iStock Photo and Logos

So iStock photo is getting into the logo market. They will be soon launching their logo section that will allow buyers and sellers to tailor unique logos for sale. This seems like a great idea for sellers and buyers who are looking for a brand logo for low costs. I really see this feature being used for small business and no major corporation. Read about the new feature below.

We're excited to announce a whole new product coming to the iStock collection. Clients will soon be able to download a unique logo to brand their business or organization right here at iStock. This is a huge opportunity not just for existing iStock contributors, but for our community of designers as well. If you’re a designer, you've probably created hundreds of different logos over the course of your career and we're offering you an outlet to start selling logos to the world’s largest community of creative buyers. Before we start accepting logo designs we want to share what we’ve come up with and we’d like your feedback on a few things. Here's what we have decided: Vector files – iStock logos will be downloaded as fully editable .eps files. If you’re interested in contributing, hang tight; we’re almost done the Logo Training Manual. One-time use – iStock logos will only be sold once. After a logo is purchased it will be indicated as “sold” on the site. File exclusivity – Unlike other files on iStockphoto, logos can only be sold once and therefore need to be exclusive to iStockphoto. Once your logo is on iStock it will remain for sale for a minimum of six months. Pricing – Because each logo will only be sold once, they have a higher price-point, ranging from 100 - 750 credits. When designers upload a file, they will set a recommended price and our inspectors will then make the final pricing decision based on that recommendation. Royalties – iStock will pay a base royalty rate of 50% per logo design for the first 6 months. We’ll give advanced notice for the rate going forward after that. Upload limits – There will be no limits for the first six months. Go nuts. Fonts – If you are submitting a logo, you can only use fonts if: – you own the copyright (in other words, you created the font yourself) – you licensed the font with commercial rights to use the font for a logo for resale. Remember, there are many ‘free’ fonts that cannot be used in commercial applications. The font itself will not be included in the file that the client purchases – it will only contain the vector outline. Fonts must be converted to outlines before the file is uploaded. All-new content – Any logo submitted to iStock must not be in use or have been previously sold. It also cannot feature existing elements (including content from your iStock portfolio). These requirements allow our clients to confidently apply for a trademark on the logo purchased from iStock. Remember, your regular files are uploaded with the restriction that they cannot be used in logos and that still applies. So that's what we've already decided. Here's where you come in: There will need to be a certain level of interaction with the client when it comes to changing text inside the logos. Some clients will be capable of editing the .eps file themselves, but others will need help. – What would you think if iStock acted as the intermediary between artist and client for only one round of changes (to insert a client’s company name)? As a client… – Do you want direct contact with the designer to change the name? – How fast would you expect a name change to occur once you buy a logo from us? As a designer… – Do you want to just design the logo and not be involved in further changes? – If you make a name change for a client, what would you charge for just that change? – What is a reasonable timeframe to get back to a client with a name change? – Policing logos is a tough job but somebody’s got to do it. How do you think the community can help us with this? We’re really excited about launching logos, and we want to know what you think. All suggestions are more than welcome. Or you could just start designing logos for us to get that cash. Whatever works. Thanks! As an incentive to upload early, If you create one of the first 10,000 approved logo designs by January 1, 2010, we’ll give you a $5 bonus per logo and another $5 if we reach 10,000 approved logos by that date (Note, this is just a bonus not the selling price). So fire up Illustrator to create some amazing logos or dust off all those much-loved logos that never made it past the third round with a client.