Logo Contest

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Should we change the logo contest?

  • Leave as-is

    Votes: 12 42.9%
  • Abandon the concept

    Votes: 2 7.1%
  • Commission a logo

    Votes: 1 3.6%
  • Change the rules

    Votes: 13 46.4%

  • Total voters
    28
  • Poll closed .

jeff

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Location
Westlake, OH, USA.
As most of you know, we hold a yearly contest to select an anniversary logo. For new members who may not be familiar with the contest, check out the
16th and 17th anniversary logo contests, and have a look at our anniversary logos through the years.

Participation in the contest has been declining for years, from a peak of 20 submissions in 2013, down to a low of 2 submissions, both from the same entrant in 2019. Things picked up a little in 2021, with 6 logos from 5 entrants. I'm thinking about how we might increase participation in the logo contest, or if perhaps we should abandon it altogether. To get some conversation going, please consider the choices in this poll, and follow up with your thoughts.

The choices in the poll are:
  • Leave as-is (no changes, carry on regardless of participation)
  • Abandon the concept (give up on the contest and the anniversary logo concept)
  • Commission a logo (keep the anniversary logo concept, but management team selects the artist)
  • Change the rules (bigger prize, longer entry period, etc. - follow up with a comment please!)
One other thing I'll ask outside the poll is, should we allow hand-drawn entries? I've heard from a few people over the years that they have ideas for a logo, but don't have the digital art skills to produce one. We could allow hand-drawn entries, then have them created digitally if they win.
 
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Joebobber

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Sep 24, 2018
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1,172
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Erie, North Dakota
Hand drawn is tough, unless you are able to put your vision onto paper accurately. That said, the more entries, and ways to enter, can only be a benefit if participation is the goal.
 

Mr Vic

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Aug 11, 2008
Messages
1,865
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Falcon, CO
I agree with allowing hand drawn logos. Some may have great ideas but lack of software or expertise in using may stop them from entering.
Longer entry period might help as well.
 

Alan Morrison

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Jan 15, 2019
Messages
3,062
Location
N Ireland
A lot of the previous logos are similar, only differentiated by the year change, and, in essence, are all variations on a theme.
I have a suggestion........
Have a Grand Logo Competition which includes all previous logos ( acknowledging that the years are different, but judged on design )
and call for new designs.
Pick a winner which won't have a year and then stick with that logo.
Anniversaries can be superimposed or whatever.
I would have entered the contest in previous years but didnt as I have insufficient computer skills.

That's just my 2 bobs worth.
Alan
 

444

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Joined
Dec 24, 2020
Messages
44
Location
Darlington, SC
We all work in the trade/hobby with our eyes and hands, feeble as they may be, along with our brain, our super computer,, with astounding results! So a huge YES to allowing hand drawn entries!
 

darrin1200

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Mar 17, 2010
Messages
1,836
Location
Lyn, Ontario, Canada
I would vote for leaving as is, but allow hand drawn entries. There are a lot of people that can sketch and draw incredibly, but not on a computer. While there are others that can vectorize a sketch with no problem, but can't create a unique picture to save their life.
Unfortunately, I can't draw in any form, and even struggle with the converting pics on my computer.
No competition from me LOL
 

jeff

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Westlake, OH, USA.
I see a lot of support for hand-drawn logos. It would be great to capture that creativity. My only concern is that they would not fare as well in the voting against the more polished digital versions. Perhaps we could find someone to convert those ahead of the contest.
 

walshjp17

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Jul 29, 2012
Messages
3,416
Location
Weddington, NC
I voted to change the rules. 1) Allow hand-drawn logos. 2) Make the prize bigger, e.g., give the winner a $500 dollar prize and award the winner one each of the logo items offered (glass, mug, t-shirt, etc.).
 

darrin1200

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I think you may be surprised at the number of votes for hand drawn entries. Especially if it is clear that they will be cleaned up (if necessary) and vectorized.
 

darrin1200

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Lyn, Ontario, Canada
I just realized, that I probably should have voted for change the rules, not leave as is. I didn't think there ever was a rule against hand drawn specifically, just that print ready was preferred. I figured it just needed to have hand drawings encouraged.
 

Alchemist

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Aug 13, 2020
Messages
548
Location
Central Valley, California
By allowing hand drawn logos, it could expand on design work as well.

As a member of under a year, I want to add some things here…

Lack of participants may be due to a lack of new and solid members. I know things like pen making may come in waves, but when I talk to other pen makers on other platforms, some people don't know about this site. So, we as a whole need more new blood to get involved.

Granted, lurkers will always lurk, but we need to get them to participate, and most of all, if not a member- join the club
 

jeff

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Messages
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Location
Westlake, OH, USA.
I voted to change the rules. 1) Allow hand-drawn logos. 2) Make the prize bigger, e.g., give the winner a $500 dollar prize and award the winner one each of the logo items offered (glass, mug, t-shirt, etc.).
We've always given the logo design winner at least one of everything made, sometimes more if we can spare them.
 

jeff

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Dec 5, 2003
Messages
8,970
Location
Westlake, OH, USA.
I wanted to follow up on this topic since some actions were recommended.

Last year, the logo contest began on Oct 29 and the entry period closed on Dec 13. Based on the suggestion to extend the entry period, I'll be posting the contest announcement in mid-September, giving an extra 4 weeks for entry. The total entry period will be about 10 weeks.

The cash prize will increase to $300, subject to the conditions below regarding hand-drawn logos

As an experiment, we're going to accept hand-drawn logos. That experiment could fail miserably if getting the design into a usable format causes issues. I could list all the things that might go wrong, but suffice to say that experiments have unknown outcomes, some of which may be way different than hoped for.
  • Hand-drawn logos will be presented for voting exactly as submitted. You can scan or photograph your drawing
  • All entries will be voted on together, whether hand-drawn or digitally created
  • If a digitally created entry wins, the full $300 prize will be awarded to the entrant
  • If a hand-drawn entry wins, $250 will be awarded to the entrant, and $50 will be used to defray the costs of developing digital artwork. (I'm hoping that for $50 and some free items, one of our members will agree to produce the digital artwork for us.)
Watch for the contest announcement in a few weeks!
 
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