricky 16y ago
    You're paying a premium because this guy has talent... well, $5 worth of talent, at least.
siculars 16y ago
"My logo was rejected, what the hell? It probably contains porn or was considered inappropriate for even a Horrible Logo." LOL. The FAQ is hilarious. Go read it now: http://www.horriblelogos.com/faqs/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/faqs/.
- powrtoch 16y ago
  Not to mention http://www.horriblelogos.com/testimonials/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/testimonials/
kilian 16y ago
Most of these logo's aren't horrible, they're just at stage 1 for logo creation. Good thing it's (somewhat?) working out for him, it's a funny business idea.
- KoZeN 16y ago
  Agreed, not horrible just amateurish. I should launch www.logodesignedbya5yearold.com and see if I could compete!
  - byoung2 16y ago
    http://www.bobparsons.me/9/how-godaddy-got-name-logo-mean.html http://www.bobparsons.me/9/how-godaddy-got-name-logo-mean.ht... And our logo "The Go Daddy Guy" was born one night when a mom and her little girl were playing around doodling on their computer.
- electromagnetic 16y ago
  I think he's using it to advertise his professional logo design.
  - aaronmorey 16y ago
    That's what I assumed too, but I couldn't seem to find a name or a link to anything else besides the Horrible Logos site.
pierrefar 16y ago
The guy's wrist must be getting some seriously bad RSI very soon.
josefresco 16y ago
On a related note, a few years back I conceived of and actually launched a website called (roughly) $5 Business Ideas.com The idea was to spend a few minutes on each and write 100-150 words the would constitute a half-baked business idea. Never had the time to devote to it, and I left the company where it was spawned but I still think it has a legitimate place in the market. As we always say here at HN, it's not the idea that's worth so much, it's the execution. Another related side note, Fiverr appears to still be around: http://www.fiverr.com/ http://www.fiverr.com/
- calloc 16y ago
  Ah, that sounds familiar, have you seen: http://www.halfbakery.com/ http://www.halfbakery.com/ Lovely website.
SageRaven 16y ago
I think $5 for a fresh perspective on a potential logo is good value for the money, so long as you retain rights to the final design (not something mentioned in the FAQ). I've got a web site/service in the back of my mind, and while I have a conceptual idea of the basic logo, my drawing skills suck worse than my web design skills (which suck considerably, let me tell you), so $5, which I might otherwise spend on energy drinks today, could yield a decent logo concept. I think the dude deserves the $5 for the simple entertainment value of the site and logos. Some are downright clever! My big question is, for the uninitiated like myself, what does good professional logo design cost these days? Knowing that would give a good perspective on the value of this $5 service.
- kreek 16y ago
  I used to be a designer and charged $100/hr and depending on the number of choices/revisions I gave the client it would take from 10-40hrs for a logo, so $1,000-4,000. However you could probably find a talented freelancer to do one for $500. Of course the sky's the limit and agencies routinely take huge companies like UPS or Coke for thousands and thousands.
dRother 16y ago
Ha, that's funny. I work with web advertising for micro businesses and some people just will NOT pay even $10-20 for a web ad to be designed.
- pinksoda 16y ago
  It's not a real business if they can't find $10 in their budget for design work.
  - dRother 16y ago
    I totally agree. But still, these people are serious in a way. It's generally the hobby or very-very entry level range. The thing is, they'll spend plenty of money on supplies and marketplace fees, but have this aversion to purchasing something relatively virtual, especially as they think they can do themselves or get it for free. The same goes for their websites. It's bad decision making, no doubt. They're sacrificing their professional image, and being penny-wise and pound foolish.
achompas 16y ago
Reminds me of the bums who are up-front about using your spare change to get beer. I don't mean that he's a bum! He's just honest about the whole thing: "give me $5 for beer and I'll draw you a shitty logo." Love his candor.
percept 16y ago
Ha, did you see the one for The Schiffer Firm? I noticed this in the FAQ: "No. What you get is the final logo. I will not redo any logos." Why not charge more for real designs? Or farm it out?
- wtracy 16y ago
  I e-mailed him and he said that I could order 10 logos for the same company for $50. At $5 a pop, just keep ordering until you get one you like. :-)
charlief 16y ago
So who's going to spot the $5 for an HN logo? I'd be willing to do it haha
- charlief 16y ago
  The order is in... and let the wait begin.
SanjayUttam 16y ago
Ha... Lap Land Pet Sitting "Thanks for the Beer Lap Land Pet Sitting! I hope you hate your new horrible logo as much as I hated making it." http://www.horriblelogos.com/lap-land-pet-sitting-service/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/lap-land-pet-sitting-service/
wtracy 16y ago
You're missing half of the value here: For $5 bucks, you basically get an advertisement front and center on his blog. This strikes me as not a bad deal.
steve19 16y ago
Some are not to bad for $5. But this one is something else, he managed to incorporate the Nazi SS insignia ... http://www.horriblelogos.com/jess3/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/jess3/

112 points by imjustcreative 16y ago

Tichy 16y ago

I actually like these logos. Lapland cracks me up.

fwdbureau 16y ago
On the other hand, why pay $5 when you can get 20 microturks do the same for 5x less (and give you 20 choices)?
- tricky 16y ago
  You're paying a premium because this guy has talent... well, $5 worth of talent, at least.

siculars 16y ago

"My logo was rejected, what the hell? It probably contains porn or was considered inappropriate for even a Horrible Logo." LOL. The FAQ is hilarious. Go read it now: http://www.horriblelogos.com/faqs/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/faqs/.

powrtoch 16y ago
Not to mention http://www.horriblelogos.com/testimonials/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/testimonials/

kilian 16y ago

Most of these logo's aren't horrible, they're just at stage 1 for logo creation. Good thing it's (somewhat?) working out for him, it's a funny business idea.

KoZeN 16y ago
Agreed, not horrible just amateurish. I should launch www.logodesignedbya5yearold.com and see if I could compete!
- byoung2 16y ago
  http://www.bobparsons.me/9/how-godaddy-got-name-logo-mean.html http://www.bobparsons.me/9/how-godaddy-got-name-logo-mean.ht... And our logo "The Go Daddy Guy" was born one night when a mom and her little girl were playing around doodling on their computer.
electromagnetic 16y ago
I think he's using it to advertise his professional logo design.
- aaronmorey 16y ago
  That's what I assumed too, but I couldn't seem to find a name or a link to anything else besides the Horrible Logos site.

pierrefar 16y ago

The guy's wrist must be getting some seriously bad RSI very soon.

josefresco 16y ago

On a related note, a few years back I conceived of and actually launched a website called (roughly) $5 Business Ideas.com The idea was to spend a few minutes on each and write 100-150 words the would constitute a half-baked business idea. Never had the time to devote to it, and I left the company where it was spawned but I still think it has a legitimate place in the market. As we always say here at HN, it's not the idea that's worth so much, it's the execution. Another related side note, Fiverr appears to still be around: http://www.fiverr.com/ http://www.fiverr.com/

calloc 16y ago
Ah, that sounds familiar, have you seen: http://www.halfbakery.com/ http://www.halfbakery.com/ Lovely website.

SageRaven 16y ago

I think $5 for a fresh perspective on a potential logo is good value for the money, so long as you retain rights to the final design (not something mentioned in the FAQ). I've got a web site/service in the back of my mind, and while I have a conceptual idea of the basic logo, my drawing skills suck worse than my web design skills (which suck considerably, let me tell you), so $5, which I might otherwise spend on energy drinks today, could yield a decent logo concept. I think the dude deserves the $5 for the simple entertainment value of the site and logos. Some are downright clever! My big question is, for the uninitiated like myself, what does good professional logo design cost these days? Knowing that would give a good perspective on the value of this $5 service.

kreek 16y ago
I used to be a designer and charged $100/hr and depending on the number of choices/revisions I gave the client it would take from 10-40hrs for a logo, so $1,000-4,000. However you could probably find a talented freelancer to do one for $500. Of course the sky's the limit and agencies routinely take huge companies like UPS or Coke for thousands and thousands.

dRother 16y ago

Ha, that's funny. I work with web advertising for micro businesses and some people just will NOT pay even $10-20 for a web ad to be designed.

pinksoda 16y ago
It's not a real business if they can't find $10 in their budget for design work.
- dRother 16y ago
  I totally agree. But still, these people are serious in a way. It's generally the hobby or very-very entry level range. The thing is, they'll spend plenty of money on supplies and marketplace fees, but have this aversion to purchasing something relatively virtual, especially as they think they can do themselves or get it for free. The same goes for their websites. It's bad decision making, no doubt. They're sacrificing their professional image, and being penny-wise and pound foolish.

achompas 16y ago

Reminds me of the bums who are up-front about using your spare change to get beer. I don't mean that he's a bum! He's just honest about the whole thing: "give me $5 for beer and I'll draw you a shitty logo." Love his candor.

percept 16y ago

Ha, did you see the one for The Schiffer Firm? I noticed this in the FAQ: "No. What you get is the final logo. I will not redo any logos." Why not charge more for real designs? Or farm it out?

wtracy 16y ago
I e-mailed him and he said that I could order 10 logos for the same company for $50. At $5 a pop, just keep ordering until you get one you like. :-)

charlief 16y ago

So who's going to spot the $5 for an HN logo? I'd be willing to do it haha

charlief 16y ago
The order is in... and let the wait begin.

SanjayUttam 16y ago

Ha... Lap Land Pet Sitting "Thanks for the Beer Lap Land Pet Sitting! I hope you hate your new horrible logo as much as I hated making it." http://www.horriblelogos.com/lap-land-pet-sitting-service/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/lap-land-pet-sitting-service/

wtracy 16y ago

You're missing half of the value here: For $5 bucks, you basically get an advertisement front and center on his blog. This strikes me as not a bad deal.

steve19 16y ago

Some are not to bad for $5. But this one is something else, he managed to incorporate the Nazi SS insignia ... http://www.horriblelogos.com/jess3/ http://www.horriblelogos.com/jess3/