:::Please Enjoy a Brief Intermission Whilst I Sob Uncontrollably:::

A friend and fellow-designer (thanks, John!) just posted a link on facebook about a really upsetting website. Don't worry - it's not porn or violence or nudity. It's something much worse. It is... Logocare. I'm going to go ahead and provide a link to their webpage, but I'm only doing so in an effort to reveal to you just how terrible it is. I trust that you're a smart, level-headed person and that you will not give in to the dark evil of cheap, fast branding.

(holding breath)... here.

It's pretty obvious to a trained eye that they don't know what the eff they're doing. I mean...

here:

(what the... WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON HERE!? Is that supposed to be broccoli hanging off the 'g' there???)

and here:

(I can just hear it - "what will make this logo look really cool.... OH I KNOW! LET'S USE A BUNCH OF FREAKING GRADIENTS!!")

as for the website itself:

(I wasn't aware that newsletters came in the 'trapezoidal' shape, but whatever, I'm no mathematician)

This kind of thing is so upsetting to me because I fear that an uncomfortably large portion of the population truly cannot tell the difference between an effective logo and utter crap. And this website (and the people behind it) are taking full advantage of that fact (not to mention the fact that our pockets have become rather shallow these days). Hey, I understand that people are simply not able to shell out as much as they used to (preaching to the freakin' choir), but you really do get what you pay for. And when services like these make it increasingly difficult for designers with legitimate college degrees, experience, and creative expertise to find work, it's all the more insulting.

A logo is the face of a company, the first thing you see, the identity of an organization. Can you find someone who will design you a logo for twenty bucks in under 24 hours? Absolutely. Will it withstand the test of time and effectively represent your company with grace, dignity, and fortitude? Hell, no. What people don't seem to realize is that a logo (and good design in general) is not just a pretty picture. An effective design has hours of thought behind it, research, painstaking attention to detail. So how can a person put together a good design quickly and for little-to-no pay? They can't.

And now... I will get off my soapbox, curl up in the fetal position and have a little cry.