The Leading Entrepreneurs Organization (The LEO) is dedicated to training and educating individuals in business development, personal empowerment, and networking.

In the company’s own words, the LEO Logo Design Competition is:

“… after a high quality, distinctive logo that will be used across all branding of The LEO from two dimensional images such as website, stationery, clothing and signage right through to 3d dimensional usage of promotional products such as jewelry and soft toys.
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“The following words are the core attributes of our company: Leadership, Strength, Pride, Vibrancy, Confidence, Generosity, Vitality, and Certainty.”

Submission Requirements
Your logo design should be able to impart three ideas:

* Professional
* Elegant
* Dynamic

In addition, the contest sponsors state:

“The logo is to use a stylized image of a lion’s head, bust or body and any other elements that you feel would convey the following attributes of our company.

“There is no need to use the words “The LEO” or “The Leading Entrepreneurs Organization” as we are after a pictorial logo, which will be recognized globally…”

Other requirements are:

* Although any colors may be used, the contest sponsors would like to see gold, red, orange, ….bright yellow, brown, black or white in the design.
* Original images must be created with vector graphics in Illustrator (.ai) or eps format. Any fonts ….in the design must be translated into curves.
* For purposes of submission, a jpeg file is acceptable in RGB with a resolution of 300dpi.
* Winners will be asked to submit their work in a vector graphic file. Failure to do so will result in ….disqualification.

Judging and Prizes
Entries will be judged according to:

* Quality of work
* Ability to follow contest requirements
* Appropriate use of colors
* Good design principles
* The “X” factor (Intangibles)

There will be three cash prizes:

First Place: $500 USD
Second Place: $350 USD
Third Place: $250 USD

Contest Links and Other Information
You must be 16 years or older to enter this competition. Winners will be paid cash prizes through their PayPal accounts. Results will be published on The Leo website October 15, 2010.

The deadline for this contest is September 30^th, 2010. There are no entry fees required for this competition.

Follow these links for further contest information:

Official LEO Website
Contest Rules, Terms, and Guidelines
Recent Contest Logo Entries
Official Entry Form

Funny is in the Eye of the Beholder
In this series of Pop Culture, Graphic Design, and Funny T-Shirts we’ve seen how modern media influences t-shirt fashion in a humorous way. We continue in part two with more examples.

As far as graphic designs a little humor, if used properly, can help a piece be memorable instead of forgettable.

If this premise seems doubtful, try to remember a recent advertisement on television. Usually, the funny ones tend to stick with you.

And now, we present part two.

Enjoy! (And hopefully laugh too.)
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“I’ll Make Him an Offer He Can’t Refuse”
Humor sometimes is based upon tragedy or misfortune. Why? Because everyone can relate to those situations. We’ve all had days where things don’t always work out.

The phrase above is from the movie, The Godfather. Here we see a graphic designer’s interpretation of what could happen if a barber had the ultimate “bad day” with Don Corleone, the boss of the powerful Corleone crime family.
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The Aliens are Coming!
Or perhaps we should say they’ve already arrived. In 1978 a stand-up arcade video game named Space Invaders swept the world and became an international phenomenon.

Millions of people fed millions of quarters into the coin slots of this game for a chance to shoot down the fast moving aliens.

The game was simple but addictive. And to this day, it is still played by gamers in its various iterations.

The movement of the little aliens was predictable and if you had quick reflexes, you could play for a long time.

The repeatable movement of the aliens had one graphic designer wonder, “What would a meeting of these aliens look like during a strategy session?” Here is the result:
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The Mummy’s Predicament
In pop movie culture there are films that define the monster-horror category. Movies such as Frankenstein, the Alien series, Friday the 13^th, the Twilight saga, and The Mummy are familiar to most movie fans of this genre.

In the case of the Mummy, tragedy hits home as the Mummy contemplates what to do to get out of a particularly embarrassing situation.
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Next Time…
We continue our quest to show you the humor of artists and graphic designers in t-shirt designs. Be sure to come back and laugh along with us.

Until next time, keep on designing!

Be Prepared
This phrase is the motto of the Girl and Boy Scouts. This is also good advice if you are applying for grants or scholarships to help you finance your education at a graphic design school or college.

In this article we’ll offer some tips regarding the logistics of applying, where to find funding, and how you can increase the odds in your favor for successful submissions.

Details, Details, and More Details
The good news is that there are funds out there for you to apply for. The bad news is there are funds out there for you to apply for. In other words, if you hate paper work and applications, this will definitely be a challenging experience.

Make sure you fill out all forms completely, accurately, and neatly. This will make the job of screening your application much easier for the person in charge of scholarship reviews. So always “be prepared.”

Here is some advice on the process of applying for scholarships:
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Does the Scholarship Apply to You?
Make sure that the specific grant or scholarship you are applying for is geared towards your specific needs. If you are seeking financial help for your career training at a graphic design school, applying for a science scholarship makes no sense. Do your research to be certain you fit the scholarship category.

Keep Your Grades Up
A good deal of scholarships require a minimum GPA of 3.0 or better. In some instances, a 2.5 or higher is acceptable. If you want scholarship money, your GPA scores are one of the first qualifying prerequisites that will be looked at.

Get Letters of Recommendation from Your Teachers
Anyone can say they’re great, but backing this up with facts is another matter. If you are exemplary in your scholastic abilities, talents or other positive qualities that fulfill the requirements for a scholarship, ask your teachers to put in a good word for you by writing a letter of recommendation.

Don’t Skimp on the Details
You will probably be asked to submit a written essay on the reasons why you are a good candidate for the scholarship. You need to emphasize your strengths and not shy away from making your case. Make sure to list any awards, activities or personal achievements that demonstrate your expertise in your field of graphic design.

Keep at It
Filling out scholarship applications can be tedious and tiring. But according to those who are in the know, they understand that the rewards can be worth all the work.

Where to Start
Now that you know the “how,” the next step is knowing the “where” of scholarships.

The following Internet links are filled with valuable information and strategies on scholarships and grants:
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CollegeAnswer.com
You’ll find a wealth of information pertaining to funding, selection of colleges, and college related topics. There is plenty of good advice and resources here.

FedMoney.org
This website describes itself as, “Your FREE Guide to All U.S. Government Grants and Loans Benefiting Students!” This website has an easy to use interface that can narrow down your search for government scholarships and grants.

Schoolgrantsblog.com
This blog was mentioned by Time magazine. This resource lists various grants that are available to students as well as listing the specific grant categories.

Next Time…
What are the specific scholarships available to you? Who runs them? What are the pitfalls in applying for scholarships? These questions and more will be answered in the conclusion of this series.

Until then, keep on designing!
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Cool Radios. Cool Contest
Tivoli Audio started in 2000 with the goal of designing and building the ideal radio for music lovers who wanted excellent performance and high design qualities.

Tivoli has not only fulfilled its company mission, it also produces elegant global radios, hi-fi systems, and tabletop radios which are considered the best on the market.

To celebrate its 10-year milestone the company is announcing an open call for graphic designers, illustrators, photographers and artists to send in their entries to the  Tivoli Audio 10th Anniversary Design Challenge.

Tivoli Audio is asking for poster designs that include the elements of:

* The Tivoli Audio Model 10 Radio
* The Tivoli Audio Logo
* The Tivoli 10^th Anniversary Logo

General Guidelines and Submission Instructions
Entries to this contest must be your original work.
Registration is required at designboom.com in order to participate in this contest.

You may submit up to 3 entries. Each entry must have 3 views of your poster; one overall view and two other detailed views.

* Submit your entry in a low-res format in .gif or .jpeg.
* Resolution should be 72dpi.
* Maximum file size is 150kb for each file.
* Color mode is RGB.
* Maximum image width is 600 pixels.
* Maximum image height is 800 pixels.

Prizes
There are three cash awards for the winners of this contest.

First Prize: $3000 USD
Second Prize: $2000
Third Prize: $1000

The winning entries will be displayed on a billboard in Times Square, New York City during December 2010.

Important Links and Additional Information
The deadline for this contest is September 30, 2010.

No entry fees are required to participate in this poster competition.

Direct any contest questions to: mail [at] designboom.com. Enter “TIVOLI AUDIO 10th Anniversary” in the subject heading.
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Visit these links for further contest details:

Tivoli Audio Website
Contest Registration Site
Official Tivoli Contest Website
Contest Rules and Guidelines
Logos, Graphics, and Official Design Assets
Tutorial on Making Image Files Smaller

Graphic Design and Fashion
When the topic of graphic design comes up in conversations many people will associate this activity with advertising, packaging, logo creation or business applications. But graphic design also reaches into the world of fashion.

The ubiquitous t-shirt is a mainstay of virtually everyone’s wardrobe. T-shirts have become so commonplace that they can be worn at the office or at the park. But behind every t-shirt graphic there is an artist or graphic designer.

In this series of Pop Culture, Graphic Design, and Funny T-Shirts we’ve combed the Internet for examples of how pop culture influences the ideas behind modern t-shirt design.

You’ll see references made to popular media and realize that graphic designers have well-developed funny bones in their bodies. Click on each photo to see its source.

Have fun and feel free to laugh or groan at the following examples!

Late Night Television
If you ever stay up to watch late night television on a consistent basis you know that this is the time slot that is ripe for infomercials of all kinds.

These mesmerizing 5 to 60 minute commercials try to slowly break down the viewer’s resistance until some of them finally give in and say, “I’VE GOT TO HAVE THAT STEAM-POWERED PENCIL!” or whatever the product of the day is.

But the infomercial has also spawned a new marketing gimmick by inferring that products sold on these television commercials can be trusted. And hence we have the t-shirt design of:
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The Movie Was Better
The Lord of the Rings was J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece work chronicling the struggles of the inhabitants of the fictional world of “Middle Earth.” The novels were quite daunting to read as the pace of the story was rather slow-going with the first novel, “The Hobbit.”

These books were translated to the big screen by über movie director Peter Jackson. The resulting movie series won many Academy Awards and opened up a large fantasy world for many who were unfamiliar with the genre.

In this movie an important catchphrase was used in the movies. In this t-shirt design, the graphic designer has elected to do a literal interpretation of it. As a result, we have:
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Superheroes Have Problems Too
Before spectacular computer generated images came on the scene, those of us who grew up reading about our favorite comic book heroes could only dream about them coming to life in movies.

Of course there were animated series on Saturday morning cartoons and a few poorly produced television shows, but these couldn’t measure up to what our mind’s eye created. But now with today’s amazing technology, that dream has come true for all loyal fans.

As far as superheroes, one artist imagined that superheroes must have their own set of unique problems. In this instance, The Flash, who possesses the ability to move at hyper-speed, is shown here with his predicament:
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Next Time…
We’ll continue our tour of funny graphic designs for t-shirts and find out that having a sense of humor can sell products.

Until next time, keep on designing!

It’s a Love Hate Relationship
After graduating from  graphic design school, being employed in work that incorporates your design skills and creativity can be fulfilling. You can reach mountain top experiences when you design something fantastic.

On the flip, you can enter dark, shadowy areas when your designs falter or even worse, are flawed.

One graphic designer expressed this love/hate situation by saying:
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“I love the comment, ‘You must love designing for a living.’ At that point I usually start to laugh or break into uncontrollable tears.”

- Andrew Lewis, art director, designer, and artist

In this installment of Gotcha! Graphic Design Advertising Mistakes we’ll display actual ad mistakes taken from websites, magazine ads, and brochures. A great big “thanks” to the members of photoshopdisasters.com for digging up many of these examples in our Gotcha! series.

Enjoy and have fun!
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300  - The Movie
This action thriller film was an adaptation of  Frank Miller’s comic book mini-series of the historical Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC). During this event a small army of Spartans held off a barrage of attacks by overpowering Persian forces.

Here is the DVD box art:
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But What is Wrong? (Click on Image)
At first glance everything appears to be correct. But upon closer inspection the sword held by the main character isn’t being held at all. The hand seems to be gripping a handle that isn’t connected to the blade.
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Santander Bank
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The international banking institution, Santander, is headquartered in the UK. The photo is from their website and displays a group of people posing as staff members. They all look pleasant and professional.

But What is Wrong? (Click on Image)
Although the group photo looks inviting, some of the images of people have been inserted through Photoshop. You’ll notice that the woman with the red skirt has legs that mysteriously meld into the back of the woman in front. Her legs also never reach the floor.

Other problems concern improper use of the magic wand feature in cutting out portions of background and various other cut and paste errors.
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Moët and Chandon Champagne
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Most special celebrations start with a bottle of bubbly. Moët and Chandon have been producing fine champagne for over 260 years. This advertisement displays the effervescence of one of its sparkling wines.

But What is Wrong? (Click on Image)
The photo of the product is well lit and composed nicely. The champagne looks good enough to drink and the bubbles…are rising in an oblique angle to counteract gravity!

The simple mistake of not paying attention to the superimposed image of the sparkling beverage and the bubble orientation makes the ad a little less believable.

Look Before You Leap
We hope you’ve had as much fun with this series as we have. And hopefully, these examples not only make us smile, but make us more aware of the details when we design.

Graphic design schools and graphic design colleges provide the education needed to become successful graphic designers, but responsibility for good attention to details falls upon the designer.

Until next time, keep on designing!