Here are my favs from the current challenge. I haven't been posting my picks from the recent contests because I have not been participating and I want to tell you why. Maybe you can tell me if you think I'm right or being too picky.
I used to participate in all of the challenges on Minted and I actually won a few and beyond that, they bought a couple of my designs and commissioned a Christmas card design from me. These designs are still available for purchase.
I do not want to deter anyone from participating in the designs because I think that the website provides a great service to designers. I just don't think participating is for me and I will tell you why.
- When I started & won a contest, I would send my 2 files to Minted. The original and an alternate colorway. Minted did not own my design and I was free to sell it as well.
- One day I received a letter in the mail from Minted that from that point on, if you win a contest or they buy your design to sell, they own it and you are not allowed to sell it. I signed this letter and sent it back.
- The next time I won, I received an email asking for 4 files: the original, an alternate colorway & address labels for both. I sent all 4 files in.
- In the meantime, I have only actually won one contest and the rest of the instances were Minted purchasing my design to own & sell for $100. I do get a 5% commission when they sell my design.
- The last time Minted tried to buy a design from me, they asked for 6 files. They wanted matching thank you notes as well.
But when I think of what I want for myself, my art & my company, I want as much control as possible. If I didn't I would design for someone else. I want to be involved in every aspect of a product that has my name on it. I also don't feel I should sell my most valuable asset (my designs) for so cheap. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think my designs are better than the others in the contests, if they were, they would have won the top prize at least once. This is just not something that I feel I should participate in.
The last thing that bothers me about the contests is something that Minted has very little ability to control. A lot of the same people win the contests. The reason they win is because they are amazing designers and people can't help but vote for the best designs, but I wish they could figure out a way to spread out the wealth.
Okay, now you can tell me how wrong I am. I can take it, I'm a big girl. By the way, click on the images above to vote.
i think you have every right to feel the way you do. it's nice to hear someone voice their opinion even when it might not be of popular opinion. for what it's worth, i never entered the contests either....my main reason being that i didn't want to give up the winning design and not be able to sell it myself. i think most designers would feel the same. you're not alone! thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're wrong. I don't think it matters if I think you're wrong or not. You have to look out for yourself and your interests. If you don't want to partner with Minted anymore, that's fine. I agree, I think $100 is a bit cheap for a design that they're going to keep making money on. I don't know how much they charge their services to clients, but I'm fairly certain they'll recoup their $100 easily. And a 5% commission... I don't know if that's fair or not since I'm not in the biz. In conclusion, as long as you did what was right for you, then I think you did the right thing. :)
ReplyDeleteBut those are some great choices you picked out! I'm drooling over them. Invites in general have come a long way since 10 years ago. Long gone are the stuffy grandma-like invites or the stuffy engraved stuff. Now, there's something for every taste!
I've entered Minted competitions and had a few of my designs picked for sale. At first I was just really excited to be picked - some liked my stuff! But with sometime down the track, I have stopped entering the competitions.It doesn't seem to be worthwhile to put so much effort into something where I could be spending that time on my own designs. Don't get me wrong I think what Minted is doing is great and maybe I just wish my designs were the ones winning ;o)
ReplyDeletePS I love your blog