How NOT to Approach Me for Logo Design Work
What can I possibly write back?
Article Posted On: December 7, 2009 at 9.11 am
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In Categories: Logo design
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Ask for an 100% share in his company in exchange :P
Awaiting a response…
I feel like he’s going to sell the logo you made to someone else :D
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LOL…’maybe one day….’
Dear (blurred name)
Thank you for your interest in forming a partnership. If you could share your business plan and which particular services you offer I will look into it more closely. You never know I may have potential clients for you who don’t have much money, as like you are in the early days of their business startup and may require your services for free. From your earlier comments I understand that working under these conditions is ideal for those with great skillsets and potential.
Thank you and I look forward to your thoughts on this…
You have done this before right? ;0)
it all makes a good story….
TBH if he wants something simple, might there be something the archives that wasn’t bought/used that could just be given away?
Charitable I know, but acknowledgement from the guy on the site must be given.
… after all we all started from somewhere..
haha awesome Rajesh! lol way to play the playa! haha
@Graham – at least he was polite about it :) and – I mean – you’re on the same continent, so why not!? ;)
Brilliant response – may have to use this myself next time it happens to me!
On one hand it’s funny (grammatically + theoretically) but on the other hand it is as common as the thumb. Sometimes the distance between knowledge + need is staggering.
Someone, somewhere though must have turned down a request like this and later regretted it. If two guys had asked you for a logo just over a decade ago for a new search engine called Google, you would quite probably have turned them down too :)
Hindsight is certainly not over rated. I always take a view, a considered decision when faced with things like this. But it comes down to their approach, their honesty and sincerity. If it looks too generic and lacking in sincerity, then I will pass up. For me, guaranteed paid work NOW is what matters, thats what put food on the table, not something 10 years down the line.
:)
A friend of mine was doing a lot of logos for companies back in the dot com days, and getting paid in shares of the companies. In the end he got tired of owning percentages in companies that never became anything, so when he was approached with another logo-design he demanded a flat fee instead. So he got his money and designed the logo. It was for something called “Skype”.
Yes, of course. Being on the same continent is the real ‘winning’ reason I may ‘not’ consider doing this free logo design… ;)
More and more people think about design as a hobbie. For real ! Some people think themsleves as designers when they achieve a complete book in photoshop (with text :D).
That sort of messages botheres me more than anything else. Our profession should be more respected. Maybe you should try to insert this idea into your answer. Your work makes you live.
He could become your slave. It would save his life !
jaja amazing, I got similar requests all the time
Oy! I’ve heard this one before. The part I hate the most is “because you can also gain customers.”
So idiotic.
You have to respect this kid’s willingness and passion. Do it, change his life!
Put some clip art together for him and tell him not to tell anyone you did it.
Reply “sugi pula”
When you are approached with e-mails like this these days, you can never gauge sincerity. Obviously, you have to take each inquiry as they come and decide whether or not this is a viable prospect. It is certainly a larger risk if the prospect is out of the country and beyond any sort of legal boundaries.
Depending on my mood and work load, I will at least respond and see where it goes. You just never know. Most of the time though, it is a business and you still need to get something for your efforts. Whether it’s money or otherwise.
I’m really surprised he didn’t ask to borrow a kidney while he was at it, with a promise to give you a free meal 6 and a half years after he gets well again.
HAHAHA Great post
Hehe. I get alot of these via my site. It’s sweet in a way… but in most situations I can only point them in the direction of learning to do it for themselves.
Recently I was asked to design a business a website for free, and in return they would put up a post up on their blog promoting me (lol).
Imagine walking into a shop, picking up a television, taking it to the counter, and saying ‘maybe one day I can pay you. Can I have this for free?’
I think you’d probably end up in a bit of a pickle.