iStock Logos

Good news, iStock wants to make it possible for clients to buy custom logos for their companies or organizations on its online marketplace the same way it sells stock photography, audio, video and illustrations. The company is looking to tap into its community of affiliated designers to create an offering that could match the demand, encouraging them to use iStock as an outlet for the 'hundreds of different logos' they supposedly created over the course of their careers but remained unused. Sounds great right?

When designers get the call for a logo design, there are many steps that come before the finished product. The factors that should be considered before sketching even begins are identifying the focus, mechanics, society, surroundings, and the target audience which includes sex and age. Now this isn't a comprehensive list, but it does denonstrate that you don't just have a fully realized logo after a few moments. But uh oh designers! iStock is now selling one-time licenses for logo designs on their site. Is it me, or is this flat out crazy? Designing (or buying) a logo with no brief that can be used for whatever, will say to the clients “Come buy from my random brand, we care enough to do the least.” Does iStock really want to contribute to the notion that designers are just commodities? Or that logo design can be a quick trip to the logo clip art site? Although I suppose that anyone who would pay for a stock logo would never pay for a good design anyway.