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I want to design new logo for my business. I do not want to hire one contractor to do that. In fact, I would like every one to participate in this work. So, I wonder if I can create a contest post. And the winner will get $$ for their work.
My question here, Is that something I can do with oDesk? Any experience with that? Any past post I can look at? All feedback, comments or suggestions are appreciated.


Vote Result

Score: 2.3, Votes: 7
It is, essentially, asking for "free work" and that's not ok

To be honest, it's at least frowned upon.

Basically you are expecting lots of people to do work for absolutely nothing (as only ONE person will get the contract)

It's questionable whether this falls under "asking for free work" or not, which would be against oDesk rules. I simply don't know whether it does or does not.

Personally I do think it's the wrong way to go about it, unfair and unprofessional.

Do your homework. Browse contractors profiles and portfolio until you find a handful whose work you find exciting. Then talk to those people one on one and see if there is someone who understands your vision and you'd like to work with.

Thank you for your comments,

Thank you for your comments,

Check this out


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So? That's frowned upon in the industry too

Wasim B. wrote:
Thank you for your comments,

Check this out

I don't NEED to check it out. I am already well aware of it.

It's not fair, it's not professional, it's asking people to give their time for free.

Which part of that are you having trouble understanding?

Have a read here

(just one random example)

PS - I am not biased, I am not a designer so this cra**y practice does not affect me.

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It is allowed.

Louis D. wrote:
So there you go. Pointless even flagging them - sarcasm aside it turns out they are actually legitimate.

This was the bulk of the posting:

"We will have several people sending in their logo design and only one person will be paid the $100.00. If you are interested in this contest, please submit your design."

oDesk's response a couple of days later:

"This posting was not removed as a contest ia allowed for posting as long as it meets the criteria of our Job Posting policy."

So there you go design contests are allowed. I re-read the job policy and it's true you could illegitimate post a job contest. Unless it's changed since I read it a while back I could have sworn there was something about job postings asking for free work without a contract?

Anyway, i'm done. I'll let them continue condoning exploration and go about my business.

haha, I meant to say

haha, I meant to say 'exploitation'. Think I was watching too much star trek that day and had a Freudian slip.

I think you were right the

I think you were right the first time. Explorers are uppity **** who need to be taken down a peg or two. Like you need a bona-fide explorer to 'discover' an area when actually living there doesn't count.

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Great way to show disregard for a profession

What a great way to waste the time of so many talented people who deserve compensation for their efforts. Very disrespectful to ask so many people who have no vested interest in this company or logo to put time and energy into creating something that will be so valuable to you in the end. It may not be technically against the rules (I don't see how) but it is certainly ethically wrong.

Contests for such a thing work great for large, well known companies, where the winner not only takes the prize (which is substantial) but also receives wide spread recognition of their talent. You cannot offer that.

What Robin said

Seems I am following Robin around agreeing today.

Absolutely right, though!

There is SO much real talent here, especially in the logo / graphic design area. I have seen the portfolios of many people who could do an amazing job for you.

Why not choose a couple of those, talk to them, see how they could work for you to produce something spectacular?

MUCH better than making people work for nothing. That's just not right.

Include me out. Say there's

Include me out. Say there's 50 applicants. I have to do all of the work for a 1/50 chance of ever seeing some money for it. It's actually less than 1/50 because it's not unknown for contest proposers to just disappear over the horizon with the work; or subsequently hire someone at $0.50/hour to slap the best ideas together.

It's just not good business.

Go to a contest site. There

Go to a contest site. There are plenty. People come here to work on contracts and to get paid for their time and effort, not for competing for the eventuality of you liking their work.

/// Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it's the courage to continue that counts.


It would be better, say hire X number of designers, pay each one a fix price for submitting a design and guarantee a nice bonus for the best design.... make sense?

Reminds me of a Craigslist advert I liked...

Reminds me of a Craigslist advert I liked...

Contest to be my boss!
Date: 2010-03-02, 4:28PM MST


Here is how it will work;




Compensation: 2 days of Graphic Design work

Sounds reasonable, right?

and that's why I need a like

and that's why I need a like button here.


Damn straight

Hear hear.

Love it

Love it