teachinginterview dott com Header Contest -- $30 Prize

[fireboat]

Hello graphic designers.... I've had a blast with my last two contests, so I thought I'd run another one. I need a graphic header for one of my sites.

Prize: $30 prize (via Paypal) for the best design.

The site: http://www.teachinginterview.com

Header size: About 760 x 150 pixels; White background

Content of site: A website with free articles and advice about getting a teaching job; The site also advertises my teaching job eBook

Theme: It should include a picture of something that has to do with teaching. The web address (teachinginterview.com) should be clearly visible. Don't use the tagline on the current site. (I don't like it.)

What I'm going for: Something FUN and slightly EDGY -- not too serious and stuffy. Looking for a graphical design with more than just text. The logo should STAND OUT and be MEMORABLE to my visitors. Cartoon-ish or drawn or Web 2.0-style images are preferred over photographic images.

Color scheme: I don't care. I can change the scheme of the page to match the header.

Use your imagination. Have fun with this one. Feel free to ask questions if anything is confusing. This is my third contest -- I was extremely impressed with the submissions from my first two competitions. Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.

Contest ends Thursday night around 8pm eastern time. If I don't see what I'm looking for by then, I may extend or cancel the contest. Only the winning designs will be used on the website.

Please post your images in this thread for all to see. I will leave feedback on all designs.

Thanks in advance to all who enter.... GOOD LUCK!!!

- FB

[fireboat]

Over 24 hours and no entries. :(

Perhaps I should extend the contest until Friday at 8pm Eastern. :)

Anyone want in on this one?

[Mongey]

My attempt, elegant 2.0 :)
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/5732/dp2oq4.jpg
Will make to fit your dimensions if you want to buy

[jasoncdu]

I might enter on friday if the contest is still open / you haven't chosen a winner yet.. because I don't have time right now.

[ZoharBlur]

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/6526/teachinginterviewcopyly6.png (http://imageshack.us)

[designfxpro]

i will send my entry soon...

[fireboat]

Many thanks for the entries!

Mongey -- I like the web 2.0-ness of your design. Very elegant. But I think I am looking for something a little more graphical.

ZoharBlur -- Not bad, but I've seen that clip art image (of the teacher reading a book) too many times before. I do like the shadow on the lettering-- it's subtle and modern.

DesignFXPro -- Thanks. Looking forward to your entry.

Jason -- I'll keep the contest up through Friday at 8pm. Can't wait to see what you create. Thanks.

Keep the entries coming... we're off to a good start. :)

[GaaPele]

Here's my banner :

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7690/intervwi4.jpg

[Donk3y]

Check it here. I hope you like it and I would like some feedback!

http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/65/teacherinterviewbannerve8.png

[Creative_illusion]

Donk3y I think you misspell the domain name. Just reminder here. Thanks.

[Donk3y]

Oh yea...thanks. Fixed version will be up in a second.

[fireboat]

Wow... more entries.... great. :)

GaaPele-- Nice graphic... I like the artistic aspect of your design... but it's not quite what I'm going for.

Donk3y -- This is more along the lines of what I am looking for. The graphic doesn't "wow" me, but your design is a possibility.

Thanks for the entries so far... keep 'em coming everyone. :)

- FB

P.S. To see the entries that have won my contests in the past, take a look at the headers on superteacherworksheets (dot) com and iwantateachingjob (dot) com. That'll give you a feel for my tastes and style. :)

[Mike S.]

How about this. I tried to incorporate a cartoonish feeling into the design while preserving a sense of professionalism in it since it is for adults who are considering the teaching profession.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc103/MSchleicher89/teach1prev.jpg

Edit:

Thought somehting on the chalkboard would add more depth to the design.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc103/MSchleicher89/teach1prev2.jpg

[neilparnham]

http://www.digital-view-web.co.uk/teaching444.png

[dremstar]

http://img455.imageshack.us/img455/9814/teachinginterviewqu8.jpg

[fireboat]

Oh wow!!!

Mike S-- LOVE the graphic! Fun, cartoon pictures are my favorite. I also like how the words teaching and interview are a slightly different shade/color. Can you tinker with the text a bit-- make the words a touch bigger perhaps? This one has definite possibilities!

NeilParnham-- I like this one a lot as well. Very professional-looking.... And demographics show that most of the site's customers/visitors are 20-something females, so I think this picture would appeal to them. No suggestions at this time. Another definite possibility.

DreamStar-- Nice work with yours as well. The lettering and web 2.0 reflection are excellent. The only thing is that the guy looks a little too old to be searching for a job. He looks like he's ready to retire. :)

Great job everyone..... I'll pick a winner tonight.

If anyone would still like to enter, I'd love to see what you've got! :)

Thanks to all!

- FB

[Mike S.]

Alright, here we go.

Few changes were made:
1) Shifted the design to open up more space to enlarge the text a bit without making it seem crowded.
2) Added a background to the header to eliminate some of the white space and so that you are pulled to the header as a whole and not just constantly staring at the graphic because you want the text to grab your attention too and not that it was dull but the graphic had larger bunches of color. Also added a stroke to the background to give the cartoon a popping appearance to the design and it will flow better with your white background instead of your header looking out of place on your website.
3) Enlarged the text.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc103/MSchleicher89/teach1prev4.jpg

Just a note as well to the other designers in the competition that if you are planning on using a graphic element please don't use clipart as any contest holder on here is looking to create a brand for their website and it is not fair to them if their logo is out there on another website. You are really cheating yourself out too because it takes away from your creditability and really just makes you look like an inexperienced designer that doesn't know how to use the software.

NeilParnham, I like how you designed the element with such realism. I need to practice on that some because I can draw cartoon people, animals, and objects sometimes but it all depends on like how well I can actually place what I want it to look like in my mind so it looks good on paper. Like I know the basic shapes of somethings, but it is sometimes hard to make it look really good just like as it is hard to draw really good artwork sometimes and really takes time to find a good inspirational piece where you can just find the basic lines and shape that goes into the figure and then work off of that. I remember drawing a shark for a school project one time it must have taken me like 5-6 hours just to work on this one logo for a CADD competition our team never entered. The sad part was the 5-6 hours was just the basic lines and shape then I had to rework it to make sure it had the fierce stature that I wanted and so dull looking. The nice part is that you can always build a portfolio out of your work, sadly I decided that I don't want to major in graphic design after halfway through the semester because of the lack of jobs available and I'm actually now majoring in education.

[neilparnham]

Hello yes, i thought be best to have a professional looking image and design therefore to bring you a wider possible client conversion, as in my experience the more professional looking the more likely you will draw clients in, if you think of any changes let me know and ill change it asap, thanks neil.

[neilparnham]

Mike.S , theres plenty of tutorials out there to guide you through the works, soon im going to be either registering a new domain or using my existing company digital view multimedia studio and i know i can get it to the top of google for the keyword web design, if you cant find the job, make the job, its very hard here, saying that people have asked me to work with them , but i dont like working for people, cheers neil.

[fireboat]

Few changes were made:
1) Shifted the design to open up more space to enlarge the text a bit without making it seem crowded.
2) Added a background to the header to eliminate some of the white space and so that you are pulled to the header as a whole and not just constantly staring at the graphic because you want the text to grab your attention too and not that it was dull but the graphic had larger bunches of color. Also added a stroke to the background to give the cartoon a popping appearance to the design and it will flow better with your white background instead of your header looking out of place on your website.
3) Enlarged the text.


Changes look good, Mike!




Just a note as well to the other designers in the competition that if you are planning on using a graphic element please don't use clipart as any contest holder on here is looking to create a brand for their website and it is not fair to them if their logo is out there on another website. You are really cheating yourself out too because it takes away from your creditability and really just makes you look like an inexperienced designer that doesn't know how to use the software.


Great point about the clip art... yes, I am looking to create my own image/brand. And sometimes its hard to tell when people are using clip art and when people are using original images. I appreciate the time and effort that good designers put into creating original artwork. And I find comfort in knowing that an image is original to my site.



Contest ends in an hour.... I'm divided between MikeS and Neil's design.

I love the cartoon figure in Mike's because it's whimsey and makes me smile.... and Neil's has a talent for realism and he hit my target demographic spot-on.

Last callfor entries..... I'll decide on a winner in an hour. If anyone would like to chime in with their opinions, I'd be interested. :)

Thanks!

- Fireboat

[fireboat]

Note-- Contest extended to 10 PM Eastern (2.5 hours later than expected)... one more entrant is working on a design and has requested the extension. :)

If anyone else wants in, you've got a little more time. :)

[neilparnham]

http://www.digital-view-web.co.uk/teaching444aaa.png

[neilparnham]

Well basically it is up to you, what type of image you want to put across to the possible clients, may not be up when you choose its 12:53 in the morning here in the uk, thanks neil.

[coolwanz]

Header Design Proposition for TEACHINGINTERVIEW (dot) COM
.....................................................................................
http://xs221.xs.to/xs221/07456/ti2headerimg.png

[fireboat]

This is THE closest contest I've had so far... and I'm not just saying that to be nice.

Three designs really stodd out as way above-and-beyond what I was expecting:

Neilparnham--- I liked the realism of your picture... and I liked the fact it featured a female. Since 85% of my product's customers are female, I was really tempted by this design. Professional and elegant.

MikeS -- I absolutely love the cartoon guy. THe shape of his face and his messy hair make him memorable and fun.

Coolwanz -- I love the professional emphasis on detail -- the sparkles in the background.... the chalk-like font on the board... the tag line...

The winner of the contest is Coolwanz. Congrats CW. And a big thank you to everyone for your time and effort. I really appreciate it.

[coolwanz]

Thank you fireboat for selecting my design. :)

I know my entry was last minute....I share the kudos
to all greatdesigners who have contributed before me.

kind regards.