In what is sure to be a blow to legitimate designers across the world, HP announced yesterday, plans to acquire the pariah of the design world (see Logoworks saga) Logoworks. Small business owners should take heed, the advantage of hiring a legitimate, well trained graphic designer is being snatched from your hands and you don't even know it. With the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood movie, HP will convince you that a logo is something as easily attained as your lunch from a fast food menu. No personal attention, no integrated long term marketing strategy, and most importantly no unique or original creative work. Just press a few buttons and voila! With the ease of an ATM, you will be able to secure yourself a logo that, with any luck at all, won't be chosen by all of your major competitors as well. That's the catch see, no originality and a cookie cutter template shared by everyone means that, the sterilization of true original conceptualization has begun.
There's a dark cloud on the horizon.
HP to Acquire Logoworks, a Web-based Design Service Company for Small Businesses
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 24, 2007HP today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Arteis, a privately held company that operates Logoworks, a leading distributed web-based graphic design service provider.
HP plans to leverage Logoworks’ technologies and services to provide small businesses with access to professional design solutions at a fraction of market cost. Supported by hundreds of graphic designers worldwide, Logoworks’ affordable packages range from simple logo design to the development of a full suite of marketing collateral.
“Today’s small businesses are increasingly turning to the web for marketing tools and services that strike a balance between affordability and quality,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “By adding Logoworks’ web-based graphic design service to our portfolio, HP can now provide the right mix of cost savings, flexibility and professional quality to help make a small business look big.”
Arteis, based in Lindon, Utah, also owns LogoMaker, a do-it-yourself design application for customers with a more limited budget. HP plans to greatly expand and enhance both Logoworks (www.logoworks.com) and LogoMaker’s (www.logomaker.com) simple-to-use web-based design services and use independent print service providers to help deliver a great value to customers.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed in HP’s third fiscal quarter. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world’s largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $94.1 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31, 2007. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070424b.html
