Our open source logo contest.

Our open source, random logo collaboration. [link]

The Random Cartoons [link] TV series of 39 short cartoons (on Nickelodeon) needs a logo. Instead of going about it in the normal way, we thought it might be more fun to make it an open source competition. We hope you can help. We'll pay $1000 to the creator of our new logo and $300 to the blogger whose post refers or inspires her/him. Of course, he/she/they will receive credit on every episode.

Submit all entries to: randomlogo@frederator.kz
(All other particulars are below.)

This competition is open source [link] ; everyone can participate in any collaborative way they want. We'll post all entries as they come in here on a dedicated blog. [link] Then if you're inspired by any of the entries, but you think you can improve on it, feel free; you'll be part of the winning team.

Comments on submissions are invited and encouraged. We will NOT be publishing incoming comments about individual logos that don't focus on constructive criticism or suggest improvements, and I reserve the right to delete non-useful (solely deemed by me) remarks. "I agree, this logo is the best" or "I hate this one" comments will not help us move forward; they'll be the first to go.

Designer's comments on their own submissions would be enjoyable and we'll also post them with the designs as it seems appropriate.

We have no style or approach in mind, so it's up to you. Here's the logo for What A Cartoon! [link] , our first shorts show at Hanna-Barbera, and the one for Oh Yeah! Cartoons, which you might know a little better. [link]

You might be wondering why we aren't using what Henry Copeland [link] calls "America's Certified Logo Creation Process?" Certainly, all our designer friends are recoiling in horror right now.

I must say the traditional methods have been very successful for us over the years when we developed the logos for (among others) MTV (by Manhattan Design) and Nickelodeon (by Corey & Company). But Frederator has flourished over the years because our reliance on a community of great artists, writers, and animators, and I think it might be fair to let our loyal blog and internet gallery citizens participate in the show. Next, I've found over the years it's always better to let creative people loose to collaborate on a project; their ideas are often better when they develop unfettered by too close scrutiny. And lastly, much to the chagrin of many of my elite media friends, I feel like the maddening crowd is frequently smarter and better than the educated. Once again to quote Henry Copeland: "I've come to truly trust the blogoshere over the years. Time and again, I've watched bloggers pool information to generate unique, speedy, transcendent insights far beyond the capacity of any traditional organization."

OK maybe you can design us a logo. Many of you are fantastic artists. Or you know designers; please let them know what we're up to here, maybe they'll have some fun.

Here's a few details and inclinations:

* Your submission should be maximum 300 pixels wide X 300 pixels deep, jpeg or gif, with larger file to follow, if we request it. Submit to: randomlogo@frederator.kz

* Don't just use Photoshop, Illustrator, or the like, though they'll be fine too. Draw, build, photograph, whatever.

* We have a lot of characters in our shows. So I'm not so sure that a character should be the logo. But, you never know. As with everything else in this competition, you decide.

* We have no idea what the correct punctuation or stacking or sizing should be:

Random Cartoons

Random!
Cartoons

Random> Cartoons

Or others. You decide, you'll probably have a better idea than anything we can come up with.

* We're not kidding when we say "$300 to the blogger whose post refers or inspires her/him." The whole point of this "open source" thing is that you might see a logo submission posted that seems great "except that part which would really be better if only" a certain part was folded, spindled, or mutilated. So, feel free; drag down a submission, change it, twist it, improve it. Everyone will win.

So, whaddya think? Can this idea work? You tell us, with your submissions. We're excited.

This competition was more than inspired by a post on Jeff Jarvis' fabulous Buzzmachine [link] about Henry Copeland's innovative logo competition at Blogads. [link] And Henry says his was triggered by South by Southwest's Big Bag competition. [link] So, thank you all, sincerely. You've helped push us beyond the beyond.

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Random logo competition submission details:

Submit all entries to: randomlogo@frederator.kz

Size: Maximum 300x300 pixels, jpeg or gif. We'll want a larger file from the winner, either a illustrator or eps file, or a large-as-possible scan.

Submission dates: March 20, 2006 - April 18, 2006.

Winner(s) annnounced: May 1, 2006.

Prize: $1000, plus $300 to each referring or inspiring logo post.

Judge: Fred Seibert. [link] In consultation with the Random Cartoons development and production team, and our Nickelodeon executives.

Ownership: The winning submission copyright will be owned exclusively by Nickelodeon, and Viacom Intl. All rights will be reserved. All other submissions' copyrights will be retained by their respective designers or artists.