More for less, less for less, less for more or more for more?

I love this twenty-kinds-of-pasta menu – there is everything which I could wish today, tomorrow and to the rest of my life. The pricing is even better! It looks tasty, though there is a sneaky question popping up at the back of my mind which insistently asks “How, the hell, it’s possible to prepare so many dishes and make them all tasting delicious?”. I love food, you see, and I’m in love in pasta.

Well, soon enough I understand and the sneaky voice get it’s satisfaction – they can’t. They offer more for less – more of our time, expectations and dissatisfaction and less quality.

Since we all have such an experience from time to time, even the most fancy folks I’m sure, I’m wondering why we don’t apply this knowledge to the other aspects of our life? For example, when we need a logo design for our company.  It’s… kind of important for every business, isn’t it? So, bearing this in mind, we would like to have the best design possible. Following the logic, we would find the best company which specialize in that (if we can afford it). We would trust their expertise allowing them to design our feature and would collaborate with them rather tell them what to do. Oh, wait, no, that was my dream I had a few nights ago.

Now, let’s take a look of a standard menu:

Cold appetizer

We post our precious logo project in some online platform, put an expert level for desired provider and $50 to $200 (if generous) budget. Because it’s likely that even the biggest experts in logo design would be happy to get any amount for their “simple” work. Because 70% of the projects are described as simple ones… But, we still want them to create the most amazing piece of work, right? Would they? No, we’ll get what we’ve paid for – the twenty-kinds-of-pasta results and we should like it. More for less.

Soup

We search to buy some ready-to-go design for, I don’t know, $10 to $50? In the beginning of my career I sold a few of those, it was nice… Not doing it anymore. That’s more like fast food pasta, right? Less for less?

Hot appetizer

We find a freelancer, with an excellent reputation and proven experience. We ask for an offer. And then… we pull out the heavy guns and try to increase the conceptions and decrease the price as much as possible. The main argument (besides the always tight budget) is the number of concepts and lower price offered from “the other designer”. We are trying again to get more for less, but still expect to get the same quality as if it’s less (but great concepts) for more (but deserved payment). We don’t realize that it’s better to have three, but really good options than twenty, but meaningless and slappy ones? The menu has only three kinds of delicious pasta, but we want our twenty no matter what. Underestimating designer’s work we kill his/her desire to create something great for us. What will we get at the end? In this restaurant the chef will hate you forever. Don’t wanna know what else they might do… with your food…

Main course

Of course, there is always a possibility to let our logo designed by some great, well-known design studio or branding company. And, again, I’m not sure how much trust we’ll put in their expertise vs our proven and amazing taste and ideas (as if it matters for a great logo design, but we don’t know that). That’s more like to order a delicious, masterful dish, but tell the chef how to cook it. More for more. What a dreamers we are.

Desert

We often looking for more for less without realizing that this is the most proven way to pass the desired results.

Happy hour

Should we search for our business identity’s special ingredient among those twenty kinds of mediocre pasta or consider other, better options with appreciation to designer’s time, efforts and skills? And, some talents such as imagination, sense for balance, knowledge in typography, colors theory, and many others which the ordinary people usually does not possess and for which you are paying at most?

I’m wondering, should the designers eat their boots and wait for the person who will understand why they offer less for more or they should simply go ahead and create the whole “menu”?

Shall we order?