LOGO Competition

New DC Randonneurs Logo!

Summer. The randonneurs are riding, the ice socks are draped around their necks, and the DC Randonneurs logo is (still) getting a facelift! Round One of the logo competition ran into problems when the winning logo turned out to be too similar to another existing logo. So here are the details, updated for the Round Two deadlines.

(A logo change of some sort has to be done, since we used to be Mid-Atlantic Region and now we are Capital Region. Plus, we need the logo to be in a “vectorized” format so it can be shrunk down to fit on a coffee cup or blown up to go on a banner. See below for a discussion of what this requires.)

We want you, the membership, to help us create an updated logo!!!


How Does the Contest Work?

Members are encouraged to submit their logos between now and midnight of September 1, 2008. The logos should be representative of the club, both as it relates to our sport of randonneuring and to our geographic location. Additional criteria are below.

The logo submissions should:

  • Include the club name (DC Randonneurs)
  • Be distinct, unique and easily identifiable
  • Remain clear and identifiable at small sizes (e.g. 16×16) as well as larger sizes
  • Convey the character of DC Randonneurs and our region
  • Aesthetically fit in with a broad range of site/application designs
  • Provide a clear silhouette that can be rendered in multiple colors
  • Only finished logos in vectorized format that are ready to use will be accepted, not sketches or verbal descriptions
  • The logo must be provided in a vectorized format (such as an Adobe Illustrator AI file or an Encapsulated Postscript EPS file or an SVG file), and should not contain any bitmapped components. It would be helpful if you also send a PDF or JPG version. But a bitmapped file such as a JPG will not be accepted unless accompanied with a vectorized file. See discussion below.

As part of the submission, you must be willing to give up all your rights to the copyright and donate it to the DC Randonneurs.


Multiple entries from individual members are welcome.



How do I submit my entry?

Submit your entries as an e-mail attachment to Mary Gersema at logocontest@dcrand.org. She will then confirm that your submission has been received within 24 hours. (If you do not get a confirmation then your submission was not received.)

After the September 1 submission deadline, the Board will select their favorite candidates and the members will then vote on the final design.


What is the Reward?

The reward is seeing your logo everywhere on all things DC Randonneurs.

There is no prize money for winning the logo contest.


Please help us create an updated identity for our DC Randonneurs club!


OK, what the heck is all this stuff about a vectorized format?

You can use a freeware program called Inkscape to create a logo in vectorized format (http://www.inkscape.org). Inkscape has a very nicely laid out tutorial. Or you can use other commercial programs.

There are two basic types of software that produce computer images. One is a bitmap-based program like Adobe Photoshop. These programs produce and manipulate images consisting of an array of colored dots. Typical bitmapped file formats are JPG and TIFF. They are perfect for manipulating digital photographs since photos are composed of an array of colored dots. When you start a new image in Photoshop, it produces a big array of say 1200×1400 black (or white, or whatever background color you selected) dots. Then when you draw a red circle, it converts the dots within the boundary of the circle to red. If you draw a green curved line, it will convert the dots along that line to green to approximate the curved line. However, the problem with bitmapped images is that if you enlarge the image, it gets fuzzy. Also smooth, curved lines become jagged. Similarly, if you shrink the image, details tend to disappear.

 

The second type of program, typified by Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw, defines the image not as an array of dots, but as a set of instructions for drawing lines and geometric shapes. For example, if you draw a circle, it records the coordinates of the center of the circle, the radius, and the width and color of the line stroke. You draw a curved line by defining special anchor points along the line, and the program then uses a mathematical formula to draw a smooth, continuous line through those anchor points. The big advantage of this type of program for illustrations like logos is that you can scale the drawing to any size and it will look exactly the same. All of the details will be preserved in small versions (assuming the printer can print fine enough detail) and curved lines in huge versions will remain smooth. Typical file formats include the proprietary Adobe Illustrator (AI) format and the generic Excapsulated Postscript (EPS) format. Adobe acrobat (PDF) fi les can also contain vector-based images.

 

Adobe Illustrator is the most popular commericial drawing program. But there is also open-source (free) software for producing vector-based drawings. Apparently the most popular is Inkscape (http://www.inkscape.org/). Others are mentioned at http://www.drawingcoach.com/free-drawing-software.html.

 

 

Clip Art for Logo Designs

Bill Beck has already purchased vectorized clip art of the capitol dome and of a cyclist (see previews below). If you would like to use these in your design, contact Bill at wabeck@comcast.net. You can buy other files at www.istockphoto.com, www.fotosearch.com/clip-art, and other sources.