Posts Tagged ‘logo design’
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011
In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.
We’re very proud to feature Mon Paningbatan (crowdSPRING username: LoopDloop) today. Mon lives and works in Manila, Philippines.
1. Please tell us about yourself.
I’m a self-confessed typhophile and iconography aficionado who’s been in the design business for more than 15 years. Surrounded by books 
and consuming extensive amount of coffee, I continuously conflict my thoughts as a creative exercise and objectively review the process afterwards.
My past stints among a few include: Illustrator for Children’s books, art director for a magazine, and design consultant at Intellectual Property Philippines. Until I decided to set-up my own shop and bite the creative freedom all designers deserve.
2. How did you become interested in design?
There is just something about symbols and typefaces that I consider very interesting. They communicate and identify differently for every individual and if you observe closely, strong symbols unify thoughts of its audience. It may also lead or repress a person’s perception. In this manner, creating a design is comparable to being a leader. You could get to shape minds and have your own Eiffel tower to show off. Narcissistic isn’t it? It is something you can control and reward you at the same time.
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Tags: 12 questions, community, creative, creativity, crowdsourcing, crowdspring, design, designer, graphic design, graphics design, graphics designer, illustration, inspiration, interview, logo, logo design, logos, LoopDloop, marketing, Mon Paningbatan, small biz, small business, weekly glance of awesomeness
Posted in Awesomeness, community, crowdsourcing, design, inspiration, Interviews | 6 Comments »
Monday, January 31st, 2011
Hello Creatives! I’ve been hanging around cS since September of ’08 – first as a creative, then as a member of the crew. I thought I’d share a little of what I’ve learned about how to find success when participating here on cS. I was a designer, but much of this information will apply to writers as well. So let’s get to it!
PICK YOUR PROJECTS CAREFULLY
As you submit in more and more projects – you will get a feel for the ones you seem to be best at. Don’t try to make yourself something you’re not. You will learn to read a brief and sense if it’s a good fit for your style.
We do have a feature where buyers can withdraw entries from the gallery so they can better focus on the entries they are more interested in. Please do your best not to take this as an insult. If they do this, at least you know where you stand. In many ways, it’s better than being ignored. You can avoid wasting your time and move on to another project.
If you want to see if a buyer is actively involved in the project, be sure to click “Project stats” at the top right of the gallery page. You will see a breakdown of star scores and if written feedback is being provided.
EXPLAIN YOUR ENTRY
This is often the most overlooked step in posting your brilliant creative work. Explain your concept, how it can be used, and why it is a good representation of their company. Sharing the reasoning behind your design or written entry will not only help draw interest to your entry, it will often help you connect with the buyer and inspire feedback.
Engage the buyer! Encourage them to provide feedback, or ask questions. If they don’t answer – they are probably not interested. If you feel strongly about your entry, see if you can make an improvement and re-submit. It’s a chance to once again ask for any comments they might have.
SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER DAY
I know what it’s like to put your time into your creation, only to have it looked over. But what doesn’t work for one buyer may be a perfect fit for another. Save everything. You may be able to update it for use in another project some day. But make sure you withdraw it from any other projects before you post it in a new one!
KEEP IT ORIGINAL
Look out for generic logo designs.
Not only are they not allowed in logo projects, they will keep you from standing out. Do your best to avoid trends. They will be dated before you know it. If you take the time to think out of the box and put in the extra effort to provide something fresh and new – it will pay off.
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Tags: community, creative, creativity, crowdspring, design, designer, graphics design, graphics designer, illustration, logo, logo design, logos, Strategy, Tips for creatives, Tips for success, writing
Posted in community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, inspiration, Strategy, writing | 2 Comments »
Monday, January 24th, 2011
“I’m In Logo Love” is an ongoing series on the crowdSPRING blog. Periodically, we’ll pick a logo we’d like to take home from a bar and tell you why. And if you think it’s a bit strange to have a crush on a cleverly designed logo, get in line – my mom has already lectured me on this topic. Today, we’ll look at the logo for the cable channel, Comedy Central.
Comedy Central is the eponymous American cable television channel first launched in 1989. CC is committed to delivering exclusively comedy-based programming. Among the shows Comedy Central has aired in the past 20 years are South Park, Chappelle’s Show, The Daily Show, Reno 911! and The Colbert Report. The network also regularly airs standup comedy specials as well as contemporary and classic movies of the genre.
The network updated its original logo in 1991 and again in 2000; as of January 1 of this year, the channel has introduced a brand new design which departs radically from the original and is among the strongest logos in the cable universe.
A play on the instantly identifiable international copyright symbol, the new logo displays the sly humor which is the channel’s stock in trade. Designed by the creative agency The Lab, the logo has not been particularly well-received in the blogosphere with many complaining that it has a corporate feel and comparing it to the poorly received logo recently introduced by The Gap.
Why do we think that the new CC logo is hot? Unadorned and unforgettable, the new logo is a cousin to (and skewed joke on) the old copyright symbol and is designed to support the channel’s propensity for its not-so-subtle tweaks of corporate culture. It is balanced, uncomplicated, and straightforward and works well as both a strong symbol and as a subtle “bug” in the bottom of the screen.
When the new logo launched, Comedy Central tweeted “You may be wondering, “How could your new logo possibly cost $1M?” The secret is we found a design firm that charges $6M an hour.“ I love the new logo and I love Comedy Central. Long may they wave!
Tags: creative, creativity, design, designer, logo, logo design, logos, marketing, pr, public relations, Strategy, twitter
Posted in business, design, inspiration, Reviews | 2 Comments »
Friday, January 21st, 2011
In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.
We’re very proud to feature Aleksandar Macanovic (crowdSPRING username: awerest) today. Aleksandar lives and works in Novi Sad, Serbia.
1. Please tell us about yourself.
Hello, my name is Aleksandar Macanovic and this is my 12 questions interview. Got 25 years behind me, born in the city of Novi Sad and stayed there to live and work. My nickname pzwiz is an acronym from a popular cartoon Popeye the sailor, it is from the scene where Olive his girlfriend says
to Popeye to use his arm as a propeller and a word for a spinning strike here is “zviz” so its “propeller zviz” or simply pzwiz. I will try to make, this honor to present me and my work to this community, as interesting as it can be, as my country still has not reached full potential, just like me. My experience in design is short, in years I was interested more in music, I even finished music school. After that my wish was to accomplish my goals alone or with some friends. Music was the first big love, creative, next was design. Ten years ago I started working with music and organizing small events. A friend and I are running a small agency for that purpose.
2. How did you become interested in design?
Everything started not so long ago when my friend and I had an idea about ethno camp for tourists during our biggest musical festi
val ( EXIT festival ) in Novi Sad. To present the camp’s countryside and ranch better my job was to do marketing, promotions and get ideas for cultural program and some activity for campers. That was my first time with Illustrator and Photoshop, without much sleep I was clicking around for hours. Logo, poster, flyers, website header, flash banner, complete website in Joomla!, map of camp and a sea of pictures which had to be edited in, for me back then unknown formats ( remember your first time with the software? ). Then it was all new for me, today it takes me much less time, but at that time it was a lot of work. That was the very beginning, the website is down now and camp is long forgotten. Person responsible for introduction of crowd sourcing was my girlfriend, it was again all new to me. She has been actively doing spec work for some time and invited me to join the community.
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Tags: 12 questions, Aleksandar Macanovic, community, creative, creativity, crowdsourcing, crowdspring, design, designer, graphic design, graphics design, graphics designer, inspiration, interview, logo, logo design, logos, pzwiz, weekly glance of awesomeness
Posted in Awesomeness, community, crowdsourcing, design, inspiration, Interviews, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011
Only several years ago, many startups and small businesses could not effectively compete against larger and better financed competitors. Today, inexpensive and free small business marketing tools, outstanding small business programs from Google, and crowdsourcing have made it possible for startups and small businesses to level the playing field.
In this post, we’ll discuss five designs that startups and small businesses should crowdsource to further level the playing field with their better financed and larger competitors.
There are literally dozens of different types of designs that can be crowdsourced. To get a few ideas about how other businesses have leveraged crowdsourcing for design, you can read 99 designs you can crowdsource on crowdSPRING.
Why should startups and small businesses trust crowdsourcing to meet their design needs?
In offering tips about lean marketing strategies a few weeks ago, I wrote:
Small businesses and startups have minimal brand recognition, are often located in geographic or demographic areas that limit their marketing options, and most have small (or non-existent) marketing budgets.
Crowdsourcing empowers startups and small businesses to avoid the time consuming process of finding a graphic designer, negotiating a contract and a fee for the work, and the wait to review one or several design choices. Simply put: crowdsourcing is quicker, less expensive, easier, and offers you far more choice than working with a single freelancer or agency.
What types of designs should startups and small businesses crowdsource?
1. Logo Design – Startups and small businesses often make the mistake of using a poorly designed logo or an off the shelf generic logo from a $99 logo store. This is a costly mistake.
In an earlier post examining Branding Secrets of the World’s Best Brands, I discussed a few reasons why startups and small businesses should have strong branding (including a strong logo):
The logo is one of the most important elements of a brand. As you think about your logo, keep your audience and products/services in mind because you want your logo to reflect your company. A good logo builds trust and a strong logo will help to pull your brand together.Think about the logos of some of the world’s most admired brands (Apple, Google, Amazon). How do you feel (emotionally) when you see one of those logos?
By making your logo the main theme of your marketing and advertising activities (online and offline), the logo will become associated with your business and will help you to better communicate with prospects and customers.
Logo design projects on crowdSPRING start at $200. When you crowdsource your logo on crowdSPRING, you’ll set your own price (we’ll give you suggestions based on our experience with thousands of logo design projects), see work from dozens of talented designers ( more than 80,000 designers from nearly 200 countries work on crowdSPRING), use simple but effective tools to manage your project, and choose from an average of 110+ original custom designs. And you are at all times protected by crowdSPRING’s 100% satisfaction guarantee.
logo crowdsourcing tip: If you are looking for a color logo, consider the messaging that color sends to your customers. Do the colors reinforce and strengthen the intended core message/personality/mood you’re trying to communicate through the logo, or do they distract or neutralize? For example, blue often communicates trust, loyalty and freshness. The color blue is common in banking or finance. Green represents life, nature and cleanliness. Also consider colors that work well with dark and white backgrounds. Because logos are often printed in black and white, chose a logo design that is viable and as strong or stronger in black and white.
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Tags: banner ads, brochure design, crowdsource, crowdsourcing, design, design crowdsourcing, flyer design, lean marketing, logo design, small biz, small business, startups, stationery design, web design
Posted in business, community, crowdsourcing, design, How To, marketing, start-up tips, Strategy | 2 Comments »
Friday, December 31st, 2010
In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.
We’re very proud to feature Dave Porter (crowdSPRING username: brainstorm ) today. Dave lives and works in suburban Pittsburgh PA, USA.
1. Please tell us about yourself.
My name is Dave Porter, (aka brainstorm) I live in a suburb outside of Pittsburgh PA, USA with my wife, 2 teenage sons and a pit bull…who can’t control her licker. I still live in the same community I grew up in (literally 1 mile from my parents house). Guess I didn’t stray too far from home.
2. How did you become interested in design?
I always doodled as a kid, filling up legal pads and any blank piece of paper with my crazy little cartoon characters. I loved MAD magazine and always admired the talent and loved the twisted humor. As a student I was not exactly top of my class and my sketching would drive the teachers crazy.
In my junior year of high school they were offering students the opportunity to go to a local vo-tech trade school on a 2 year program. I looked at the list of courses and noticed there was a Commercial Art program, so I signed up. This is where I initially got exposed to graphic design. My instructor had worked in the ad agency business for years (his claim to fame was working on the Nestea plunge ad campaign) and was now teaching at the school, I couldn’t get enough of the class and was now a graphics addict.
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Tags: 12 questions, brainstorm, branding, community, creative, creativity, crowdspring, Dave Porter, design, designer, graphic design, graphics design, graphics designer, illustration, inspiration, interview, logo, logo design, logos, weekly glance of awesomeness
Posted in Awesomeness, community, crowdsourcing, design, inspiration, Interviews, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
A few months ago, for our “I’m in Logo Love” series, I wrote about the Big Ten logo, and how awesome it was. It used negative space in a clever way to show that the Big Ten athletic conference actually had eleven teams. I also mentioned how excited I was to see what they would come up with when the Big Ten added Nebraska to their ranks, changing the number of participating colleges to twelve. (As a graduate of a Big Ten school, I have a vested interest in this topic.) You can see the full blog post here.
Well, the wait is over. This week, the Big Ten unveiled their new logo.
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Tags: Big 10, Big Ten, Big Ten Conference, branding, design, graphic design, graphics design, logo, logo design, logos, marketing
Posted in business, design, inspiration, Reviews, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.
We’re very proud to feature Dana (crowdSPRING username: decenu) today. Dana lives and works in Constanta, Romania.
1. Please tell us about yourself.
I’m Dana, living in Constanta (Romania). My nickname (“decenu”) means “whynot”; I chose it because when I found out about the crowdSPRIN
G I told myself: “Should I dare? Why not!”. I don’t have anymore a classical regular job: for the last 3 years I work at my home; I realized that I knew more interesting people and encountered more bright ideas this way than if I had a normal job. I don’t like undecided, untrustworthy. I’m franc, uncompromising and sullen (not a very social type, I’d say).
2. How did you become interested in design?
I always liked to draw (since kindergarten) all kind of things, more or less abstract. I applied this in painting and art courses.
I grew up and I stopped for a few years. When I decided to practice a job who doesn’t become exhausted by its misfit (experience already checked), I returned to drawing and transformed the hobby into a job.
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Tags: 12 questions, community, creative, creativity, crowdspring, Dana, decenu, design, designer, graphic design, graphics design, graphics designer, illustration, inspiration, interview, logo, logo design, logos, typography, weekly glance of awesomeness
Posted in Awesomeness, community, design, inspiration, Interviews, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.
We’re very proud to feature Rod MacGregor (crowdSPRING username: Rodesign) today. Rod lives and works in Valencia, Spain.
1. Please tell us about yourself.
I feel honored that crowdSPRING flew me out to Chicago on Ross’s private jet for this interview. Thanks guys. (Ha,ha).
I live in a small mountain village near the Mediterranean Sea, in the community of Valencia in Spain.
I was Born in England and lived there for the first forty years of my life. I am married and have a daught
er, 8 and a son 3. We moved to Spain seven and a half years ago for a culture change and have enjoyed every moment of it. I suppose in the back of my mind, I wish I could have started this interview by saying that I worked for a number of top design agencies around the world and I’m only 28…But that is far from the truth. The truth is I am 47 years old and have worked as a waiter, a shipping clerk, a Tug Boat Skipper(14 years),a builders mate, an electricians mate, a pine tree planter (in the Spanish mountains), a house painter and a car test driver (in South Africa). I don’t regret a minute of it…I suppose I would have been bored if I’d have sat in a design office for all of that time!
My artistic work during my life includes, book illustration, greetings card design, animation, painting, architectural 3d visualization, sculpture, video and installation and I have a First class honours degree in Fine Art.
2. How did you become interested in design?
I got a good feeling inside from seeing creations and artwork by others. We are surrounded by design in our lives and it’s hard not to be interested in it.
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Tags: 12 questions, art, artist, blog, community, creative, creativity, crowdsourcing, crowdspring, design, graphic design, graphics design, graphics designer, illustration, interview, logo, logo design, logos, Rod MacGregor, Rodesign, weekly glance of awesomeness
Posted in Awesomeness, community, design, inspiration, Interviews, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, October 12th, 2010
In our 12 Questions blog series, we feature interviews with someone from the crowdSPRING community. For these interviews, we pick people who add value to our community – in the blog, in the forums, in the projects. Plainly – activities that make crowdSPRING a better community. Be professional, treat others with respect, help us build something very special, and we’ll take notice.
We’re very proud to feature Tin Ba?i? (crowdSPRING username: TinBacicDesign) today. Tin lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.
1. Please tell us about yourself.
My name is Tin Ba?i?. I was born in a small country called Croatia, somewhere between central and southeastern Europe, with a 5.800 km long beautiful coast and 1.246 islands. I’m currently living and working in its capital Zagreb. I guess some of you, like many others, have never heard of my country and therefore as a designer I´m trying my best to promote it here 
on crowdSPRING. As to my work, I have been employed as a full time graphic designer for about 5 years now and my expertise includes brand identity, illustrated logos and print design. Presently I am building up my skills on a daily basis, occasionally gathering some projects from freelance sites. I got fascinated with design back in high school, and this passion continues as I learn more, but more on that topic later on.
2. How did you become interested in design?
Even at my early age, I was always drawing something, anywhere and anytime, each day at home or even school. I always managed to find a little free space for some of my original ?piece of art?…so that after so much drawing and painting through primary school, it was only logical for me to enroll in the Secondary School of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Painting. Although my first choice was the Department of Graphic Design, I didn’t manage to get in. Right about that time when I was around fifteen, me and my brothers got our first computer. At first I was mostly just playing games, but after a while I began to study and work on some design programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Freehand. So eventually, as I had designed beginner logos, covers, etc. , I was more and more fond of it, even more than of drawing which, at that time, I liked the most. I think that that was the period when the turning 
point occurred, namely the time when I decided to be more focused on graphic design rather than drawing and painting, which is still proving to be the right move. At least I think so.
3. Which of your designs are your favorites and why?
Each of my designs is special to me in its own way. But for certain, one of my favorites, the one I work with pleasure, is “A Tribute to Flor Kilah. It’s a hip-hop and breakdance festival which is held in early October every year in honor of the former best Croatian breakdancer who, unfortunately so, died in a car accident 5 years ago. I am honored to design everything for his festival, because that man was simply the best, not only as a dancer but also as a person. As for the crowdSPRING logos…I can say that “StoryChasers” was the funniest one I’ve had privilege to design lately. Maybe it’s because of those skinny legs or the satirical picture of a microphone as a journalist who yearns for a new juicy story. I might also like to single out another logo that I recently designed, called “Bold Thinking”, for one and only reason – the logo is actually a graffito and as a teenager I was always observing graffiti but never actually drew them (in my whole life I have only made around five sketches). So, I am very pleased with the logo/graffito, because in the end it turned out great.
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Tags: 12 questions, community, creative, creativity, crowdspring, design, designer, graphic design, graphics design, graphics designer, illustration, inspiration, interview, logo, logo design, logos, Tin Ba?i?, TinBacicDesign, typography, weekly glance of awesomeness
Posted in Awesomeness, community, design, inspiration, Interviews, Uncategorized | 11 Comments »
