We’ve been making some new updates! Check out one of the more prominent features, plus a brief case study on why it’s so important!

You may have noticed a few things changing around 48HoursLogo.com. We’re always looking for ways to improve the client and designer experience here. Some icons have been updated, the layout of the contests are more streamlined, and of greatest importance to you: a new “From Gallery” feature! It is located under the Additional Inspirations section of the Contest brief. With this new tool, you can choose designs directly from the 48HoursLogo.com Portfolio that you want designers to be aware of during your contest.

It could be for the color combination, the special effects used on the logo, maybe the font is one you want used for your design – whatever it is, it’s easier than ever to make sure that the Design Community is on the same page as you for what you want in your logo design.

When you click that button you will see this pop up:

From my experience as a designer, I’ve found that understanding a client’s personal taste has been toughest challenge designing this way. There are certain things about design that we can all agree look good, no matter who the audience is. But there are always other logos that are more specialized. They may represent you yourself, or a cause close to your heart, and how it is represented will depend to a greater degree on your specific taste.

I believe that using the From Gallery feature will go a long way in solving this obstacle. When you include logos from the 48HoursLogo Gallery, you can specify what you like about them in the Ideas and Concepts section. Designers will see this and make the connection to your personal taste, providing you with more tailored designs to consider.

Some business owners have already been using this feature in the past week. Let’s take a look at a few contests that have been using the From Gallery feature and see how it’s affected their results

Going Cycle

This contest for Going Cycle, a play on the phrase “Going Psycho,” was set at $99. Eight designers participated, submitting forty-five different designs. You can see under the Additional Design Inspirations section there are four designs selected: Tour Appetit!, Pinnacle Equine Products, eladGurfinkel Sports & Therapy, and Got Gear. The winning design features an oval shape and illustration in the style of Tour Appetit!. It also includes blues similar to Pinnacle and Got Gear. Going Cycle is in a thick font, as seen in Tour Appetit! and Got Gear. This is a great example of combining elements with an original idea without copying an existing design.

Mackie Fitness

Focusing on bootcamps and yoga, Mackie Fitness offers personal training and classes to local businesses and offices. They opened a contest with a $100 prize, in which sixteen designers submitted forty-eight different designs. Mackie Fitness included sixteen logos from the 48hourslogo gallery, many of which you can see use a black background with a silver and green color combination. It also uses an abstract person, also represented in Got Gear and Body Recharge. Finally, the icon is formed with the initial “M,” something you can see done in many of these choices like FitCentre, Body by Brad, and Underdog Fitness. Again, ideas seen in the From Gallery section can come together for a unique, personalized logo design.

The Aviator Brewery

A micro brewery in Puerto Rico whose beer names are taken from aviation terms, The Aviator Brewery started a contest to find a logo at $125. Six designer competed through nineteen different logos. In the end the chosen design has elements from the seven logos in the From Gallery section. It’s encased in a frame as all of them are. There is an illustration of an aviator, similar to the illustrations in Cochinita, Lucky Cow Bingo, and Puck Daddy’s. The Aviator Brewery also took advantage of the User Upload option to include label designs they had in mind.

Warrior Combatives

Looking for a serious, hardcore, and dangerous logo for their online self-defense training course, Warrior Combatives set their contest up with a $120 prize. In it six designers entered seventeen professional designs. The first thing you should notice from the From Gallery section is they tend to favor red and silver on black combinations. Quite a few of them feature initials in the icon. Plus they all have a stylized, unique font for the title name. It’s easy to see what style of logo Warrior Combatives is looking for. I think it’s reflected nicely in bogenz’s original design.

What Did We Learn?

These are just a few recent examples. Based on the data, I believe the clients who are using this feature are narrowing down their prospective choices and preemptively weeding out designs they wouldn’t choose. They are free to give more attention and targeted feedback to designs they are interested in. It doesn’t seem to cut out creativity. The winning designs in these contests are original, they don’t use anything specific or directly unique from the logos in the From Gallery section. It truly does seem to guide the style more than the creative direction.

Be sure to take advantage of the From Gallery feature added to the Additional Design Inspirations section when filling out the contest brief. It’s beneficial to everyone: designers get a better idea of what you want, and you get better logo submissions to consider.

Any questions on how this works?
Problems you see coming up?
Share with us in the comments below!

©All artwork shown is copyright of their respective owners.
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If you dig this article, check these out:

• Get inspired with these original 21 Education Themed Logo Designs!
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