With the end of our Fall contest, we have a short week this week (we're off on Thursday and Friday) and then we blog the party season in earnest. Got tips and pix for how you dazzle your guests when you have them over? Send them in and share your skill with us.
Oh, and thank you for the T-Shirt submissions! We're still taking them and want to respond to some comments from last week that implied we were looking to cash in on other folks work. In response, we're calling your bluff...
link to the original t-shirt post? i must have passed it and now i can't find it
Why do you say you're calling a bluff? There was no bluff - there were a couple of people who complained you were looking for free design work. Now you have decided to pay for the design work. Who was bluffing?
This is how I see it...
AT brings so many smiles during my hard day at work, that making a design for them will be my "Thank you" for bringing some much needed joy. It's like making a design for a friend. I sent a submission a while ago, just for fun. Maxwell, if it gets chosen, you can have it for free. not need to pay the $200! That's my way to support this site. Not all we make in life is because the benjamins!
Of course, i will take you to the original offer of the free t-shirts!!! ;)
Let me start by saying that I doubt AT has any malicious intent by holding this design competition. Such contests are very common and I'm sure people don't consider some of the ramifications.
Obviously anyone can chose to or not to participate in a "design competition". Knock yourselves out. However, under the guise of "fun" or "community", AT expects to receive several man-hours worth of design work for a relatively low fee, with only one person actually getting paid for his or her work. Also, what are the rules of this contest? Does AT become the owner of all submissions? What would stop them from using a non-winning design down the road and not paying for it?
The following is from a designer community web site I frequent. These are excerpted passages from a protest letter they developed that address why design competitions are bad:
"The competition expects designers to invest time and resources purely on speculation. Designing on spec is not the norm, nor is it an accepted practice in the graphic design industry."
"Now lets turn around and look at it from a different angle, would your organization request the same of other professional service providers? Would it make sense to ask a group of attorneys to create your legal documents on speculation? Would you think to ask accountants to do your tax returns by the same method? A plumber? I seriously doubt it."
"At the end of the day, choosing a designer or firm is about getting the right professional for the project. Requests for speculative work erode the relationship and ultimately are a substitute for a client doing their homework."
I'm not even sure if my submission worked... I've sent a link to my design.
Graphic Designer, you make good points, but I hope no one is dedicating multiple man hours to this contest.
I am paid to write, but I wouldn't spend a week on a contest to describe why I've driven a Ford lately in 25 words or less. Logos are hard to do, but so is decent ad copy. a contest really isn't the same thing as a job.
This was such a fun little idea last year. Why all the angst this time around? Its a fun way to identify fellow readers when out and about around town shopping.
You know what they say, Maxwell - you're not truly successful until people start criticizing what you're doing.
So congratulations! You're a success!
And good luck with the logo contest, everyone!
Sooooo, if you're a graphic designer and don't want to enter a design contest, don't enter! There are plenty of design amateurs out there (teachers, doctors, lawyers, plumbers, students....) who could probably out-design the professionals (as evidenced by the last color contest).
Do you think that Maxwell is going to post the winning entry and a sign his name to it? Of course not. Credit will be given to the winning "designer."
AND people enter contests FOR FUN! If you think it's work, then this isn't the contest for you. But how sad that once something becomes a profession, it's no longer fun. That when people ask for design advice, they're suddenly "wanting something for free."
Are you under the impression that Maxwell, or any of the AT editors, can't just design their own logo? These people are designers! They're opening this up to the community to allow others to show of their talents!
Like without you they'd have no t-shirt. Please.
Show OFF their talents. (And yes, I caught the extra "a" above.)
Um, An Amateur, design professionals won the color contest. Just sayin'.
So, what do you do for a living that you can give away for free?
Patrick,
I was actually referring to all of the talented people (professionals, as well as non-professionals) who entered the contest. Not all had design backgrounds. And while I loved the winning entry (it was one of my favorites), there were other worthy candidates, some of them amateurs.
And I wasn't disagreeing with the graphic designer above. All I meant was, Don't enter the contest if you don't want to, or feel like you're being ripped off.
My point was (and is), I don't think AT is running the contest because they're lazy and looking for free ideas.