Everglades Logo Contest

Avoid These Logo Design Mistakes

11 Dec 2012 at 15:31

Learn from your mistakes… or in this case, learn from mine and others mistakes. This a rundown of easily made logo design mistakes.

I won’t admit to which ones I’ve done, but just have a read through and remember what NOT to do –

1 – Ignore/ don’t create a design brief

Fatal mistake 101. Without a brief to work to, or ignoring the brief, what are you working towards? You can’t start with a blank piece of paper and magic an idea on to it (although I feel like that what some people expect from me). You have to create a brief with the client so you can get a feel and an idea as to what they want.

2 – Rush

Nothing is worse than a clearly rushed logo design. This logo is going to be displayed everywhere by the client and the tiniest detail missed will haunt you for the rest of your life.

3 – OTT

Don’t go too over the top with a design. A logo is supposed to be clear and simple, preferably they should also convey a message which fits with the client’s businesses philosophy. If you create an OTT and overly complicated design then it will cause viewers to ignore it and will more likely than not look hideous when shrunk down to a small size e.g. for use on business cards.

4 – Rasterise

Please, please, PLEASE use vector based software (e.g. Illustrator) so that the image can be scaled for various uses. There is nothing worse than a pixelated image.

5 – Copying

Don’t try and create a design which is clearly either copied or very similar to the clients competitor(s). You want your client’s logo to stand out from the crowd, not blend in with them and create confusion over which brand is which.

6 – Too many cooks…

Limit the amount of people who are part of the design brief, you don’t need input from the clients; mother/ hairdresser/ priest/ parole officer.

7 – Colourless

Remember to check that the finished design looks good in both colour and in black and white. Nothing worse than a beautiful design being ruined by something as simple as a black and white printer!

8 – Keep it simple

A picture is worth a thousand words. A logo is worth one word.

What do you see when you look at the following images?

Pepsi.

Nike.

Twitter.

Top 10 Highest Sporting Prize Money Competitions

06 Sep 2012 at 16:02

Want to earn the most $$$ in sport? Well then you’ll need to know which sports pay out the most prize money and this list is here to help you make a decision, but bear in mind some of these sports are team games and others are just for individuals.

Unsurprisingly, Football is by far the biggest sport in the world and to many people it’s their life and so I’m not shocked to see 4 out of the 10 competions are Football.

Here’s a run down of the top 10 sports with the highest prize money -

10 – ICC Cricket World Cup – £4,000,000

The ICC (International Cricket Council) Cricket World Cup is a one day international cricket competition held every 4 years. The tournament has preliminary rounds which leads to the finals tournament and was first held in England (shocker!) in 1975.

The most succesful team of all time is Australia who have won it 4 times, but the current champions are India, who won the competition in 2011.

9 – Nascar Chase For The Sprint Cup – $5,800,000

The Chase For The Sprint Cup has had different names throughout the years, including; “The Chase for the Championship” and “The Chase for the Nextel Cup” but Nextel Communications and Sprint Corporation merged together to bring you the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

The points are added up after a normal season of 26 races, the top 10 drivers and 2 wildcard drivers advance to compete in the cup and the driver with the highest point total at the conclusion of the 10-race Chase is the Sprint Cup champion.

8 – UEFA Europa League – $9,000,000

The UEFA Europa League (formally the UEFA Cup) is an annual Football cup and has been going since 1971. It’s the 2nd best European cup competition behind the UEFA Champions League and clubs can qualify by performing well in their home country’s league.

The most successful teams to win the cup are Liverpool, Juventus and Internazionale, who have all won it 3 times each. The most successful manager is Giovanni Trapattoni, who won it 3 times, twice with Juventus and once with Internazionale.

Joint 6 – FedEx Cup – $10,000,000

The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour and has only been awarded to golfers since 2007.

So far Tiger Woods is the most successful player as he’s won the trophy twice, once in 2007 and again in 2009.

Joint 6 – The Dubai World Cup – $10,000,000

This horse racing cup is held annually on the last Saturday of March in Dubai at the Meydan racecourse, on a tapeta synthetic dirt track which runs for 2000 meters (approx. 10 furlongs)

No horse has ever won the cup more than once, but the most successful rider is Jerry Bailey, with 4 wins, and the most succesful owner is Godolphin Racing, with 5 wins.

5 – The Major League Baseball World Series – $14,800,000

The World Series is Baseballs biggest tournament and began in 1892, with a few breaks for various reasons. The game is played annually and is a best-of-7 playoff between the American League and National League champions.

The most successful teams to win the World Series are; the New York Yankees (with 27 wins), the St. Louis Cardinals (11 wins) and the Oakland Athletics (9 wins). I always find it funny that it’s called the ‘World’ Series, considering it’s predominantly played by Americans, it probably has something to do with American arrogance, or more likely because it’s shit.

4 – The Super Bowl – $15,500,000

The Super Bowl is an annual championship game held by the National Football League (NFL (American Football, not real Football)). The Super Bowl is, like Baseball, a game between the two league champions from the two big leagues (NFL and American Football League (AFL)).

The team that has won the Super Bowl the most times is the Pittsburg Steelers with 6 victories. The adverts are normally more interesting than the game itself, if you can follow it, and luckily are placed throughout the game. Plus halftime shows can be a great spectacle with Janet Jackson’s weird boob making an appearance and M.I.A. flipping the bird.

3 – FIFA World Cup – $31,000,000

The FIFA World Cup is a football competition where teams from all over the world compete to be crowned the greatest national side in the world. The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and has been held every 4 years since, apart from 1942 and 1946 because of the Second World War (we should probably knock off 2 titles from Germany for this).

The most successful countries in the World Cup have been; Brazil (with 5 wins), Italy (4 wins) and Germany (3 wins). Pele (Brazilian) and Diego Maradona (Argentinian) are seen as the greatest players to have ever graced the World Cup and without their individual performances, it could be argued, that their teams would have never lifted the famous trophy. Also, the FIFA World Cup is an ACTUAL World Cup which includes teams from all over the WORLD and not just the USA, take note Americans.

2 – UEFA European Football Championship – $33,000,000

The UEFA European Football Championship (or “Euros”) is a football competition to find the best national team in Europe and started in 1960. The competition is played every 4 years, inbetween the FIFA World Cup, which means there is a major national football competition every two years.

The most successful national teams in the Euros are Germany and Spain, both winning the competition 3 times. Spain are the only team to win consecutive titles, in 2008 and 2012, they also won the World Cup in 2010… can they make it 4 major national trophy in a row? Considering the quality and relatively young team, I don’t see why not.

1 – UEFA Champions League – $77,000,000

Winning the UEFA Champions League, referred to simply as the Champions League, is the pinnacle of any professional club player’s career. The Champions League has been running since 1955 but changed to it’s current format in 1992, prior to 1992 it was a straight knock-out tournament.

The most successful teams ever to compete in the Champions League are; Real Madrid (with 9 wins), Milan (7 wins) and Liverpool (5 wins). It also has the best sporting anthem ever, simply called “Champions League”, it’ll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand.

Cameras That Are Good For Landscape Photography

25 May 2012 at 10:38

written by: shaunguidotti

If you’re entering any photography competitions soon then you might find these landscape photography tips useful -

Not all photographs are work of art. Some are just for the sake of capturing the moment. For professional photographers, each picture should consist of beauty and appreciation of the subject. Most work of art consists of nature photos. One good example will be the landscape of a scenery. Staring at a landscape can be breathtaking which is why many photographers use precise techniques and good cameras to capture such scene. So if you’re into this type of photography, you might as well choose which camera is good to capture this kind of subject.

Professional photographers have certain standards when it comes to choosing the best digital camera for landscape photography. For instance, the depth of field is one of the factors to consider for landscape photography. The reason why a lot of photographers choose it is because it can capture an entire scenery. So if you want to know which digital camera will suit your needs, here is a list that you should choose from.

1. OlympusSP-800UZ – This is considered as top pick by many photographers. This camera features a 30x optical zoom and can capture wide screen panoramas on the screen. The camera is helpful as it provides an on screen line to measure the next photograph perfectly. This is ideal when you want to snap one or two photos of the area of your subject. This camera is really great in taking panoramic photographs of the landscape.

2. Nikon D3000 – The next best thing for landscape photographers will be this camera. When a picture is taken, it can produce a photo which will look clean and striking with a beautiful coloring as well. This comes along with a landscape mode so basically it’s ideal for taking pictures with a wide depth. The only thing that you should worry about this camera is its price but then the investment will be great.

3. Canon PowerShot SX20 IS – This camera takes wonderful and high quality photographs and it’s great to use even for beginners. It has a 20x zoom so it’s also ideal for taking photos at a great distance. Just like the D3000, it also has a landscape feature for you to be able to take landscape photographs. The price of this camera is also good for beginners as it costs only $400.

4. Fujifilm FinePix S2500HD – What’s great about this camera is that you’ll not only capture HD photos but HD films as well. If you have an HDTV, then you can instantly view your photos on it. This camera is also capable of capturing great landscape photos.

5. Sony A380 – The looks of this top DSLR camera is stunning. Aside from capturing landscape photos, this camera is great to use even for professional photographers. This camera is made to capture stunning photos and it guarantees beauty in each picture. Even though the price for this one is also a bit expensive, it’s still worthy to be bought.

Capturing landscape shots can be tough especially if you’re looking for perfection. Having good sets of photography skills will come handy particularly when you have the right camera in your possession.

Digital Cameras Buying Tips That Work

30 Apr 2012 at 15:49

If you are thinking of taking some digital photographs to help create your next logo, read on for some helpful hints and tips.

Digital cameras normally come in different shapes, sizes and price ranges. This being the case, it is very important to always have a good idea of what to look for whenever you go out shopping so as to avoid buying a product that lacks the qualities that you are looking for. The following are simple guidelines that can help you buy the right product.

First, have a good idea of the different digital camera groupings that are in the market. There are 3 digital camera groups that are usually used in the market. The three include compact group, super zoom group and the enthusiast group.

Compact group is by far the most popular category at present. Compact group is made of digital cameras that are easy to operate by both average and professional users. Ideally, affordable compact digital cameras in this group have good set of features that have been designed for normal use. However, these cameras usually have limited features as compared to the other options in the market.

Enthusiast group is made of full sized digital camera models that usually have better lenses and lots of unique features which include zoom lenses, white balance controls, F-stop and manual controls for shutter speed. Cameras in this group usually provide better images that are suitable for both small and large prints. Ideally, digital cameras in this group are usually more expensive because of the many unique features that they hold.

Super zoom group comprises of digital cameras that have unique features specifically tailored for professional photography. These cameras usually have image stabilization software that normally helps one come up with high quality pictures irrespective of the external conditions that may be in existence. Cameras under this particular group usually go for very high prices as compared to the two options mentioned above.

Secondly, have a good idea of the different features that define good digital cameras. Ideally, there are dozens of features that you should have in mind which include the mega pixels, the image quality and the functioning speed of camera selected. Ideally, a good understanding of each of these features will enable you make a good purchase decision.

Mega pixels can be easily defined as the amount of data a specific digital camera can easily capture in one single shot. Cameras that normally have bigger pixel size usually provide higher quality pictures as compared to those that only have small pixel sizes. Ideally, cameras with bigger pixel sizes usually have the ability to record detail in the shadows and highlights.

Image quality usually comes into focus when one intends to make low quality prints or simply edit the original photos and in the process come up with better results. Presently, there are only a few digital cameras that usually provide high image quality. Such digital cameras are normally more expensive and in most cases used by professional photographers who usually edit the pictures before publishing.

Lastly, you should look at the functional speed of any digital camera before buying. Many digital cameras usually take time to start up after being switched on. Such cameras might not work well in case you plan on shooting a number of frames quickly. In case, ensure that you test the cameras speed before you actually make a purchase to avoid getting a gadget that is very slow.

The Business Card That Never Gets Thrown Away

07 Feb 2012 at 11:02

Desk in offices all round the world are littered with business cards and yours is going to be sat amongst them, mixed in with the rest and probably not even looked at again until it’s swept into the bin one evening – so how do you have an amazing business card and compete with everyone else?

USB Business Card

Technology these days is so sophisticated that it’s quite possible to insert a USB storage device into your business card. It doesn’t have to be huge or hold tonnes of data but a simple business card with a flip out USB stick is much more likely to get used on a regular basis that your plain old boring piece of card.

Encased Business Card

The business card needs to be slim and take up as little room as possible but by giving it a little dimension you can use it to house something practical. One of my favourite examples is using the business card as a sewing kit which is perfect for dress makers, haberdasheries, craft stores etc

Make It Stand Out

No really, make it stand out; a 3D business card is going to be a lot more interesting especially if it can be played with. You could use a press out image of you that stands upright – there’s no way your business card recipient will forget you then. You could even design your business card to assemble into a business card holder

Practical Business Cards

A business card with a USB stick in it is very practical for the office but what about a practical business card you can use all the time, something you always keep on you like a mirror or a bottle opener?

Yummy Business Cards

Of course some business cards are just destined to end up in the bin, you can make them as interesting or as useful as you want but at the end of the day some people just don’t like clutter and if they’ve got your name or company name they’ll be able to find you if they really want to so just have some fund with your business cards. would you use a printing company like Solopress for these or a bakery?

The Right Computer for Graphic Design

19 Dec 2011 at 12:42

Selecting the right computer hardware for graphic design work may not appear to be a tough decision. Many would argue that all one needs to do is purchase an Apple Mac. But there are many factors that should ideally be considered in order to get the machine that matches your specific requirements.

The Everglades Nation Logo Design Competition

18 Dec 2011 at 03:12

We are happy to unveil the winning logo for the Everglades Nation! Thank you to everyone that participated.

The Winner:

Joshua Ureno
Baltimore, Maryland.

Our winning logo designer, Joshua Ureno, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. After spending his early years travelling with his family, Joshua eventually returned to Baltimore where he currently shares a home with his girlfriend and two dogs. Joshua attended The Art Institute of Washington, earning a Bachelors of Art in Graphic Design. Currently, he works as an In-House Designer for TRI as well as a Freelance Graphic Artist.”Helping a noble cause is a good feeling. I was a part of the Environmental club in high school, and I think my younger self would be proud that I use what I’ve learned in school to stay involved.”
Bryan Ewald
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kurt Niedermeir
Seattle, Washington

Everglades Nation is an umbrella communications effort that will be used to identify and unite anyone who has a relationship with the greater Everglades ecosystem through hobbies, business activities, recreational pursuits or place of residence. “Almost everyone in this country has a connection to the Everglades,” said Kirk Fordham, CEO, Everglades Foundation. “All Americans are potentially part of Everglades Nation. Everglades Nation seeks to enhance our relationships with the Everglades ecosystem and motivate citizens to support its continued protection and restoration.”