junior designer contests

[Wizard_of_Words]

It would be really great if design outpost dot com had a mini-contest for non-design team members.

A mock up company and what they need in a logo would be posted on the contest thread section and it would be open to all designers except for the design team.

During the postings, the design team would be the only ones to critique and judge by vote or one member takes it upon himself to be the judge.

thanks
WEEMAN

[SymbolikDesignz]

I think that this would be an excellent idea! Especially for us n00bs that have not yet made it on the Design Team due to a limited portfolio.

[SonnetCelestial]

:) I can only love this idea especially because of my current status, and how things aren't going as planned on wht...... :P

[Lori]

I too think this would be a neat idea - although I would not do the logos, but the templates as that is my forte ;)

However, I do think to that the portfolio speaks louder then a single "faux contest" here for valid reasons to be welcome to DT here.

So again, neat idea - but I doubt the DT would have tons of time to critique anyway due to the heavy loads they all currently carry.

Just my 2cents ;)

[hotnuts21]

I actually had a similar idea and I am still working on the project, I also have to broach the idea to Palmer and 2square to get their thinking on the idea.

Hope I dont shoot myself in the foot here or give too much away, but I will outline the idea anyway.

We have recently set up a CMS which we are providing to charitys, along with hosting and a few other bits for a very small charge. The idea behind charging for it, is that charitys we have worked with are more keen to pay for something, then they have more controll, they dont want to pay lots but they are willing to pay a little towards having a fully functional online website.

My proposal to palmer and 2square would be that, anyone wanting to get onto the design team, or who had to complete a probationary period on the design team could have to enter a few competitions for the charity sites. There would be a prize for the picked design, although it would be minimal.

The design would be used for charitys site, and we would do everything else and host the sites, set up the CMS, integrate the design etc.

We have already set the site up and have two charitys already done
www.charity-web-sites.co.uk

It is just an idea at the moment and things need bashing out, but if anyone thinks its a good idea then let me know.

rgds
Paul

[Alastair Warren]

Paul/Hotnuts, I think your idea definately has merit, especially because the design is a real design, not a mock up, and includes a real prize. Therefore it has more worth in a portfolio too.

It would suit someone like me, who has little they can show in their portfolio, and need something meaningful from which Palmer and 2Square can judge them better.

In regards to the original post, I think that it would also be a good opportunity for the up and coming designers around here to show their stuff, learn, and so on.

I think a combination of Paul and Wizard of Words ideas' could work nicely. If the brief was created by you Paul, and you judged the contest, it may be the best way to do it for 4 reasons. 1) You would get exactly what you want. 2) It needn't take much of Palmer and 2Square's time. 3) You could offer a prize incentive. 4) It would be a worthy project in a portfolio. The design team could be excluded from competing, but encouraged to offer constructive criticism.

I'd like to see others' opinions :)

P.S. Paul: I'm afraid your site generates a 404 error.

[hotnuts21]

yeah try this
http://www.charity-web-sites.co.uk/index.html

I think I messed up the site when I added a .htaccess file with some weird things included :)


Im glad you liked the idea, I talked to 2square briefly about the idea, and I think I just need to set something up, maybe get the site designed as the first contest. Anyway I will keep people posted.

/edit/

Should be fixed now.
http://www.charity-web-sites.co.uk
Should work on its own.

[Alastair Warren]

Having the site designed as the first contest sounds good. I just had a thought, designing sites for charities is a great way to get brownie points for your freelance/company.

I look foward to any progress :).

P.S. your splash page looks nice and professional.

[PeteM]

I'm in. Bring on the comp!

Pete

[hotnuts21]

The site is actually up. Im just thinking of the best way to run things.
Im planning to run it in conjunction with DO, so that new up and coming designers can use it as a proving ground to gain experience and portfolios. Hopefully also the designers will pop along and offer advice and encouragement. Lastly it will be like a premiership footbal youth team, where the best talent will eventually move onto here as designers, giving the guys here a break when looking for new talent.

However this is all still very much in the 'work in progress' stage, I am still talking to Palmer and 2square to see if its possible and the best way to work.

What we will probably do is set it up behind closed doors and run a contest for the site itself to see how things go and to make sure that everything is in place and works smoothly.

I will keep you informed, anyone has any bright ideas feel free to PM me or post them here.

rgds
Paul

[Vicki]

That sounds like a wonderful idea, I'd certainly like to take part.

[hotnuts21]

Ok, bit of an update. We have a new design, although its a template but it will suffice for now. You can see the site at
http://www.charity-web-sites.co.uk/index.php

I have also added more indepth details about what the site does and how it works. I used to be very good at copy writing, but now its for this site, I cant seem to think of anything. So if you spot any mistakes please let me know.

I have also set up a forum only a simple one where ideas/thoughts etc can be posted and passed on.

thnx
Paul

[stoavio]

Correct me if I'm mistaken but the premise of this idea is to offer freelance designers and newly founded design firms that lack portfolio work to work on charity projects? I think the idea is a good one and it sounds promising.

Good luck to those of you who plan to organize it and to those who plan to participate :)!

[hotnuts21]

Yes you are correct. The competitions and rules will be very similar to how things are run here. That way if any of the designers progress upto Design outpost they will already be familiar with the process of how things work.

The winning designer will get paid a fee, and the design will be used for the charitys web site. All designers will be able to place the designs into their own portfolio.

The aim is to give designers a portfolio that they can use to get jobs maybe even here on DO. We do not expect to keep the designers for a long time and expect the throughput to be quite high. The advantage to the charitys is that they get quality websites and good design at a reasonable rate. The project will provide everything from Hosting, domains, SEO , content management and design.

So any budding designers interested please PM me with your details.
thnx