My Mosaic Review

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Design a Mosaic Design a Mosaic

Editor rating
 
4.6
User rating
 
4.1 (5)
Written by Melissa     April 14, 2008     279813     
Design a Mosaic

Design A Mosaic was started in 2005, which makes them relatively a new player in the world of mosaics. The company only offers a single product: custom printed mosaics. We debated on whether to include this company on our review list as they do not create “true” photo mosaics.

Design A Mosaic was started in 2005, which makes them relatively a new player in the world of mosaics. The company only offers a single product: custom printed mosaics. We debated on whether to include this company on our review list as they do not create “true” photo mosaics. Design A Mosaic has decided to superimpose the target source image instead of actually using the colors and shapes of each photo to create the target source image. Due to this questionable technique they can quickly turn out mosaics at super reduced prices.

Editor review

Design a Mosaic 2008-03-17 22:46:24 melissa
Overall rating 
 
4.6
Large Cells 
 
6.0
No Superimposing 
 
1.0
Low Colorization 
 
1.0
Source Clarity 
 
4.0
Print Resolution 
 
6.0
Image Usage 
 
7.0
Price 
 
9.0
Customer Service 
 
3.0
Ease of Ordering 
 
4.0
Reviewed by melissa    March 17, 2008
Last updated: April 28, 2008 View all my reviews

Not a true mosaic, target image is superimposed

Our Review:
From their online examples, we did not have high expectations for this mosaic product. Their descriptions and examples made it very clear that they were going to superimpose the target source image over the cell images. After uploading our photos which we had to three times due to "server issues" they stated they were having, we patiently waited. About two weeks later we received the product that we expected: a highly superimposed target image that was on top of a grid of pictures. The resolution was average. The cell photos were very faded and hard to see (due to the heavy colorization and target source superimposition). The mosaic overall had a dull appearance; we were not sure if this was due to the paper, ink , or mosaic techniques used. At the end of the day we realized that we would have simply preferred a photo enlargement over the mosaic we received.

The Verdict: Heavy superimposing. You get what you pay for; it seems a "true" photo mosaics can not be created at this price point.

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User reviews

Average user rating from: 5 user(s)

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Overall rating 
 
4.1
Large Cells 
 
5.4  (5)
No Superimposing 
 
1.2  (5)
Low Colorization 
 
2.2  (5)
Source Clarity 
 
5.0  (5)
Print Resolution 
 
2.8  (5)
Image Usage 
 
4.8  (5)
Price 
 
7.6  (5)
Customer Service 
 
3.4  (5)
Ease of Ordering 
 
4.0  (5)
 
Design a Mosaic 2010-06-23 14:35:46 AllyMac
Overall rating 
 
3.8
Large Cells 
 
6.0
No Superimposing 
 
1.0
Low Colorization 
 
1.0
Source Clarity 
 
7.0
Print Resolution 
 
1.0
Image Usage 
 
3.0
Price 
 
10.0
Customer Service 
 
1.0
Ease of Ordering 
 
4.0
Reviewed by AllyMac    June 23, 2010 View all my reviews

Why did I not find this site first!

You know what they say, "you get what you pay for". Well that can not be more true in this situation. My finished mosaic looked as cheap as $5.00 haircut (and let me tell ya, that is not a good thing). The best advice I can give to anyone looking to purchase a photo mosaic is this - Do your homework and trust your instinct, because if something is too good to be true it probably is.

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Design a Mosaic 2009-02-05 22:48:57 JackG
Overall rating 
 
3.1
Large Cells 
 
4.0
No Superimposing 
 
1.0
Low Colorization 
 
1.0
Source Clarity 
 
4.0
Print Resolution 
 
3.0
Image Usage 
 
4.0
Price 
 
6.0
Customer Service 
 
2.0
Ease of Ordering 
 
3.0
Reviewed by JackG    February 05, 2009 View all my reviews

Are you kidding me?

I ordered a mosaic from Design-A-Mosaic and for the price I figured what the heck. Well, let me tell you, the mosaic I received was a complete joke. It was just a grid of photos with the source photo ghosted over the whole thing. Everything was very faded and print resolution was just par. You gotta love when you waste your time and money.

;-(

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51
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Design a Mosaic 2009-01-13 17:26:57 Wolf66man
Overall rating 
 
4.8
Large Cells 
 
6.0
No Superimposing 
 
2.0
Low Colorization 
 
3.0
Source Clarity 
 
5.0
Print Resolution 
 
4.0
Image Usage 
 
5.0
Price 
 
8.0
Customer Service 
 
5.0
Ease of Ordering 
 
5.0
Reviewed by Wolf66man    January 13, 2009 View all my reviews

Worth the price?

I looked at a few other companies before going to Design A Mosaic. They looked like a good middle of the road company, not cheap, yet not too pricey. The examples on their website looked a little faded in some spots, but I figured the final product would look a lot better since the size was much larger with detail. I was wrong, the final product actually looked worse :/ some of the smaller pictures look incredible, while most of them are faded and hard to see. Almost looks like two layers pasted on each other. Another thing I noticed is not all of my pictures were used in the mosaic, a few of which I really wanted in there.

I guess I can't complain too much, the over all product isn't all that bad considering the price. If I ever get another one made, I'll definitely spend the extra cash on another company if it means a better result.

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Design a Mosaic 2008-08-30 15:41:51 claire03
Overall rating 
 
3.7
Large Cells 
 
5.0
No Superimposing 
 
1.0
Low Colorization 
 
1.0
Source Clarity 
 
5.0
Print Resolution 
 
1.0
Image Usage 
 
6.0
Price 
 
7.0
Customer Service 
 
4.0
Ease of Ordering 
 
3.0
Reviewed by claire03    August 30, 2008 View all my reviews

Disappointed

Glad this site exists; after two email proofs, I was still very unsatisfied with the way the mosaic looked. It was just a bunch of photos with my main photo ghosted/photoshop'd on top. I am disappointed I wasted my time - at least they were nice enough to refund my credit card.

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Design a Mosaic 2008-03-30 00:15:44 luckydave
Overall rating 
 
4.9
Large Cells 
 
6.0
No Superimposing 
 
1.0
Low Colorization 
 
5.0
Source Clarity 
 
4.0
Print Resolution 
 
5.0
Image Usage 
 
6.0
Price 
 
7.0
Customer Service 
 
5.0
Ease of Ordering 
 
5.0
Reviewed by luckydave    March 30, 2008 View all my reviews

Unfortunately, too good to be true

A custom mosaic for under $20...I was sold! Unfortunately, I now realize it must not be possible to produce mosaics at this price, because the resulting product was simply a grid of photos with my main image superimposed on top. It does not seem like any effort was taken in trying to use colors or shapes with my smaller photos to create the larger image. I think my son could have done a better job in Photoshop. If you are looking for a cheap quick and dirty "mosaic-like" product, then this might be for you...

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