Jeff Bliss is temping at Autodesk and has been tasked with getting people to link this phone design contest from LG and CrowdSpring. (Autodesk is a sponsor.) It’s hard out there for a temp, so we’ll help him out.
From the Contest Page:
Predict what’s next. What do you think mobile phones should look like in 2, 5, or 10 years? We are asking for your help. We’re NOT looking for a long list of specs or phone ideas that already exist. We’re looking for a cool new concept or “big idea” supported by usage scenario illustrations. Understand how your idea will be judged, and increase your chances of winning. Keep in mind, the LG logo must be included somewhere. Use the logo files provided (one is for light background and one is for dark).
You can win a fair chunk of change, up to $20k for first prize, but you can also get a trial version of Autodesk SketchBook Pro (only a 15-day trial, sadly) just for entering. May your Wacom serve you well.
I designed a phone that you shove up your ass to use. I think I’ll send a pic to them so they know what I’m really thinking.
Here we go with the crowd-sourcing again, and from LG this time, no less. I used to love contests like this, since it was good practice for my design skills and the prizes are real and valuable. But this is just another example of a creatively bankrupt corporation that refuses to hire forward-thinking design agencies because their executives are too visually and artistically illiterate to make and support a choice on their own. They’re just looking for a grab-bag of free and easy solutions to their design problems.
“Even if your design is revolutionary, you’re not going to get an award if you’re NOT a U.S. resident age 18 (or age of majority in state of residence) and older. And, by entering a design, you agree that LG will own all right, title, and interest in the design.”
-screw that
Im the best at drawing
aw, i want to enter, but i’m a UK citizen. bah, no award winning entry from me, then LG (that told ‘em!)
Work designed on contract is almost always superior to crowdsourced work, for the simple merit of communication—a contracted designer or agency will work alongside the client instead of in a vacuum.
That said, crowdsourcing is still a good way to get decent, if not top-tier work for a cheap price, and it gives would-be designers who are trying to break into a market a chance to make good.
I wouldn’t design a logo / identity program for a contest because it’s part of what I do professionally, but for my dream of becoming an industrial designer… Heck, I’ll bite.