HuffPo’s no-pay crowd-sourcing contest draws fire

Designers raised a stink this week over a Huffington Post logo competition. Comms experts weigh in on whether the news site should have done things differently.

It’s a classic impasse: One side calls “fun” and “lighthearted,” the other side calls it “childish” and disrespectful.

The Huffington Post recently launched its Politics Icon Competition, in which it asked readers to send in designs for a new logo for the site’s politics section. The news and analysis website promised to credit the winning logo to the winner in its use “all over the interwebs.”

Designers did not respond well to the idea that credit—not payment—was the only prize, and would go to only one person for his or her work. “Good design work takes time, research and expertise, not just a copy of Photoshop,” wrote commenter joeydi. “Show some respect for your brand and the design industry in general, and do away with this childish competition.”