Please See Updates Added to End of Journal Entry

I originally posted this on a few forums, but I think this might be easier to manage. The idea to do this was inspired by =IcemanUK and his tremendously successful logo contest.

Short Explanation: I would love a nice logo/identity to use on a photography website, business cards, etc. I also have a couple of company names to choose between (see "More background info" section below).

Prizes

1. First Place: $75 net (via PayPal or Money Order), coverage on my dA page and credit for the logo design on the future website.

2. Second Place: 6 month dA subscription

3. Third Place: 3 month dA subscription

Rules

1. An entry will consist of a logo along with any information about color schemes and fonts (if applicable).

2. Enter as many times as you like. Post the entry to your dA account and simply leave me a comment with a link to the entry. I will reply to confirm receipt (and thanks).

3. The winners will need to provide a high resolution file of the logo. This can be done at submission or after being notified of winning. Inability to provide a high resolution file will be grounds for disqualification.

4. Please post any questions to the comments section of the journal entry.

5. Entries will be accepted from 08 Mar 2009 to 03 Apr 2009. I reserve the right to extend the entry deadline if no suitable entries are submitted.

More background info

Hello All,

I've been a longtime lurker/admirer of the work on dA. I am not an artist. Not even close. As I child, I used to go the artists supply store to buy sketch pads and charcoal pencils thinking they would be my muse. No such luck. Instead, the only thing I've had limited success with is my photography. I mostly shoot my own children and those of friends and family. Some people who've seen my work have asked if I'd consider shooting a wedding or other events and thus far I've declined in large part because I don't want the responsibility.

However, as I've tallied up the cost of my gear and the ongoing expenses of my "hobsession" I've been thinking that I might want to consider doing some more formal work to defray the costs. To that end, I've been planning on setting up a simple marketing website and I'd REALLY like to get a nice logo/identity to build around it.

Since this little venture will never make any real money, I'm not going to pour a lot of dough into the startup. I could make a run at developing my own logo, but as I mentioned earlier, I suck at this and you don't. I could also go to anyone of the "Logo-Mart" type websites and have them spit something out for me. However, I thought it would be far better if I could do something for dA and its members rather than feed the machine. As much as I hate the term, I think the contest idea is the proverbial "win-win" for everyone.

So here's the deal: hopefully one of you is going to choose both my business name and logo. I've had a few different ideas for names and have narrowed the field to the following two contenders:

PixelBox Images (PixelBoxImages.com)
Julia Bean Photography (JuliaBean.com)

Some background on the contenders...The first option was one that I came up with just playing around with words and available domain names. I think it lends itself to some interesting logo ideas with both the name and graphics. The second one is based on a nickname I use for my almost 2-year old baby girl. Her name is Julia Grace, but I sometimes call her "jellybean". That then morphed into "Julia Bean" and since many variations on "Julia Grace" domain names were already taken, the idea of using Julia Bean was that much more attractive. Choose the one you like most, tell me why, and give it your best shot. There is no limit on the number of submissions.

I am not looking to drive traffic to the site via web searches, hits, etc. This is really only going to be used as a marketing site/web presence where, if people are interested in seeing some stuff, I can hand them a card and they can come look at my work and pricing. So the logo would mainly be used on business cards, CD/DVD inserts for burned images, and the website banner, etc.

In addition to all the standard file formats (eps, jpg/gif/png, tif, etc.) I will also need a contractual release of some sort from whomever's idea I finally select. This is nothing more than a signed document from the winners stating that they convey ownership rights to me.

Sorry for the length of this post, but I figured the more info and background the better. Please let me know if you have any questions. I sincerely thank you for your consideration.

Cheers,
Dylan



Update 11 Mar 2009

First off, thanks to all who've expressed interest and those who've already submitted a design! I've received a few inquiries from people so I thought I'd take a moment to elaborate on some things.

1). Style - for either of the two company names, I want something clean and professional. That said, I think the "PixelBox Images" name would be something more sleek and technical whereas the "Julia Bean Photography" name is definitely more child-like, whimsical, or fun. Sorry for the adjectives, but I don't know how else to describe it. If you're looking for some inspiration, here's a nice write-up of 25 different photographer websites with examples:

[link]

Mind you, my site will be nowhere near as detailed as these, but it should give you some feel for content, design, etc. This designer also has some interesting stuff:

[link]

Scroll down her blog and also check out her portfolio. And lastly, a cool typography article:

[link]

2). Color Schemes - truth be told, I'm not particular about the color scheme as long as it's tasteful, but I would err toward something more conservative or subdued (e.g., no flourescent pink). Also, since the logo will be used in print, at least one version of it should be well-suited to that.

3). Logo & Logotype - I plead ignorance on the exact definitions here, but if the logo is just an image and the logotype is the font/typeface for the company name, then the entries should include both. One thing for certain: the entries should somehow incorporate/include the full name of either business (e.g., "Julia Bean Photography" not just "Julia Bean"). Lastly, there is no need to be too literal. For example, I chose the name "PixelBox Images" because I like the way it sounds and because when you look at digital images on the screen, in a way that's a "box with pixels". However, that doesn't mean that the logo or typefaces need to be "pixelated" or blocky. Perhaps that was my mistake in choosing the name.

I will do future updates as the need arises. Thanks again for your consideration!


Update 14 Mar 2009

Please see the more recent Journal entries for updates: [link]