Let’s say your organization has a big event every year, and you’re looking for a logo that would brand the conference series. You could hire your favorite graphic designer to come up with 10 to 20 ideas for several hundred to several thousand dollars. Or you could hold a logo design contest on a crowdsourcing site for $200+ to have dozens of designers come up with ideas that you could narrow down to your top choices and share with your potential attendees for a vote.

I adore these kinds of contests, both for finding the perfect logo and for strengthening your community. Rather than getting one expert’s ideas for your logo, you get ideas from many. And as the contest continues, you can give feedback to your top contenders to get them to refine and rework the colors and designs to help bring your vision to life. The first time I used LogoMyWay, I narrowed my logo to four favorites, then I let my newsletter subscribers vote – more than 250 people expressed their opinions, and many were very excited and involved.

But many in the professional design community hate them. I once received a very long, very thorough “shame on you” email from a designer friend. Sites like these, she said, devalue the work that a designer does. They are rife with copyright infringement issues. They exploit talented design artists. And they don’t produce quality, well-thought-out work.

I’ve used LogoMyWay twice, and I enjoyed the process each time. The site claims that the community self-polices, thus ensuring that designers who steal from others are rapidly kicked off. Is my Nerdy Best Friend logo an award winner? Probably not. But am I proud to display it on my stuff? You bet!

On these sites, you can kick off a logo or other design contest with a $200+ contest award offer. There are always extra little costs, like a “featured contest” fee and the site’s commission. I’d recommend bumping your contest up at least $100 over the minimum to attract the maximum number of entries. But even with the little extras, you’ll probably end up paying less than with a private design company; and you may have more fun in the process.

LogoMyWay made Beth’s Top Help Tools list!