If you’re a designer, you probably want to win awards for your efforts.
Earlier this year I won gold in the International Visual Identity awards for my logo design work for Bathily. This is something I’m proud of, yet it has added benefits; it allows my logo design service to look much more credible and gives confidence when discussing my design offering with potential clients.
How would you like to win an award for your logo design work too? Now’s your opportunity! The Best Brand Awards are open for entries, and you can win a beautiful hand-made award (yes I want one too!)…
… and guess what? The team at Best Brand Awards have invited me to judge, along with an international jury of industry experts. I’m so excited to be part of this, and I can’t wait to see your best identity design work.
We’re looking to find the very best brand identity designs from graphic designers and creative agencies around the word! There are 2 global categories and 6 geographical:
Global categories:
- Best Brand of the world – The brand with the best global score.
- Best Brand Designer in the world – The agency/designer with the best score in 4 brands,selected among submitters with a minimum of 4 pieces enrolled.
Geographical categories:
- Best Brand of each zone – The brand with the best score in each zone. (Africa, Asia, Europe and Russia, Latin America, North America and Canada, Oceania).
How do I enter my logo design work?
If you want to enter, here’s what you need to do:
1. Select your best logo design work (you can enter as many as you want). For each logo, create an image 1200×1200 pixels in jpeg format.
2. Next, write a description about your logo. This is your opportunity to sell your design and to tell us the story behind the design.
3. Have your entry fee ready. If you enter before 14th October you get the early bird fee of 55US$ / 39€, and after 15th October the price increases to 80 US$ / 57€. (If you enter more than 10 logos you can get a special price).
4. And finally… go to the awards website to submit your work.
The contest ends on 12th November, after, the jury will select the winners, who will be announced on 15th of December.
Branding tips from the judges
I’ve had a chat with a few of the judges, and here’re their top brand identity design tips for those planning to enter.
Fabian Geyrhalter
Buck the trends! A logo is not supposed to be hip. If it’s in the moment, it’s unlikely to be in the future. Trends don’t hold up over time. People want something that stands out. A trend is cool for a very short time, then it quickly turns into an annoyance. The more honest you are with the brand you help shape when crafting a brand identity, the more likely it is that you’ll create something timeless for your client and yourself.
Fabian is founder and principal of FINIEN.
Douglas Davis
“When I approach designing a logo, I keep in mind that this one tactical piece is part of a larger strategic solution. This is an important balance between strategy and execution and the typography, colours, identity and applications all need to be unified in their goal of achieving their individual parts of that overall strategy.
Remembering this is how I can remind the client and myself that we shouldn’t expect the design of the logo alone to accomplish everything. The logo itself doesn’t have to work as hard as many clients come into the conversation believing. It has a both a system and a strategy to help it accomplish the goal of differentiating it from its competitors. This is what I’ll be looking for as a juror and how I’ll be making my decisions.”
Douglas Davis teaches the Graduate Branding and Integrated Communications program at The City College of New York. He also has an upcoming book; Creative Strategy and the Business of Design, released in May 2016.
A final word from me…
I agree with both judges above. I want to see brand identity design work that has been well thought out, that fulfils the brief, and is well executed. I’m super excited to see and judge your very best work. Good luck to everyone who enters (you gotta be in it to win it).
Once the awards are announced I will keep you posted.