Dizayner Logo
Anfos Sin
I worked with a logo designer to create a logo for my small business. He came up with several designs that I didn't think were anywhere near on par with what he presented in his portfolio, and in the end, we just couldn't agree on a design.
I paid him 50% up front for this project. The terms were informal through an email: "I charge 50% up front, and 50% after project completion." Do I have to pay him the remaining 50% for a logo I'm not going to use? I haven't yet received the final vector images from him, so I couldn't use it if I wanted to.
I'm not as worried about the legal implications (there was no contract), but the ethical implications. I know if I were him I would want to get paid, but I'm on a shoestring budget and need to hire someone else to do the job now. Do I pay him the remainder?
That said, you can always negotiate and come to an agreement - let the graphic designer know you appreciate their efforts, but cannot use their work, and if they'd settle for 25% instead of 50% - under the agreement that you will not use their work in production.
Graphic designers should always quote in terms of 'number of versions or concepts' because design is a very subjective and creative process - it could take months, if ever, for a client to be happy with a logo, and where does that leave a graphic designer in terms of being able to put food on the table? However, graphic designers do this day in and day out - they should know how to use a contract.
In terms of an ethical compromise, I did exactly this in similar situation with a Flash designer - they were talented, diligent and professional - but it became clear that they could not pull off the job to the acceptance of the client.
Although I could have easily 'not paid' the designer, I never regret that I took the time to negotiate a fair compromise - and looking back, I trust if you take that approach you will feel that you've done the right thing.
As a designer myself, my experience would tell me to work with you to find an logo you do want to use. I'd have a difficult time working on a logo and not satisfying the client in the end. If you haven't expressed clearly what you do not like and why you feel the current revision is unsuitable you should do so in a polite and respectful manner. Simply opening the discussion may be very beneficial. I know it would be for any client of mine.
In addition, perhaps I'm wrong but from the wording of your question it would see you saw his portfolio then a final design... This should not be the case. There should be multiple steps in between those two to ensure he is on the right track. If that's not the case, perhaps you need to ask why you aren't seeing preliminary ideas and only final designs and push him back a bit to show ideas before working towards final images. This is the most common path taken - discussion - 3-5 roughs - discussion - additional roughs or 1-3 comps (based on roughs) - discussion - 1-2 refined comps - discussion - 1 final.
If you have explained and the designer is still not "getting" it, and you are still unhappy with the work, and you just want to move on, then I personally, as a designer, would retain the initial 50% deposit/payment and not invoice for the remaining 50% (and not deliver final files). I can't feel good about charging final payments if the work was not satisfactory to the client. In reality though, every effort would be made to find something which is satisfactory before I reach this point with any of my clients. You really should speak to the designer about this. They may feel a small fee is warranted, or they may feel that a "kill" fee equal to the amount you've already paid is fair. Only the designer can decide what they feel is amicable to them.
As @NivF007 posted, emails can be construed as a "meeting of the minds" and therefore a contract. Any good designer I know is going to seek resolution rather than trying to charge you for work you don't find worthwhile.
All that being posted, forgive me, but without knowing you or the designer, it could be assumed the difficulty lies with you and your expectations. If your expectations are above and beyond what would be considered "normal" and the designer has made every effort to meet them, you are still unhappy, and the designer is no longer interested in seeking a solution for you. Then in those cases, it's not uncommon for both parties to agree to walk away for fees already collected/paid. Again, I don't think anyone can tell you what is "right" or "fair" except the designer you are working with. If unreasonable demands caused the designer many, many more hours of work than was anticipated, he/she may feel warranted in charging you to cover that extra work.
Any serious designer will tell you that for the money you're paying him, he is giving you X number of changes. Did he mention this? If not, don't pay him. If yes and you're still not getting what you want, then there are chances that it's your fault.
Although I am a developer, I mediate in design projects between my friend designer and the client. I immediately tell the client how many changes we offer for our price. And I don't change that. If I see that my friend made the wrong design in spite of client's clear instructions, then we do one more change for free.
So maybe you explain your designer that you don't like the final design (you have right not to like it!) , try to list changes you requested and see if it's his or your mistake. Also ask for the last free change (only if he set how many changes his price includes).
If nothing helps, then seek another designer. If the same thing happens with him, there are high chances that the problem is in you. In such case, find the exact design or effect or color scheme you like and tell the designer that you want such design.
Is this commonplace in this industry? I would prefer to be able to personally edit the font if I choose to, or change font color/placement. Also, I'd like to change colors (as we have not yet chosen our colors).
For logo work, no, this is not common. A graphic designer understands that a company needs to own their visual identity outright including with that to modify it in the future as they see fit. As others have stated, it's not necessarily a good idea but it absolutely should be within your rights as the owner of said logo.
It is common for many designers to do this. If you only paid a couple hundred dollars or less, you might only be paying for the right to use their design instead of for the files themselves. Check your design contract if you have one to see what it says.
I've seen this question asked a few times before, but I still need some help. Basically, I want to put my company's logo on my PCBs. Sometimes, I want the logo to be on one of the silkscreen layers, other times, I want it to be on one of the copper layers. I've used other layout software where this was a super-simple task, but not so with OrCAD PCB Designer.
Anyway, I digress. What I've managed to do so far is convert the company logo to a DXF using another piece of software. I can import the DXF to any layer I want using the FILE>IMPORT>DXF commands from the upper menu. Here's where the problem comes in - If I try to do this in an existing design, OrCAD erases the entire design and replaces it with the logo. I've read the HELP files about importing a DXF into an existing design using the dxf2a command, but I can't get this to do anything other than to beep at me incessantly and give me error messages that I don't understand. I've seen other posts about SKILL files that can create/import the logo for me, but I haven't been able to get any of those things to work, either. Apparently, I need to be a computer programmer to get the dxf2a command or any of the SKILL files to work, so I'm screwed.
So, does anybody have a method to import a dxf SUCCESSFULLY into an existing design that I can understand? I'm pretty well frustrated with this at this point. It seems to me that there are so many little secret, hidden features to OrCAD that aren't documented, or documented in such a way as to insure that no human being could use those features. Just last week, I had to have a 45 minute conversation with tech support about how to imbed two vias in a ground slug on a voltage regulator chip. This week, I'm trying to figure out the logo thing.
Sorry for the rant. I just don't think it should be this difficult. Why can't they just have an IMPORT>IMAGE option with, oh, I don't know, maybe an "ADD TO EXISTING DESIGN" or "CREATE NEW DESIGN" button?
That almost worked, Steve. It imported the DXF, but if I import it into one of the copper layers, it doesn't bring it in as a shape that can be moved around, it imports it as a bunch of individual clines. If I import it on a silkscreen layer, it imports it as a bunch of line segments. I guess I need to do some work to the DXF to fix that problem, though. The logo wasn't drawn in CAD, it was converted to a DXF from a BMP. I have one of the mechanical guys making a DXF of the logo for me directly from CAD. I'll try that and see if that works.
Fix the DXF data: Import the DXF data to a "dummy layer", then use Shape>Compose Shape to "close" the corners, just be sure that you don't get any sections where there are short parallel gaps between lines or the generated output can go a bit awry.
You are trying to get a picture, multi-bit tiered data into "flat" copper, or Silkscreen. A simple logo can be pretty trivial to bring in but it seems that folks rarely want to stop there with importing graphics into their board designs!
First off I can't load any software that Dave has put all the time in as I work in a place that would require weeks IF I were able to get it approved and trying to get a simple logo on a board this week.
So far I can only get it to come in on top etch as it gives me an error and then when I get it in I can't change it to another layer. PS: I don't have illegal characters, its called logo.dxf and I've got the Logo at the datum and nothing else in the file as I stripped the layout done in Orcad 10.5 to just the logo.
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