Ok, as promised I've found time to complete my Contest Forum Guide! This part is all about ENTERING the design contests on these boards. If you would like to read the Contest Holder Guide then please click here. Entering a contest is obviously a different process to hosting one. The difference is that you are entering your design to hopefully get chosen by the contest holder. Your responsibility is not as high as the contest holder, so this guide is not as thorough. The Basics To enter a contest, all you have to do is read one of the briefs that pop up regularly on this board and submit your design. That's it. But are some 'unwritten' rules which should be followed to make it easy for people to read. If anyone has any issues/points to raise, then please do - but for now, here are mine: 1. If you need somewhere to upload your designs, there are a number of different free uploaders one the web, such as Photobucket, ImageShack and various others. 2. When entering a contest, I think I speak for a few people here (In fact i know I do)... There is NO NEED to post your image multiple times with different colours unless the contest holder requests it. There is nothing more annoying than having to scroll through this: Yes, we all know what the design will look like in each of these colours. There is no need to waste page space and increase loading times for something so plainly obvious. Only complex designs should MAYBE require this. 3. Please, please, please take into account the INDUSTRY that the contest is mean for. By this, i mean that if Mr. Holder states clearly in his brief that he needs a logo for his lawyer company, then engage your brain and come up with something that reflects the professionalism he is after. He is not after: Read carefully his requirements and think of how you can achieve the style he wants. This leads me to my next point: 4. Consider the prize that the contest holder is offering. If the holder is offering $300 for a logo for his/her company, you are not going to be able to do a five minute job and expect to be taken seriously. Using a JPEG that you found on the web, then slapping text on top will not bank you that money. If they are offering that sort of reward, they are expecting a well-thought out design which uses ORIGINAL art. 5. NEVER use pre-made art from the web for your work... it's is quite plainly insulting to the people who take the time and effort to create their own. It was only recently that someone (I shall leave unnamed) was caught using the actual AT&T icon with different colours... Not only is this cheating, rude and amateur - it could also land the contest holder in serious trouble, and I'm sure they won't hesitate to shift the blame your way, and rightly so. This goes for icon packs too. We can all download them and put supporting text... where is the skill in that? There is none. It is up to all of us to firmly put a stop to this. The amount of generic icons being used on this board, particularly for web 2.0 stuff is appalling and needs to stop. 6. Mr Holder sets his contest up with a $200 reward. NEVER EVER say something along the lines on "I can do for $20, PM sent thanks!") - Why? You are bringing down the whole design economy when you do this. If this carries on, a skill in high demand will be reduced to pittence, I don't want to spend an hour on a design that will be up against competition for $10, do you? I tend to ignore the $5/$10 contests unless they are extremely easy jobs or are in need of a bit of help, i.e. some of the younger kids getting into the web world. Ask yourself if you think they would do the job they are asking for, for the payment they are offering. -------- Like I said, nice and short. If you have any other points, please feel free to write them and if they are valid I will edit them to this list. Alex
well done! this stuff should be required reading, especially for newbies. you could also add: steal-proof your work. watermark your entries with a good watermark that won't be easily photoshopped away, and use low-res thumbnails if you can to discourage unscrupulous CHs from simply swiping your entry and abandoning the contest (or declaring a fake winner). choose your contests. it only takes a few seconds to check out a CH's itraders, post count and join date. if you're unsure about the CH, don't join. or join anyway, but at least be aware of the risk.
Well said.. it's sad to see images found using Google image search in competitions where the competition holder expects original graphics. I came across this blog entry a while back, it may be a bit off-topic for designers entering contests but contains good information to contest holders who expect super quality work for $10 or less, which will promote users to use graphics they did not create.
This should be made sticky! Nice guide, mate. I also agree with l3fty that you should not forget to put watermark... watermark... watermark... to protect your work. I have seen a lot of designers here being ripped off not just by the contest holder themselves (yes, on some occasion, "some" contest holders steal your work and run off without paying) but with other lazy designers as well. Tsk. Tsk. I love the contests here at DP and if ever I have the time, I always try to join some of it. It will be a great experience also for newbies to populate their portfolio.
Don't particularly like that blog entry too much, because it generalises. I'll make a perfectly decent looking logo for $10. Sure, I'm not going to go through the history of the market, make a font and whatever, but who cares? That article doesn't seem to explore how websites really don't need to be as heavily brandable and origional as a logo for a product or company.
aye aye Designing takes time and takes a toll on the eyes - $10 really doesn't cover the effort most designers put into projects. We're all worth more than what we're getting.
A contest holder will always expect to have the best worth for his money. The designers will have to decide if they want to join the contest whose prize is $10 and he can deliver a $100 worth of design. It all boils down to the designer actually whether he will join or not. If you think you are undervalued, then don't join because if no one will join the contest whose prize is cheap, a contest holder will be forced to give a higher prize in return. If you think that your design is far more worth than the prize, then don't waste your time by joining one. I see a lot of designers here that can work a $100 worth of designs for a mere $10 prize. That is why I think, this is one of the most active sections in DP. P.s. If you can give a $100 worth of design and expect to get the same value of $$$, try to use the Design section instead of the Contest section of DP. Just my two cents.
The ASSHOLE who sends PM to CH regarding their designs, should be kicked out from the CONTESTS.... They make the contests ruined.........
Why do you need the feedback of other people's designs? I'm starting to PM my designs (unless the contest holder states otherwise) because I'm sick of people modifying my good ideas and passing them off as their own. You should be able to come up with your own ideas and not rely on other people to get you started!!
that's the advantage of PM-ing entries. one disadvantage is that clipart users and copycat designers can try to dupe the CH by PMing in their entries so none of the other contestants can call them out.