Our Logo - Winner gets a free copy of Neverwinter Nights on GOG.com

[Throndir]

Lol, can't believe we never got around to doing this. But do we actually have an "official" logo?

Yes we're a small site/community with frequent periods of long inactivity, but hey, we should still make something truly ours.

Who we are
We're just a small group of individuals with the same interests. The community has been around for around 6 years now. Amateur game dev, writing stories, roleplaying, gaming 8D, are just some of the things we do. I at least want to start pushing FWC for more things. I have nothing against having a boards just for us, but it would be nice if we can grow.

The request
I know we have Hasabushi's image at the top he added for us. But let's make it a competition of a sort. Try to get everyone involved and see if we can get outside artists to consider helping us. Plus though we can use Hasabushi's image, I'd like to have various sizes of the logo. I'll get on to the details.

First off, I'd need various image sizes for the logo. Banners, transparent-logos peaceable on anything else, etc. Here's a list of what I'm thinking about.

The List
1) One large image. This can be vector files, EPS, SVG. I personally would prefer PSDs though. GIMP's XCF, or anything else would work. Up to you as the artist. Layers should be included in case I want to use the logo itself for some other purposes.

2) Just the logo. This might be the same as above (should be just as big as the above at least). But this one should have a transparent background. (Where as the large image might have a background). The large image should still be more usable though, as it should include *everything*. Eg, if I wanted to I can later just edit the large image to fill any other logo requirements I have.

3) 512 x 512 image. Square logo. Will be used for default avatars, and possible anywhere else we need a logo for a square area.

4) 64 x 64 icon. Used for the website. Has to be read-able at 16x16. Which leads me to...

5 16 x 16 favicon. Just in case the 64x64 is no good when shrunk to 16x16. This should be similar to what we have now, a simple "FWC". Preferably it should match the color scheme of the logo you will create for us.

6) 728 x 90 Leaderboard. Potentially if we as FWC wanted to have ads.

7) 160 x 600 Wide Skyscraper. Same as above.

Number 1 and 2 are the most important. If we had those we can create any of the others.

What you'll have to make
For now since we don't want to make someone do a lot of work, and end up not winning. For those who are interested in this, please just come up with item 1 from the list above. That's the large image with the logo on it and/or any background you want to include. If you wanted you could go ahead and make sample banners if you so desire.

If you do win
If you do win, then you'll do the rest of the work of creating the other items listed from 1-7. If possible please save the resources used. Fonts, exact HTML color codes, base images, etc.

The judges
The judges will be the staff of FWC. Including moderators. However, we'll also put it up to a vote for the public. We'll have the final word, but the response from everyone else will weigh it heavily.

The reward
Winner: You can win a copy of Neverwinter Nights found on GoG. Here's a link. Plus a $10 Amazon gift card. It'll also be used as our official logo for years to come. And you'll have our gratitude!
Next two runner ups: $5 Amazon Gift Cards

I'm up for changing the gift cards to something else though, as long as it's within the money range. eg: $5 game on gog/steam. The NWN for the winner is final though.

How do I get started?
Pick up your favorite image editing tool, get your creativity juices flowing, and go for it! Once you have the image post it here, or anywhere else.

How long do I have?
Two weeks starting from today. Which means February 21, 2013 is the last day we'll take submissions. The week after that is just voting and deciding who wins it. February 28th, 2013, the last day of the month, is when we know who the winner is.

[Hasabushi]

Oh geez my logo is just a very basic design I have something much grander in scale, and would work in several different sizes.

[Throndir]

Should I still keep running this then? I have no idea how many people will take the offer. We never had anything of a contest with actual rewards in FWC before, so this is an experiment too.

[Emperor Wilbers]

Sounds fun, but I won't be competing seeing as I haven't the software nor the time, so, I will just vote if this does go through.

[Hasabushi]

Tell you what Throndir if you don't get any takers, you and I can work on design and just get everyone else's input as we go through the process, I already have one idea in mind that I think would work for both scifi and fantasy.

[Noah Kiernokoff]

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you all for gathering here on the eve of the Chinese New Year and thereafter. I am here to inform you that the one and only Caelbrandt has heard and acted upon your request. Unfortunately, he is a recluse. Please accept his most sincere apologies as I present to you his work in his stead.

Two design studies, each containing the seven requested items, are to be proposed without delay. The first that we hope to please you with is of a fantasy novel inspired design that can easily be incorporated with the existing website. Presenting design study #1: http://i.imgur.com/POe5Sj7.jpg. The second synergizes fantasy and modern sci-fi elements, but would require modifications to the website in order to bring out its full potential. Presenting design study #2: http://i.imgur.com/U44OU4h.jpg.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free respond as you see fit. Thank you for your consideration. This concludes the presentation.

Sincerely,

He Who Serves Caelbrandt

I LOVE APPLLES

[lightspeed15]

Those are fucking awesome :O Excuse my French but those kick ass. WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?!

[Emperor Wilbers]

Those are freaking awesome :O Excuse my French but those kick ass. WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?!

French?

[Hasabushi]

Are any of those background images copyrighted or is it public domain?

[Throndir]

Even if they are we can still use it. The only thing I was worried about was the image of the shield for the first one. They do look amazing though.

[Hasabushi]

So my comments on this are just this, we need something that's more scifi and fantasy. I'm really not feeling it with either one of those images, it kind of feels overkill, but that's just me.  Since I'm a graphic designer myself, I tend to be more critical than accepting :)

[Noah Kiernokoff]

Greetings and felicitations!

It has come to my attention that a message has dutifully arrived from my liege, brought forth by my trusty companion Chloepetra the Astute Pigeon of the Ten Great Winter Solstices of Arabahaam the Sixteenth. I shall read it with finesse.

"Fellow men and women of this prodigious city,

So... uh...  what is considered to be more sci-fi and fantasy? I'm interested in like seeing some images and examples in particular. The pictures were taken from DeviantArt and should be credited accordingly. Links were noted. Just in case. So the Feds won't show up. You never know. They already did it once. Not again. Ttyl."

I have reached the end of this brief message and shall take my leave for more apples must be consumed forthwith.

Regards,

He Who Serves Caelbrandtt

[Noah Kiernokoff]

Hi.

I was wondering what would happen to this considering there is only one entry at the moment. Anywho, there is still room for improvement on the designs or I could also just scrap it altogether for a better one, given the option. Maybe Hasabushi is working on his designs?

Warm regards,

Cael

I LOVE MANGOES

He loves mangoes. I'm more of a watermelon kind of person.

[Throndir]

Well I'm still giving the end of today for submissions. Then I suppose it's just an auto-win for Cael. I suppose I could extend submissions until the last day, and just add them to the poll when they come in. Buuut that's not too likely considering how many people were involved. xD

Regardless I'm opening up a poll tomorrow.