ShiaChat Logo Competition - Winner gets $100

[Khadim uz Zahra]

I hope you are all in the best of health and the best of Imaan.

Following the recent upgrade to the website, the admins of the site and @Ali have decided to also update the ShiaChat logo and we're asking you, the members, to come up with new, and exciting, designs for what the face of ShiaChat will look like for years, and perhaps even a decade, to come. What's more, if your design is selected, you'll win $100!

A few ground rules:

1. The default size of the logo is 280 x 64 pixels. Now, it's obviously hard to work with images that small so just ensure that your final product maintains this aspect ratio (for example, something like 840 x 192 pixels, which is 3 times the original size). In fact, the larger the image, the better as we can easily scale it for use in different places.

2. Adding to that, we'll require you to submit the original source file if your design is selected so that we may be able to manipulate, resize and edit it for any future changes.

3. The logo must contain the words ShiaChat.com.

4. Try and keep it simple. Also, it should fit in well with the current theme. Similar to the current logo, we'll be using any 'white space' as transparent so your colours shouldn't clash with the current theme.

5. Being an Islamic site, it obviously goes without saying that the logo has to abide by Islamic guidelines.

6. The logo should be relevant to the site, and Shi'ism in general.

7. You can also just take the current logo and make your own edits and use that for your submission; it doesn't have to be entirely 'new'.

8. One member can submit up to three entries.

9. We would prefer if the final image is a .gif.

10. The rights of the winning design will be owned by ShiaChat henceforth. We can modify or re-purpose it as we see fit, based solely on our discretion, including using it on the ShiaChat facebook page.

The design can be submitted here, on the thread, or you can contact one of the Development Team/Mods/Admins via PM. The competition will run for a month. Submissions are open for 25 days, starting today (that's the 1st/2nd of February depending on where you live) and the staff will deliberate for the next five days. After this, the winner will be announced publicly. As we've mentioned before, they will also receive a $100 prize.

One last point to note is that while we'll choose the best design as the winner, other considerations may prevent us from using it as the official logo in the end. Though unlikely, that is still possible. The winner will still receive the prize and we'll announce them publicly.

With all that said, get beautifying!

[Ali-F]

Question: Is it permissible to ask a friend (I have one who are good to this) to make them for me? 

[Khadim uz Zahra]

5 minutes ago, Ali-F said:

Question: Is it permissible to ask a friend (I have one who are good to this) to make them for me? 

Yes, your friends can also participate. If you're going to submit under your name and use your friend's design, just make sure that he knows what you're using it for, have his permission to use it for this purpose and inform the prize. You obviously don't want him to feel he was cheated out of a $100. Beyond that, any other matters are between you two.

Though, I would recommend getting your friend to participate and submit his own design and you should also do so for yourself. The more, the merrier!

Edited January 6, 2016 by Khadim uz Zahra

[von Lohengramm]

Lol, the only editing programme I have is Paint...  

[Haji 2003]

Bro KuZ

Are we allowed to display work-in-progress? Might be kinda more fun that way.

Mods/Admins have seen my first (pretty poor) attempts. I like this more:

 

[enigma313]

I like hajis one. 

[Reza]

Some free photo makers you can run on a web browser, with some nice features:

https://www.befunky.com/create/

https://ipiccy.com/

 

Edited January 6, 2016 by magma

[Al-Hassan]

The canva tool might also be useful. It allows you to merge more than one image into a single portrait or an image to a specific background. It has a user friendly interface and it will take only a few hours to learn how to use most of it's features. 

https://about.canva.com/

[Reza]

Everyone should keep this in mind:

1 hour ago, Khadim uz Zahra said:

Similar to the current logo, we'll be using any 'white space' as transparent so your colours shouldn't clash with the current theme.

 

Edited January 6, 2016 by magma

[Ali]

2 hours ago, Khadim uz Zahra said:

Yes, your friends can also participate. If you're going to submit under your name and use your friend's design, just make sure that he knows what you're using it for, have his permission to use it for this purpose and inform the prize. You obviously don't want him to feel he was cheated out of a $100. Beyond that, any other matters are between you two.

Though, I would recommend getting your friend to participate and submit his own design and you should also do so for yourself. The more, the merrier!

Ideally and to be fair, we should keep it to ShiaChat members only.  Any graphic designer online can see this thread and make a logo that would knock all our socks off but it wouldn't be fair for everyone else.

[Bakir]

Great initiative! I believe WIPs should be posted as well, so we can get proper feedback.

Will there be a poll to choose the best or will it be chosen by site staff?

[Bakir]

Here is a work-in-progress of the one I'm designing. It is just a sketch, still not vectorized. Willing to get some feedback from users to know what changes it should get before its vectorization. I was planning on adding a slightly similar graphic logo behind the name. It is also missing the ".com" but you get the idea xD. I have focused on an arabic style (as well as caligraphy at the top of the letters).

[Reza]

^ How did you make that?

[Hameedeh]

The logo must say ShiaChat.com not ShiaChat. Unless @Ali okays it. 

[saas]

I read the guidelines, lol this has a chance

[Bakir]

On 1/7/2016 at 7:43 PM, hameedeh said:

The logo must say ShiaChat.com not ShiaChat. Unless @Ali okays it. 

Yeah, I forgot the ".com". Will add two versions anyway, in case one without the .com is preferred.

 

@magma, using references and a pen tablet, that's why it looks like if it was hand-drawn.

[Repentant]

woah, some of these submissions are pretty bad lol.... if I enter this i might have a good chance of winning.

[saas]

Well worth a try....I like it simple and bold!

[Reza]

So many tastes and preferences here among us.

 

Edited January 7, 2016 by magma

[hasanhh]

1 hour ago, baradar_jackson said:

 

Star of David has six corners. Ours has 8. (you may notice this is one of the features of Islamic architecture)

There is also a Hindu symbol I saw at a museum that has the 6 corners. Being blue, I first thought of it as the Star of Daoud-as

4 hours ago, saas said:

I read the guidelines, lol this has a chance

You're "bad" ... or suicidal  ;)

Personally, I hope no one comes up with a logo like the Irgun's or anything else 'militant'. We are already the 47,000/50,000.

 

Seriously,

I looked at the current logo, if we connect the dome(on the right) and eliminate that blue splash and then replace the white with a pleasant shade of Green, we'd have a nice logo with some continuity. The current one is hard to notice and 'decipher'. Maybe a little larger and the SC print remaining the same size.

[Haji 2003]

[Ali-F]

18 hours ago, Ali said:

Ideally and to be fair, we should keep it to ShiaChat members only.  Any graphic designer online can see this thread and make a logo that would knock all our socks off but it wouldn't be fair for everyone else.

 

But does this mean that I cant ask me friend to make a logo for me? (Surely I well tell him how he should do it) ?

[Hameedeh]

^ Let your friend teach you how to make a logo. Then you make one yourself. How about that? 

[Noor al Batul]

^Ali, the problem is that then the logo won't be yours, and you said that your friend is good with this so, I guess he'd have experience with these kind of things.

If your friend decided to submit something for himself, that would be another story. But if he makes something that you can submit for yourself, that would a bit unfair for the other users who put effort into their banners (even if they might not have much experience with it).

[Brained]

[saas]

^^ bro Haji and Brained...love the backgrounds!

Sometimes I'm voluntarily asked to create email-enabled flyers for our local community centre for special occasions, i.e. Eid's, Guest Speaker, Shahadah/Wiladah, etc. I always struggle finding good background content to give the flyers some flare. Would you guys be willing to share yours? These will not be used for any other purpose other than local community membership based Ads.

Sorry I got a bad habit of hijacking threads, will make a new one for the same request

(Remember sharing is caring :P)

[von Lohengramm]

 

Edited January 8, 2016 by Vestige

[Ali]

Ooo I like the concept of that one.. The flag is a great touch!

[Haji 2003]

9 hours ago, saas said:

Would you guys be willing to share yours?

Sure, here's the original, I took it at the Asian Civilisation Museum in Singapore:

Edited January 8, 2016 by Haji 2003

[Procrastibaker4]

I don't have any button to insert my files, but hoping I can submit somehow

[Haji 2003]

42 minutes ago, Procrastibaker4 said:

I don't have any button to insert my files, but hoping I can submit somehow

In the box where you entered your text before posting it, there is a grey banner at the bottom (just above the 'Submit Reply' button). It says, 'Drag files here to attach'. Drag any images there, wait for them to load and then post.

[von Lohengramm]

9 hours ago, Ali said:

Ooo I like the concept of that one.. The flag is a great touch!

Thanks. Was gonna do something involving this:

...but it's hard to insert text into this shape without making it look a little awkward..

[saas]

@Haji 2003 thanks bro!

I also made a separate thread if you want to share any further images/designs

http://www.shiachat.com/forum/topic/235034617-islamic-graphics-images-design-ideas-needed

 

 

[saas]

lol bro Magma. We are the same. BTW that's a pretty good looking logo.

I made 3 logos as soon as the thread commenced. Since I know I never finalize on the initial designs, what I do is I create quick drafts and then gradually work on them in different intervals, maybe 10-15 mins a day if not more (hobbyist).

BTW - The last one with the bird, I like the best (don't go by my preference though, I'm a novice)

Suggestion: (for everyone) Try zooming out to match the dimensions of the original SC logo. Not that you need to but it helps to determine best sizing of fonts and images so they stand out. Some logo designs by other members have kept the font size too small so may not have the desired impact in the finished product.

 

 

[ireallywannaknow]

Magma I think the image that you accompany with the words is not representative enough of shiaism. Of course this religion is one of love and peace, but that's also the idea that a lot of other institutions are trying to project. It should be something that a shia visitor to the site instantly connects with in a spiritual way. The dua hands was heading in the right direction. 

Also I'm not a huge fan of the kind of pale red color, maybe if it was paired with something a bit bolder to balance it. I do like the font though and the simplicity of the designs, very clean and easy to understand.