Design Competitions: Worth it or not?

[SurfPark]

I don't have a lot of design experience and was wondering if design competition really matters. I'm so tempted to toss money and time into some competitions but I cannot help but think its a scam. Any advice on what WOULD help me with my resume?

[BJMRGTIVR6]

I know quite a few people that are against this. (and then some that are all for competitions). I have entered two comps in the past. One for a concert I was already going to (I wond two tickets and then sold the other two) and then another for a concert i wasn't thinking of attending but did it just for fun. I think some people believe it is SPEC work and that it lowers our standards. I can see this point and agree to it for the most part. It is like asking for landscapers to come out for a competition to landscape your lawn and whoevers is best, you will pay them or congratulate them with a tee-shirt. If it is the type where they willmake a tee shirt from your design and sell it, i don't think too kindly of it since they are making more money on it, whilst you get a few free tee shirts.

I'msure others will post replies here. Oh, and if you aren't picked it isn't anything great to put onto a resume by sayig you entered 'said' competition but didn't win.

[captain spanky]

^^ what 'BJMR' ;) said...
i personally wouldn't take the time to enter, you are signing over your design/skills to be used/twisted however THEY want most of the time and they could do anything with it which could negatively affect you.
If you're looking to fill your portfolio up, perhaps look at redesigning a few things you think are badly designed and document why you think that and what have you done different to make things better.
oh yeah - www.no-spec.com :D

[PrintDriver]

If you want to try for the prize go for it, just don't spend more time than the prize is worth and always read the fine print. It's a gamble any way you look at it. Either the contest is rigged or a scam or it's a bonafide contest. As for portfolio pieces, it's only worth it if you win. Still a gamble.

I wouldn't enter a contest for a logo design in return for a t-shirt but I might enter a, hmmmm... let's say, a deep sea fishing tournament one-time t-shirt logo contest if there was a free day-trip out as the prize... :D

[morea]

Jeff seems to have had success with it. But as PD said, this works with legitimate contests, not spec work.

http://blog-omotives.blogspot.com/2006/10/call-for-entries-confusion.html

[PrintDriver]

I think Jeff's examples are submitting stuff to design recognition contests. The stuff has already been designed and paid for. He's just submitting it for recognition and award. That works kinda like the Oscars for movies. I'm not up enough on the various GD type awards to be impressed by any of them. Which is okay for where I'm at in the food chain. I'd be more impressed with the piece itself in a good portfolio.

[budafist]

Spec work is different to competitions.

I think of competitions more like design awards where they are a great thing to add to your Resume. Awards like these accept entries of work already designed. I wouldn't create work specifically for a competition, but if something already done fits criteria (with minimal tweaking), then that is ok.

NZ design awards that are pretty big are call BEST awards. I had a friend that won an award with a piece done at work and told her boss hoping to get some praise or recognition of her efforts. He had never heard of the awards so she figured it was time to move on.

[Zantor_12]

I think that the extra recognition you would receive through winning a competition would be great! It would look great on your resume. I wouldn't have a problem with allowing them to use my work on their products (I would prefer being paid), but as long as I can say that I created it, then it would really improve my chances of getting paid work (as well as bragging rights)

[PrintDriver]

Bragging rights don't feed the baby...

It's the not winning part and your design still becomes the property of the person holding the contest that sux. Then you've done something for absolutely nothing. And that is usually a statement somewhere in the fine print.

[ellamac]

I have to say I'm on the 'for' side of legit competitions, especially if you have little experience. They provide you with real life briefs where you are designing for someone else - not just designing for what you like.

I think that if you are looking for reasons to get creative and build experience, they provide (quite often interesting) briefs, and at least some sort of critique (you won, or you didn't!!!) You get to choose the amount of time that you devote to them, and as long as you aren't giving away the paying jobs to make time for the competitions, there's nothing wrong with doing somehting while you wait for the phone to ring!

And maybe I'm biased, but it was actually a design competition that I won that got me serious about design, and my design abilities. Winning a shiny new imac was a bonus!

[Nveah]

Although i understand the time wasting aspects of these competitions i still happen to look for them as i find it a way of getting my work seen by more people. If you win it is a plus, even if it is just a t-shirt...:rolleyes:

[PrintDriver]

I always look at what the other person is getting out of it.
If Sony is running a contest for a movie poster, that is not acceptable. Especially if they keep all of the entries, win or lose, as their own property. Sony can well afford to pay a designer to do their movie marketing.

If the local Red Cross had a contest for a sign for their annual coat drive, I'd be more inclined to participate on a pro bono basis.

And if, like I said earlier, the prize is something I want, I go for it. I've won a couple of things I've wanted, the best so far being a $500 store card for a local computer store (I came in 2nd. What I was going after was the new G5 desktop that was 1st prize...). It was still worth it for a couple hours of my time.

[Jeff Fisher LogoMotives]

Here's a couple articles on the topic:

When a "contest" is not a contest (http://www.creativelatitude.com/articles/articles_fisher_dcontest.html)

A Winning Strategy (http://www.no-spec.com/?page_id=82)

- J.

[scratchmarc]

http://www.bwflogodesign.com/

They're still accepting entries until the end of the month for anyone who thinks it's worth it.

~marc

[SurfPark]

Thanks for the answers guys. I think the best point was the fact that a contest shouldn't be spec work, but rather a showcase for existing work. I'll probably be posting Jeff's article around the web from now on. Thanks again for the responses.

[Ned]

A competition shouldn't be used in PLACE of commissioning a professional designer to do the job, either. The competition should be the goal in itself, if any new work is to be made. For instance, say you have a magazine, and entries for people to show off their work in your publication. Or maybe you're running a design competition are presenting an award to the best ads of different categories. These are what competitions are supposed to be like. Not, "Design my logo for me, and I'll give you a cash reward if I like your logo best out of everybody's."

[Zantor_12]

A competition is a great way to get into the industry. It shows that you can stick to deadlines, and can be used as the first piece in your portfolio. You may have taken a lot of photos and designed many logos, but actually having won something that was judged by professionals can be enough to get yourself your first job.

[PrintDriver]

Who says the judges are professionals?
Professional whats?
The piece in the portfolio is only as good as the person doing the hiring thinks it is. If it isn't what the client/employer is looking for, having won "Best Poster on the Planet" isn't going to help you get hired. Especially if the judges were other than GD industry professionals.

As for deadlines, contests are easy. But do you know how to subtract the time it takes to print and deliver to the client the pieces you've designed? That is proper project deadline planning. References matter much more in this respect.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

I will agree with PrintDriver on the last comment. A competition normally has a one-month or more dealine...plenty of time. Plus, many do not require reworking by the designer to suit the needs of the client. They simply choose one they like most and either use as is or adjust it on their end. The ones I have entered are just for fun and trying new techniques in my style, plus it helps me get my creative juices flowing for a client that has no real guidlines and allows me to really go far and crazy. But I have also seen too many design my logo for $20 too that I steer clear of.

[budafist]

Rethinking this, I wouldn't enter online competitions. It's just too dodgey in my book and the amount of work you get out if it is minimal.

I think it is better to stick to local competitions for local good causes and get local exposure from local community newspapers if you win.

Verdict: go local.

Besides, the likelihood of you winning something that is local is much higher than a competition that is global....IMO.