CONTEST: Design our new logo and get some cash!

2011 May 24

Hey y’all:

We’re doing a logo redesign, and we want all you graphically-inclined folk to participate. We also feel you should get paid for your work: $300, to be exact. We’ll also put your info on our About page. So take a look at the brief and rules. You’ve got until Wednesday, June 1st, 2011, to submit your designs to our Flickr group.

X + V + \m/,

Chris

The Old Logo

When we started the site in June 2009, it was just me. And although I’m not a graphics designer, I pieced together the blog and designed our logo. In my mind, it was just gonna be temporary. Two years later, our anniversary is coming up, and it’s time for a bit of a facelift.

Because the Republic of Austin is kind of like it’s own country, the original concept was that the logo would be like a cattle brand, a postage mark or a passport stamp. It needed to be something that looked strong, authoritative and independent. Since we’ve got the bats, I thought a bat would be the natural symbol of the city. Here’s what that logo looks like:

The New Logo

A lot has changed since I first designed the logo. We brought Roary onboard as the world’s first armadillo blogger. He’s taken over our Facebook Page, our Twitter Feed, and he even has a music award named after him. So, instead of bats, we really think an armadillo should be incorporated into our logo.

Why Armadillos?

Armadillos are kind of like the rats of Austin-but cuter. Leather-like hides with thick shells, they’re tough, rugged creatures. Mostly hidden, they come out when you least expect them. And one day, the Dillos will rise from the dust and inherit the Earth. Also, the armadillo brings with it a connection to the Armadillo World Headquarters, a name that evokes Austin’s less-polished musical roots. Plus, armadillos are way cooler than bats.

Style

The logo should still be more of an emblem-maybe resembling a postmark, a stencil or a passport stamp. It should be strong but not aggro. Should feel young but still have classic roots. And definitely embody the spirit of independence that is Austin. Because we’ll be using this for business cards, banners and flyers, it still needs to be somewhat simple. Also, prefer more monochromatic coloring!

You may also want to incorporate our tagline: Republic of Austin - Life Music Culture in Austin Texas.

You can also learn more about ROA, including our old mission statement, here.

Inspiration:

Classic Passport stamps:

Guerilla Stencil Art:

I’m a big fan of Banksy-especially his moneys and rats.

Also in love with Austin’s own FAILURE.

Those are all suggestions. We’d love to see what you’ve got!

Contest:

So here’s how it works:

Check the above brief-like paragraphs.
Ask questions in the comments of this blog post.
Upload your designs (images files-not design files) to our Flickr Group.
- Write about your design in the description.
- Be sure to include Contact Info.
We’ll comment on the designs.
- This should help give more direction-or we’ll let you know if you are way off.
Last Day for Submissions: Wednesday, June 1st, 2011.
Entrants we like will be given notes to tweak the designs.
Final Decision will be made by Friday, June 3rd, 2011.
Once we decide, we give the winner $300, and the winner gives us the design files plus the copyrights (This is based on the pricing and process found at http://99designs.com/)
If we don’t find a winner, no one gets anything-sad faces all round.