Squarespace has a great reputation for providing high quality websites. However, that reputation recently took a pounding from members of the design community after the web space company announced the launch of Squarespace Logo.

This tool, which seems quite similar to Canva – a service I have written about previously on the LogoBee blog – allows users to design their very own simple logos, and download these as hi-res Photoshop files for the bargain sum of $10 USD.

Logo and graphic designers all over the world were immediately outraged. Many designers use and appreciate Squarespace for their own website hosting, and there was a feeling in the Twitterverse that Squarespace Logo would undermine the role of the proessional designer. After all, who would pay a designer hundreds of dollars for a logo they could make themselves for just ten bucks?

“Breaking news: @Squarespace gives one giant F U to entire design community with launch of new #Squarespacelogo” said Brooklyn-based designer Robyn Ng, while Australian Jen Cuenco asked, “How are we suppose to keep our integrity when there are services like #squarespacelogolowering the value of good design?”

Are these fears justified? Tina Roth Eisenberg, a.k.a. “Swissmiss” doesn't think so. While she appreciates designers’ frustrations that Squarespace’s super-cheap service may impact on their livelihoods, she doesn’t think, realistically, that it will.

“Never forget,” she said on her blog swiss-miss.com, “The web is a place of abundance. There will always be folks that appreciate the importance of a custom tailored brand…There’s a place for basic tools like Squarespace Logo and for your craft.”

As a writer, Tina’s words resonate with me. I am constantly frustrated by the fact that websites like Freelancer and Fiverr mean that companies can outsource their writing needs to people in less developed, usually non-native English-speaking countries for (what I consider to be) paltry sums of only a few dollars for several hours work. However, I am a firm believer in the adage that “you get what you pay for.”

There is (I hope!) a big difference between a cheap “writer” who plagiarises, uses spinning software, or otherwise produces low quality web content, and someone like me (to toot my own horn!) with experience, skills and training. So it is with logo design. You can make your own Squarespace logo for $10, but the tool’s functionality is so limited that it’s never going to be as slick or carefully considered and designed as a logo created by a professional graphic artist.

The global, online marketplace we live in presents challenges and opportunities for creatives in many different fields. There is a place for Squarespace Logo: think of the enormous advantages for the struggling start-up, the amateur, the student. But ultimately, if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing well – and that’s where the logo design professionals come in.

As San Diego-based designer Ray Sensenbach commented on Twitter: “If, as a designer, you can’t find a way to provide more value than #squarespacelogo, you won’t last in this industry. Harden up and get better.”

About the Author:

Although her primary niche is in scientific writing and editing, freelance writer Lisa Martin is also a creative type with an eye for design. She regularly works alongside graphic designers and as such has a keen interest in the development of logos and branding.