OSGeo Logo Contest

Do you have a flair for the artistic?

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation needs some creative minds to help us develop the “look” for OSGeo. In return you will receive recognition, the satisfaction that comes from helping the cause, and $50 worth of free swag featuring your new logo (sometime after the contest closes, obviously). As well, the top five entries get copies of MapGuide Studio, donated by Autodesk!

The logo will be featured on all of our pages, and we will have a dedicated page on our website describing the logo and the artist. The artist’s name will also be featured in our brand manual.

Anyone may submit artwork. We are looking for the best, so spread the word to your family and friends.

Please submit your best artwork, keeping in mind the following:

Contest Parameters

All artwork must be emailed to logo@mail.osgeo.org by 11:59pm GMT, April 12th, 2006.

A short list of submissions will be selected before the general vote.

While designing your logo, please keep in mind that we are hoping to develop a complete visual identity package. A great example of what we are looking for can be found at joomla.org, where they have developed an exhaustive branding manual: http://www.joomla.org/content/view/259/70/

The logo should be in color, but should also look good in gray scale, be capable of rendering in one-color and two-color processes, and should be visible against both white and black backgrounds. It is recommended, though not required, that you stay within the web-safe color palette:

You may want to consider the effects that different forms of color-blindness will have. Sites like http://vischeck.com/ can help you ensure that your logo does not lose any distinctive features when viewed by a color-blind user.

There are many uses for logos. While you are designing the logo, consider whether it will be adaptable to other uses. Here are just a few possible examples

  • OSGeo.org Member button – for use by individuals on cards, websites, etc.
  • Name badges
  • Splash Screens for member client applications
  • Logos for future contests
  • Logos for banners
  • T-shirts, mugs, etc.

Please consider that this is a mark that the Foundation will need to use for all of its business. It should be distinctive, representative of the foundation, and clear.

Desired Submissions

While it is desired that we receive submissions in the following format, we do not want to lose out on any great designs, so concept sketches will be accepted as a minimum requirement. The more desirables you can produce, the better.

Vector Original

Submit in a high resolution print-ready scalable vector format such as portable EPS, SVG or Adobe Illustrator AI.

Logo Collage

Submit a 640w x 480h “collage” of your logo in JPG or PNG format. This should show the potential of the logo to the best of your ability, similar to the winning entry from the recent FreeBSD logo contest:

FreeBSD logo contest winning entry (small)

General Logo

Submit in 240w x 240h PNG or JPEG format:

  • one image of the bare logo in color against a white background
  • one image of the bare logo in color against a black background
  • one image of the logo in grayscale against a white background
  • one image of the logo with OSGeo or OSGeo.org text and sample second line text “Member”

Logos must support two lines of identifying text. The first line will be either OSGeo or OSGeo.org. The second line will be an identifier, such as: “Member”, “Board Member”, “Supporter”, “Sponsor”, or the like. Feel free to be creative with the position and font parameters for the text.

Masthead/Banner Logo

Submit in 600w x 120h PNG or JPEG format one masthead logo for use at the top of the website

Because of the need to stretch to different resolutions, the banner should fade to a neutral or tiled background on the right-hand side. Submit specification for color, or a background image, for use in the remainder of the website masthead

The banner should include the foundation or site name (OSGeo or OSGeo.org). Optionally a motto or descriptive saying under the name. It is agreed by most the board that a descriptive line is not necessary.

URL (Favicon) Logo

Submit a 16w x 16h 24bit PNG or ICO file

Most browsers support a small graphic on the location bar or with bookmarks, and we require one of these for the OSGeo.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favicon Create a miniature stylized version of your logo for this use.

Color Swatch

A color Swatch is not required, but if you can provide one, it would help us greatly. Remember that we are creating a total branding package for the site and the logo is just a part of that.

Submit a color swatch for use in branding the site. This should be in the form of a 400w x 200h PNG or JPEG image, along with text identifying the colors in a well known color model (RGB, HSV, CMYK). Web notation (e.g. #0033FF) may be used.

Some great references can be found here:

Text Specifications

Specifiy a suitable font to use with the logo, along with recommended fonts for accompanying print and electronic text.

Legal

The Open Source Geospatial Foundation will acquire ownership of the winning logo by assignment of copyright, and the winning designer will disclaim any trademarks and without limitation all other rights related to the design (paperwork will be required).

By submitting a logo for entry in the competition, the designer acknowledges that he/she is the person that made the logo and is its rightful owner.

The designer also certifies that the logo is completely original and does not infringe upon the rights of any third party and that it does not violate any copyright.

Voting

All members of OSGeo (anyone with an account on the OSGeo.org website) will be allowed to place a single vote. In the case of a tie, the Web Committee will have the final say.

Details will be announced once the artwork has been accepted and placed online for review.

OSGeo Sponsors


View all sponsors