Any time you undertake a huge change like we did with our site redesign, it’s a scary prospect. There’s so much that could go wrong and even if things go perfectly, some people won’t be a fan of the change.
We understand where you’re coming from and that’s exactly why we’ve done this. Sometimes change is resisted out of fear or comfort at the expense of improvement. You can’t get better without change. We wanted to give you guys a better experience, and this was the way to do it.
In our effort to launch our redesign, we’ve encountered a number of little bugs and annoyances we’re sure you’ve likely encountered. Ack! I hate bugs. It’s time to get a bit technical, folks.
For your convenience, we’ve rounded up a list of bug fixes and improvements and put them here.
Before we get into it, here’s a list of the issues we are currently working to fix, so you don’t waste your time reporting it or reading through this looking for your concern.
-Not all Premium Designer logos are highlighted as such
-Sometimes not all logo variations are shown in the carousel on logo design pages
-Some new icons are not self-explanatory
-On browse logo pages, adding visible Springs count for each logo
-Being able to favorite a logo from the browse logos pages
The “Upload Logo” button doesn’t work
I can’t Upload a Logo… why?
All of our sellers need to have a completed profile before they are able to upload items on Brandstack. If you’ve just realized I’m talking about you, you can go here or click “My Account” up at the top right of any of the pages on Brandstack besides this one. Once there, just complete all the required fields and your “Upload Logo” button will be active. It’s alive! IT’S ALIVE! If not, you’ll get a handy message telling you to do this, then you’ll be taken there.
In Safari (the browser, not your trip to the Serengeti) some buttons don’t seem to work
There was a specific issue when trying to register a domain where some buttons wouldn’t respond to being clicked. Such a response renders said buttons useless. Yeah… we felt we needed to address this. We made the changes necessary to resolve this issue, hopefully your browser sees it. If you’re still experiencing this, it’s most likely a cache issue. Empty your cache by going to the Safari menu in toolbar and selecting “Empty Cache.” Empty that cache!
continue reading
Kevin McConnell, Adjunct Associate Director of Trinity University’s Center for Entrepreneurship in San Antonio, Texas, was kind enough to share with us a thought-provoking piece about something that happened to him when he was in school. Why is this relevant to Brandstack? Read on and you’ll see:
In grad school, I lived in a tiny efficiency with no washer/dryer hook-up. So I’d take my dirty laundry to a wash-n-fold down the street. They would do it for me, even putting my nicer clothes on hangers. It saved me hours of sorting, washing/drying and folding, but it was a bit expensive. Thankfully, they had a student discount and a 20 cent per pound discount on Wednesdays.
Once, while I was waiting to pick up my clothes, I overheard the manager say she needed more hangers. Seeing as I had a closet full of extras, I said, “I have a bunch of your hangers at home. If I run back and get them for you, could I have my next load of laundry for free?” She quickly agreed, so off I went. When I came back, she had a voucher for me.
Needless to say, I wore every piece of clothing I owned before taking my next load in for the free wash-n-fold. I even threw in my towels, dishrags and bedding. Clean never felt so good.
I love “win-win” solutions. I use quotations because true win-win solutions are the exception to the rule in the business world. In this instance, I gave up something I didn’t want (extra hangers) for something I wanted (free service) while the manager gave up something she wanted (revenue) for something else she wanted (hangers). Hardly a win-win.
Still, I hope she felt as though it was a win-win solution. If she did, then I got what I wanted while avoiding the ill will that comes as a result of getting the short end of the stick; in fact, I might’ve even made a friend. The key then is to not only win the negotiation/exchange, but to make the other person feel as though they’ve won, even though they haven’t.
After all, if you win all the time, no one will want to play with you anymore.
There’s been a lot said of late about our growing designer community here. Even so, we can’t say enough about community at Brandstack. It’s really what we’re about, but more specifically, we’re about fostering a positive community.
We’re aware that designers are a different breed. Opinionated, unique aesthetic sensibilities and influences, prideful, scrutinizing, handsome, smart, nice-smelling, sexy, captivating, and so on. All of this is to say that we know that when we set you all lose in an arena together, some of you might rub each other the wrong way. It’s only natural. We don’t want to play Big Brother, but we’ll noogie you if we have to. So here are some general guidelines we’d like to encourage to make sure your experience is as positive as possible during your time on Brandstack.
1. Simply don’t bash other designers’ work - Try and make sure your criticism is constructive. There really is no need to be crappy. Everyone should operate on the assumption that criticism of work is not a personal attack. It works both ways. Be receptive to advice from your peers. Don’t respond to a suggestion about font color with a “yo mama” joke. Internet squabbles are lame anyway.
2. Run any concerns about potential plagiarism through us first - Accusations carry a lot more weight than most people realize. To avoid unnecessary confrontations, contact us at help@brandstack.com first with your suspicions, concerns, paranoias. We love drama.
3. Keep in mind that comments can come from both sellers AND buyers - You might pay little credence to a suggestion from a commenter if you base it entirely on a lack of designs they’ve uploaded, thinking they’re a fledgling designer, but that comment could be from a buyer. Be mindful of the way you conduct yourself in response to other users. It could be to your detriment if you’re not careful.
4. Eat, Drink and Be Merry - Take advantage of the fun. Just set out to have a good time and you will. There’s nothing inherently negative about the setup here so it’s mostly up to you guys to keep things fun and comfortable. Be welcoming and accommodating to new users and karma will do its thing. If you don’t believe in karma, the rule of 3 will reward your positivity. If you don’t believe in witch craft, do unto others as you would want done unto you. It takes a village to raise a good designer or something.
Doesn’t the site look great? I mean really. In all my days I’ve never seen a site so attractive and… Oh, wait, I’m supposed to talk about why the site looks great now. We’ve been hard at work for a while now on this redesign, trying to implement some changes that either you have requested or we felt would improve your experience when you visit our site. The first thing you’ll probably notice if you haven’t already is the home page is much better organized, and is generally less busy. We hope this is a marked improvement for all of you.
Let’s get into what the new features are. First of all, navigation is much more streamlined. You can access all the different filters for logos from one central hub on the main page. Below that, we will now be having one designer regularly featured as our showcase designer. We’ll show off some of that designer’s work and provide their contact information so you can keep track of them if you like what they’re doing.
Something less visible but just as tangible is our new user interaction structure. Our follow feature allows you to select users you want to keep track of and keep a list of all of them in one place so you can easily access their profiles. Using the Designer Dashboard you can now see just about any statistic you could want to know about a user and all of their activity on Brandstack. This is intended to give you a better sense of users. Are they very active on the site? Do you share interests or ideas? Maybe you guys could be friends. Cool, huh?
The upload process for sellers has been given some tweaks that will make selling even easier than it already was. We listened to your request for tags on logo designs to make them easier to find in searches and have improved the logo management tool. There is no limit to the number of variations you can include now, and switching your main logo image is quick and easy. We’ve also built-in a promotion tool for you. Now some of a seller’s other designs are included on their logo details pages so potential buyers will be exposed to more of that seller’s work.
We’ve also raised the minimum selling price for logos to $250 USD. The idea behind this is raising the industry standard to make sure designers are getting paid what they deserve, not just here, but everywhere.
And just as an added bonus, everything is pretty much more attractive. The thing about running a site for a community of designers is that all your users are inherently sensitive to your GUI choices. Hopefully we’ve done you proud with our aesthetic changes. If not, as always, feel free to contact us with your suggestions or to report any bugs. We’re still trying to shake out all the cobwebs from the move.
Most Brandstack users know him as LogoGuppy. To many others he is John Mascarenhas, a witty, charming, friendly gem of a guy who because of his willingness to help others and learn from others, stands out in this overcrowded world of logo designers and brand creators. With a background in marketing and a penchant for doodling that evolved into amazing illustrations at an early age, John’s passion for creating logos is very recent. It was very nice of John to take out some time from his busy schedule to answer some questions for us and give us an insight into how he creates logos.
Thanks John for doing this interview. We really appreciate it.
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where you are from and what you do?
I’m from all over the map but currently living in Bangalore, India. I am a hyperactive, chain-smoking, coffee addict. I do A to Z of design work to feed my various addictions.
How did you get into the wonderful world of logo designing?
By a freak accident! My wife stumbled upon this contest site which had contests running for $20! And because I have a flair for artsy things she thought I might be able to translate my sketching skills onto the digital medium, as well and the rest as they say is history. And before I knew it I was seriously contemplating a career change from the big bad marketing world to the even more complex designing world.
What is the hardest part of being a logo designer according to you?
continue reading
It’s been an interesting week so far with our sweet suite mates Pear Analytics and Third Party Code off in New York attending SMX East.
We have the office all to ourselves and it’s been great! Without the surplus of bodies, the temperature of the office has stayed perfect, not too hot, not too cold. We’ve ordered out every day for food, no need to take a field trip for us to fill our bellies. Nope. Nu uh. And last but not least, we’ve gone and taken one treasured item from each Pear Analytics employee and dunked it in the murky depths of the most suitable men’s room toilet we could find on our floor. “Suitable” being a euphemism for dirty. We can’t wait until you guys get back. We miss you. We want to kiss you.
