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Logo competition

We need a logo so we can stop having to take photographs of every raspberry we see to illustrate posts like this with.

Here at Raspberry Pi, hardware and software design is something we’re rather better at than graphic design. That’s where you come in.

We need you to design us a logo. This is more of a challenge than you might think – ideally, we’re after something that will be recognisable at 1cm square (to be used on the device itself), but that we can also use on merchandise, stationery and in publicity materials in a larger format. Flexibility is important in colour as well as size. The logo should look good in b/w as well as in colour. No words should be incorporated other than the words “Raspberry Pi”- you can use the π symbol in the design, but the word “Pi” needs to be spelled out for people who don’t read Greek orthography, or who want to google us.

We need to register the logo as a trademark, which means that your logo can’t resemble or be derived from any other logo or copyrighted image.

We need the logo from you in two formats: one entry in scalable vector graphic format (EPS) and one 1000px square JPG for use on our website. Please steer clear of halftones and gradients unless created inside a vector graphics program. Color in the EPS version must be CMYK, no spot colours. And the fewer colours you can use, the better! Please keep your file size under 5MB once compressed, and email to logocontest@raspberrypi.org including your email and postal addresses, name and age (we need your age to ensure you can enter into the legal contract that winning the competition will result in). The competition closes at midnight on September 30 2011, BST.

No obscenity, and especially nothing incorporating pedobear or goatse man, please! Or if you do, please make it extra-humorous – we won’t use it, but it might afford us a giggle. (If you do not know what either pedobear or goatse man are, I encourage you not to google them. Really.)

The prize winner will see their logo used (and will be able to claim bragging rights forever), and will receive a Model B device and an invitation for two to our launch party (date tbc).

Here comes the tedious legal bit (and I’m sorry for making it nearly as long as the Apple licence agreement). Have a flick through before you enter.

Definitions

“Entry” means a logo design created by the Entrant for this Contest.

“Entrant” means the individual that offers the Entry under the terms of this Contest.

Eligibility

The Contest is open only to individuals. The Contest is not open to companies, educational institutions, organizations, etc. or to groups associated with such institutions.

Entrants must be of sufficient legal age and standing to enter into a contract with the Raspberry Pi Foundation as required below.

How to Enter

Initial entries must be submitted by email to logocontest@raspberrypi.org. The entries must be submitted as a scalable vector graphic in EPS format, and also as a JPG. See the Submission Guidelines below for further information.

The email must include the name, age, postal address, phone number and email address of the Entrant.

There is no limit on the number of entries that may be submitted by any one Entrant.

Entries must conform to the Submission Guidelines set out below. Entries which fail to do so will be rejected.

The deadline for Entries is midnight (one minute after 2359) on September 30th 2011, BST.

There is no fee to enter the Contest.

Submission Guidelines

Because of the requirement to register the logo as a Trademark, Entrants should take care to ensure that their Entries are not in any way similar to existing logos or other copyrighted images. A logo that cannot be registered as a Trademark, no matter how well crafted, cannot win the Contest.

Due to the requirements for high quality printing and re-sizing Entries must submitted in scalable vector graphic format (EPS). We advise against the use of halftones and gradients unless created inside a vector graphics program. Color in this version must be CMYK, no spot colors.

A JPG 1000 pixels square of the logo is also requested so that entries can be posted to the Raspberry Pi web site without the need for conversion.

The limit on attachment sizes for our email is 5Mb. If your submission exceeds this size, even after compression, please send the images individually and note clearly in your emails that you are doing so.

To recap, entry will consist of 2 files: the basic logo in EPS and JPG format. We are able to handle most common file compression formats.

Prizes

Subject to the legal requirements outlined above, the winning design will be announced on the Raspberry Pi website in October 2011.

The winning designer will receive:

A Raspberry Pi Model B

An invitation to the Raspberry Pi launch party for two people

The right to use the basic logo and identify him/herself as the logo designer.

Judging and Selection of Winner

The winning design will be selected by judges appointed for the purpose and by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Their decision will be final. No further correspondence shall be entered into.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation reserves the right not to select a winner if, in its sole discretion, no suitable entries are received.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant or Entry at its sole discretion. No correspondence shall be entered into.

The winner will be required to sign a contract assigning all ownership of the logo to the Raspberry Pi Foundation.

Accepting the prize constitutes permission for the Raspberry Pi Foundation to make public and otherwise use the winner’s name and country of residence for publicity purposes. Further personal data may be requested but is not required.

No timetable is set for the announcement of a winner due to the need to confirm that the winning entry can be registered as a Trademark

Intellectual Property

All submitted work must be original and not based on any pre-existing design.

All Entries will become the sole property of the Raspberry Pi Foundation and may be displayed publicly on the Raspberry Pi web site.

The winning entry will be registered by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as a Trademark and the Entrant agrees to transfer all right and title to the Entry to the Raspberry Pi Foundation in accordance with the Official Rules of this Contest.

Acceptance

Participation constitutes the Entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. By participating in the Contest, the Entrant is representing and warranting that he/she has read and understood, and agrees to be bound by, these rules. Including the guides and rules referred to herein, these Official Rules constitute the entire agreement between the Entrant and the Raspberry Pi Foundation in relation to the Contest. They govern the Entrant’s participation and supersede any prior or other agreements between the Entrant and the Raspberry Pi Foundation and relating to the Contest.

About THE RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a non-profit charitable organisation registered with the Charity Commission. It is our intention that no individual or corporation will profit from the Raspberry Pi Foundation owning of the rights to the logo.

Our lawyers have asked us to include the following small print.

Representations and Warranties

By participating in the Contest, the Entrant warrants and represents in connection with the Entry submitted as part of his/her participation in the Contest: (a) he/she is the sole and exclusive owner of (and free of any adverse claim by any person, firm, or corporation) all intellectual property rights in and to the Entry; (b) the Entry is original and the use of the Entry as described in these Official Rules will not infringe the proprietary rights, including without limitation the intellectual property rights, of any third party; (c) the use of the Entry, as described in these Official Rules, will be in compliance with any third-party licenses pertaining to the Entry; (d) the Entry is not obscene or libelous, and does not violate any rights of any third party, including but not limited to rights of privacy or publicity; (e) the Entry does not contain any virus, spyware, malware, trap door, worm, or any other device, mechanism or code that is injurious or damaging to software or hardware used in conjunction with the Entry; (f) the Entry and its use as described in these Official Rules will not violate any federal, provincial, state or local laws or ordinances; (g) no employer or educational or other establishment has any rights in the Entry; (h) the Entry is consistent with these Official Rules; and (i) he/she has the right to grant the license to the Raspberry Pi Foundation as required in these Official Rules.

Severability

When any provision of these Official Rules is found to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the parties nevertheless agree that the Court should endeavor to give effect to the intentions of the parties as reflected in the provision, and that the other provisions of these Official Rules remain in full force and effect.

Indemnity; Disclaimer of warranties; Limitation of Liability

By participating in the Contest, the Entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules, including all eligibility requirements and all decisions of WSFS. By participating in the Contest, the Entrant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Raspberry Pi Foundation and its officers, agents, affiliates, contractors, contributors, subsidiaries, licensors and distributors (“Raspberry Pi Entities”) from any and all liability, claims, or actions of any kind, including, without limitation, property damage, personal injury, and/or death, arising out of his/her (i) breach of any representation, warranty or covenant contained in these Official Rules; or (ii) participation in the Contest; (iii) acceptance and/or use or misuse of any prize in connection with the Contest; or (iv) any third party claim relating to any rights in any design submitted.

BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, THE ENTRANT AGREES THAT WSFS ENTITIES MAKE NO WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION, OR GUARANTEE OF ANY KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, IN FACT OR IN LAW, RELATING TO THE CONTEST AND/OR THE PRIZES.

By participating in the Contest, the Entrant agrees that the Raspberry Pi Foundation is not responsible, and will in no event be held liable, for any: (a) lost, late, illegible, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, corrupted or garbled entries; (b) telephone, computer, or network malfunction or error; (c) communication disruption or other disruptions related to Internet traffic, virus, bug, worm, or non-authorized intervention; or (d) damage caused by a computer virus or otherwise resulting to any computer from the submission of entries. If such malfunction, error, disruption, or damage occurs or impairs the administration, security, fairness, or integrity of the Contest, the Raspberry Pi Foundation may, in its sole discretion, suspend, modify or terminate the Contest by posting a notice at http://www.raspberrypi.org. If the Contest is terminated before the scheduled end of the Contest Period, the Raspberry Pi Foundation will determine the winner from all eligible entries received as of the termination date. Persons found tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Contest, or whom the Raspberry Pi Foundation believes to be causing or attempting or intending to cause any malfunction, error, disruption, or damage will be disqualified. The Raspberry Pi Foundation reserves the right to disqualify any unauthorised entries.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING HEREIN TO THE CONTRARY, AND ONLY TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY THE APPLICABLE LAW, BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, THE ENTRANT AGREES THAT IN NO EVENT WILL THE RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION OR ANY RASPBERRY PI ENTITY BE LIABLE TO ENTRANTS OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF THE BASIS OR NATURE OF THE CLAIM, RELATING IN ANY MANNER TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, THE CONTEST OR THE ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION THEREIN, EVEN IF THE RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION OR A RASPBERRY PI ENTITY WERE EXPRESSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ALSO NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING HEREIN TO THE CONTRARY, BY PARTICIPATING IN THE CONTEST, THE ENTRANT FURTHER AGREES THAT IN NO EVENT WILL THE LIABILITY OF THE RASPBERRY PI FOUNDATION OR ANY RASPBERRY PI ENTITY RELATING IN ANY MANNER TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES, THE CONTEST OR THE ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION THEREIN EXCEED THE GREATER OF UK£1,000 OR ANY OTHER AMOUNTS PAID BY THE ENTRANT TO ENTER INTO THE CONTEST. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO THE ENTRANT. IN THE EVENT THAT THE PRECEDING RELEASE IS DETERMINED BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION TO BE INVALID OR VOID FOR ANY REASON, THE ENTRANT AGREES THAT, BY ENTERING THE CONTEST, (I) ANY AND ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS, AND CAUSES OR ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONTEST, OR ANY PRIZES AWARDED, SHALL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION; AND (II) ANY CLAIMS, JUDGEMENTS AND AWARDS SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED, INCLUDING COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ENTERING THE CONTEST, BUT IN NO EVENT ATTORNEY’S FEES.

For the avoidance of doubt, to the extent that English and Welsh law applies, nothing in these Official Rules shall limit or exclude either party’s liability for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or any other liability to the extent such liability cannot be excluded or limited as a matter of law.

Interpretation; Governing Law; Jurisdiction

Interpretation. In the case of any dispute about the interpretation of the Rules, the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s decision as to the interpretation shall be final and Entrant shall be bound by the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s decision.

Governing Law. The interpretation and enforcement of these Official Rules will be governed by the laws of England and Wales, except to the extent required to be governed by the local law in the place of residence of an Entrant. The Contest is subject to all applicable, as the case may be, national, federal, provincial, state and local laws. The Entrant and the Raspberry Pi Foundation agree to the extent permitted by law to submit all disputes arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the Contest to, and hereby waive any objection to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of England and Wales. Subject to Section 5 above, if necessary any provision of these Official Rules which is found to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be deemed to be struck out from these Official Rules.

Consideration

The Entrant agrees that the ability to participate in the Contest and to compete for the prizes offered in connection with the Contest constitute, where required, sufficient consideration for the Entrant’s obligations under these Official Rules.

139 comments

Post this on some art forums.

We’ve mailed some graphic design sites about it – and you guys would be doing us a great favour if you could mention it where you can (inc Twitter and FB!)

Could be nice to see some submited design with a small appreciation rating. That would help to do further entries so we know what you guys like!

That would indeed be a good idea if you are the person waiting for the other designs to appear so you can make something better. (sounds quite unfair, don’t you think?)

You can send in multiple designs, so just try a little and hope they like your design.

My design is already sent ;-)

But it would be unfair only if you are limited to only one design, you can always submit something else if you can think of something better.

Knowing what the judges like and what the other designer have done would certainly boost the overall quality of the winning product. Isn’t that what this contest is all about after all? Have the greatest logo for the Raspberry Pi!

Let me correct my reply, I’ve misread the document.

“The Raspberry Pi Foundation reserves the right to disqualify any unauthorized entries, including, without limitation, multiple entries from the same person, or any entries made through robotic, automatic, mechanical, programmed or similar multiple-entry, or entry duplication, method and to disqualify any person or entity using such a method.”

So it’s not allowed to enter multiple designs…

If the logo’s would be made visible then probably one of the last designs would win. It’s still a competition to win a r-pi device.

Well I had to reread the whole thing because of you lol!

HOW TO ENTER
3. There is no limit on the number of entries that may be submitted by any one Entrant.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems there is no max number of entries.

Well that’s just contradictory and probably the reason why I said multiple entries are allowed. Guess the part in “HOW TO ENTER” is the correct one, because my quote was out of the legal document.

My interpretation is that multiple entries are permitted, but only if you are doing so in a non-spam style manner. The paragraph you reference seems to describe a limitation based on a forbidden method, as opposed to a forbidden number.

No it means you can’t send the same entry over and over and over again. You send each entry in once, with no limit on the number of DIFFERENT entries you could send.

Question: The same logo is going to be used both as Raspberry Pi Foundation Logo AND the One chip computer? What I want to say is the product is going to have the same name as the foundation? Designing guidelines for Corporate ID vs Product ID are somewhat different.

Both the charity and the computer itself are called Raspberry Pi. We use the word “foundation” in text like this to differentiate, but for logo purposes both are Raspberry Pi.

Sorry – entirely my fault. Yes, multiple entries ARE allowed. I’ll adjust the T&Cs later when I’m in front of a computer.

(Edit – done!)

In the terms it states: “All Entries will become the sole property of the Raspberry Pi Foundation and may be displayed publicly on the Raspberry Pi web site.” Does this apply only to the ability for Raspberry Pi to only display entries and therefore at the end of the contest all entries not signed over to Raspberry Pi, i.e. non-winning entries, are the sole property of their respective creators?

No, it applies to all entries. We need the ability to display them on the website when discussing the judging process. I expect that any logo will be so RP-specific that it will have little value elsewhere.

What is the age to participate?
18?

It depends on where in the world you live. Basically, you need to be old enough to legally sign a contract in your jurisdiction. In most places, that’s 18.

Would there be any way to enter, being 17, with a parent consent backing you?

Hi Alexandra

When do you turn 18? I’m sure we can arrange something with your
parents – when you enter, please put a note in the email to remind me
of the situation, and I’ll see what we can do.

May, it isn’t by the deadline, but I will put the situation in the email when I send my entry, thank you for putting it in consideration! (:

Just to clarify, the logo must contain the name or can it be a distinct image?

The logo probably needs to be a distinct image (to be recognisable at 1x1cm), but we’d like the name alongside.

Is it allowed to use 3.14 instead of ‘Pi’ ?

Sorry, no. The pie/pi homophone is important!

Very interested in this but not that kind of artist! However I suggest you contact the Inkscape people. They’ve been doing logos for, um, quite some time and know lots of artists.

The “indemnify and hold harmless” clause is pretty scary. What I take this to mean is that if an entrant submits a design that unbeknownst to him/her might be considered infringing, he/she could be on the hook For Raspberry Pi’s legal fees to defend against any resulting lawsuits, as well as for paying any judgments or settlements. This pretty much rules out participation by amateur or small-time commercial designers who do not have comprehensive E&O insurance policies.

It seems to me that after accepting a design, it should be Raspberry Pi’s responsibility to do their own due diligence regarding copyright and trademark status before adopting it as their logo, rather than putting the onus on the designer.

Fair comment, but I’m afraid we have to go with what our lawyers say – just do your best not to infringe.

(Edit – I should add that we’ll be passing anything we choose through a bunch of patent attorneys, so the chances of our ending up using something that infringes without realising are vanishingly small. Don’t get too frightened by legalese!)

Umm… do people really think like that? YOU want the community to whip up a logo for you. YOU take “All Entries” as your sole property. Then, IMHO, you take the responsibility if you use the logo! (especially as you run the entry via a patent lawyer :) ) Even thinking about any other option just makes RP evil.

Caveat: I don’t even know if Dr. Mu was right or not in interpreting the legalese!

WE are a charity! Seriously – if someone wants to cheat in this competition by adapting someone else’s successful logo, then it’s their own lookout, surely?

i’ve already sent my first attempt in but i’m curious what colour the R-Pi’s circuit board will be as it makes a teeny difference in some of my design ideas

We expect the circuit boards to be green.

great. my designs seem to look ok as green and white or green and black (and not too bad as red and white or black) although they do look better (well as good as they can with my lack of skills — knew i should have paid attention in art class) in four color

I am going to assume that the logo’s will be solely judged by Liz, Eben and the rest of the trustees but are you planning on putting up a gallery of received entries after the closing date so that we can all laugh at each others attempts?

Oh, definitely. :)

As Inkscape seems to be having some trouble with EPS, maybe you could add Plain SVG as an option for submitting the Vector Logo?

What problems are you encountering? It seemed to work just fine here.

Although file seems to be exported fine, It looks like it’s a bitmap when opened again in Inkscape and shows pixelation.
eg The vector is 1x1cm

That probably just depends on the render program, but eps is a standard vector format, so it should work just fine.

I’ve had similar problems with EPS export having rasterisation particularly of text. You might try exporting as PDF and then using gs or similar to convert it?

I used inkscape for the very first time and saving to eps seems to not work for me also. Inkscape can’t even load the eps file after saving it.

I ended up downloading a trial version of Adobe Illustrator and used that to covert. Trial version is good for 30 days.

Can we use a single email to submit several logos at once, or should it be 1 logo per email?

Liz, any response please?

Sorry – thought I’d already responded to this. Yes, you can use a single email to submit several logos.

Hello,

does the charity have a corporate typeface?

It doesn’t (which is to say we haven’t chosen one yet!)

Not going to use the ceefax/teletext/prestel font?

Well, as it happens, that font’s still in copyright. As is the old Beeb font – we *think* we know who is the current copyright holder, but that’s yet another thing that’s still under discussion.

In regard to the words ‘Raspberry Pi’ appearing in the logo, are there any stipulations regarding the font the word is in? Presumably a font that is copyrighted or of which the origin is not known cannot be used? Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to supply an approved font, otherwise entries will presumably be discounted if they include a propriety font, unless you require the words to be part of the graphic design and not a font as such?

It says in the rules that any font used should be copyright free. We’ll check with the winner and if we particularly like the graphical element of a logo with a copyrighted font that’s been used by accident, we’ll try to find a similar one for free.

What if the font is under an open source license?

That’s absolutely fine.

As I think many customers will demand much more performance and modern motherboard to look forward, i.e: 3.0 usb, embeddable wifi g//n, ram update.

Hope it will the best one.

Not currently possible with the $25 price point. As new generation chips comes out it may become more likely (but not for a couple of years), but that sort of goes against the ethos of the device – a basic (but not that basic!), cheap device for teaching etc.

Do you guys send any confirmations that you have received the entries and that nothing is missing? I would appreciate, at least just an e-mail to let us know you got the entry.

We’ve had an awful lot of entries, and we don’t want to spam people with unwanted mail. (I can assure you that your entries have arrived, though – I recognised your name as soon as I saw the comment!)

If I am not 18 is it possible to have a parent or guardian sign over the logo to you?

did you get my entry?

Thanks

Hi Micah

I did, just this minute! Yes, we can talk to your parent or guardian, and it’s very helpful when people under 18 make a note like you did in your email that a parent/guardian is willing to help.

A note to everyone else – unless you get a response from your mail server saying your email didn’t make it, you can assume it arrived with us. The person dealing with comments here won’t always be able to see the logo competition inbox, so this is not the best place to ask about whether your entry has arrived, and I can’t email you all individually – please just trust the technology!

Great
thanks liz

http://www.no-spec.com might interest you.

Rasp pie ain’t a US government agency.

Not a gov agency? Try this on instead:

http://antispec.com/

Since this competition doesn’t appear to fall in to the category of ‘spec’ work as I understand it – ie speculative work done in order to get more work later, I fail to see where the problem is.

The winner of the competition won’t be offered a job, won’t be offered more work for money, won’t be offered recompense for the design. It’s a competition open to all comers, if you don’t like the rules, you are under no obligation to enter.

If you’re not sure what EXACTLY spec work is you should definitely check out the site I gave you a link for. A moment of reading should bring you up to speed.

http://antispec.com/

By your own words you offer “no recompense” at all. So you just want a free logo. Do you ask the same of your plumber? Electrician? Mechanic?

No I won’t be entering because I don’t want to encourage young designers to work hard to please a company who somehow thinks “no recompense” is a viable method of payment. Do you work for free? I don’t.

This is for Steve and Steve – the design of this comments section doesn’t allow for threaded comments below the 5th.

Actually, we do work for free. All of us. Every single person working on Raspberry Pi is doing it for free. Some of us have secured borrowing against our houses to get the project off the ground. Some of us are volunteering to work more than full-time on the project for no recompense, because we believe it’s a really important project that can make a difference to people’s lives. We do not take a salary; we do not intend on taking a salary after we have launched.

I realise that a small segment (and you guys do not speak for the majority) of the design community is pissed off with the way we’re sourcing a logo. All the same, we have had more than a thousand entries, about a hundred of those from people who work as pro designers, many of whom support the charity and have identified themselves as being willing to help with expanding the branding on a volunteer basis.

I’m glad you’re passionate about what you do. So are we. We welcome debate here, but I hope you understand that we do not agree with you, and that tweeting us tens of times and leaving comments restating your case over and over isn’t going to change our minds. We know that we’re not going to change yours either, but we’re pretty happy with that.

Funny you should link to that site. Quote:
“You’re better off contacting a charity and designing their website for free to add to your folio.”

Substitute logo for website, and you get exactly what this thread is about: Donating design work to a charity!

I am 13 and live in Los Angeles CA. I don’t believe I am old enough to sign a contract. If I enter would there still be a way for me to sign over the icon (possibly with parents)?

Hi, i am under 18, and i have sent a logo. Just letting you guys know =) It would be really cool to get my logo on this device! But i know there are other great graphic artists out there so may the best win =D

I’m 14 and I would like to participate,it’s possible?

Apparently people under 18 can’t read. It’s all been asked before, and your answer is in the original message as well.

sorry I am French and I read the English medium

Liz I think you need to add something about underage entry.

flipping lawyers :P

This is an awesome logo:

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101028003414/adventuretimewithfinnandjake/images/9/9e/Wildberry.png

Nice job on the logo, but it was a bad idea to post it… People could steal that idea and make it into there own. But i already sent mines in =D Just warning you…

Oh ya, btw, aren’t you supposed to have text in the logo?

I think you misunderstand, I don’t lolmaus made the logo, he/she just found it on the internet and thought it looked cool.

>*People could steal that idea and make it into there own.* //

They could copy it (not stealing!) but it would still be copyright infringement and they wouldn’t win the competition so it would seem rather stupid.

isn’t it a pokemon?

Damn, I wish I could draw/use art packages properly…

I was thinking of a pie with a slice missing, and a large raspberry (1.5x the pie size) sticking out from it. Anyone want to draw? :D

Got my Submission in! Stoked to get on of these to play with. There should be a pre-order. Could possibly add a little revenue to the cause and would guarantee a lucky few one from the first batch…… just any idea…..

Kind of you to offer :-) but funding is there already for the first batch so no need to take preorders, and we would prefer not to have anyone’s money until we start sending them out – that way people can be sure they are not being conned!

Would it be ok for me to send a contact sheet with more than one logo design on it? Or would you prefer that I sent each design in separate? I’m so stoked about the raspberry pi, and can’t wait to get a hold of one. Thanks in advance.

Sending a contact sheet with more than one design is fine. Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got for us!

Hey Liz,
Thanks so much for the quick response. Just fired off an email to you with a couple of ideas. :)

[…] ceux que ça intéresse, un concours de création de logo a également été […]

I sent mine :-)

[…] you’d like to enter Raspberry Pi’s logo design competition. They need a new logo by September 30. Follow the link to find all the juicy details and good […]

Dear participating designers — i know this seems cool and everything, but please understand that you are undermining the industry you are trying to work in. know what Spec work is and why it’s damaging: http://www.no-spec.com/faq/

Thanks for the pointer. I don’t really believe this contest meets the criteria outlined in the site you link to, in particular that:

‘The designer in essence works free of charge and with an often falsely advertised, overinflated promise for future employment; or is given other insufficient forms of compensation. Usually these glorified prizes or “carrots” appear tantalizing for creative communicators just starting out, ending with encouraging examples like “good for your portfolio” or “gain recognition.”’

To be clear, we are not offering any prospect of future employment for the winning designer. Rather we are, as a non-profit entity, appealing for a charitable donation of design skills from the participants. While we will of course acknowledge the winning designer, this is done as a matter of common courtesy rather than as compensation.

Eben is right, this is straight up pro-bono work. If you believe in the cause, donate your work. I fight for designers rights and try to crush spec work when I see it, but this is straight up, plain and simple, pro-bono.

mmmmokay… except: you’re still asking most people to do work that they won’t be compensated for, that you reserve the rights to even if they don’t win, that they have to do trademark search on, and do the production work to provide you with multiple formats.

what would have been cool: if you’d asked people to submit their portfolios, picked the one you like, and then developed the logo you want WITH them. you could have gotten someone to develop a complete identity system for you.

This is simple a competition for people to enter, whoever they are, and have some hand in designing the logo.

I guess it comes down to ‘if you don’t like the rules, don’t enter’.

Remember, Raspberry Pi is a charity. Charities rely on the goodwill of others.

Eben while I completely agree that the contest makes no false claims of compensation and this is indeed pro-bono work; the only part that concerns me is about returning the working files and usage rights to designs that did not win. (you could probably still hold the rights to display them on your website while deciding a winner). Please consider removing this clause. I understand that the foundation wants to cover all bases legally, but this makes it seem insincere and selfish which I’m sure is completely untrue considering the fabulous work you folks have been doing. Thanks.

I’m pleased to be able to say that we’ve had nearly a thousand entries already, so I don’t think a majority of entrants are finding the conditions a problem. I’m sorry, but we have to take our lawyers’ advice on this.

Thanks for the reply Liz. My concern wasn’t about the few entrants having a problem with the terms or that the foundation might not get enough submissions. My concern was about doing the right thing. More often then not we let lawyers define our values. That said, I still think that the foundation is doing a great job and all the best.
Thanks.

This is NOT pro bono work. Pro bono work is carried out by a single designer or design studio in the same way they would work on a paid project. This is a competition with no renumeration for something that has commercial use. Yes, Raspberry Pi is a charity, but there are many designers who would be very happy to work pro bono with them on a one to one basis. This would also be better for Raspberry Pi in both the short and long term. Building a relationship with someone who understands what you need (different from what you want – key point) and can help you in all areas of branding – branding is NOT just a logo, nor is it just the collected graphical elements. If you actually read the articles on no-spec.com you would understand what we are trying to get across – that design competitions like this (for commercial enterprises) hurt the design industry AND your business. For those who would say a charity is not a commercial enterprise, please understand the larger meaning behind the word.

I understand that the Pi in Raspberry-Pi is due to the promotion of Python as a learning language. Must this be in the logo? Other than the words ‘Raspberry Pi’, is there anything that MUST be included, e.g. The Pi symbol?

It’s not there because of Python – it’s there because it’s a homophone for pie (everybody likes pie) and because we’re fond of irrational numbers. No, the pi symbol doesn’t need to be included. Go wild!

Hi,
I think many more professional people would submit their entries (including me) if you took away the part where you say “All Entries will become the sole property of the Raspberry Pi Foundation”. I believe this is unnecesary. All entries will give permission to the foundation to be published on the web regarding to the results of the contest shoud be more than enough.
Also the part when you say you take all the rights but none of the responsabilities is not fair at all. If you get to own the logo, you are the ones responsible for whatever legal implications it may have.
I believe you can’t get a legal contract with an agency/designer, and ask for the same to people that are doing it for free.
And it is not a matter of cheating. There are millions of logos out there, thousands probably with any berry on it. Who knows if someone had a similar idea or style?
I’d like to help, but not with this conditions.
Hope you think about it. Our time working should be considered as good as any other’s, and if we “break the rules” for a pro-bono, it should be, at least, with fair conditions.
Good luck anyway.
PS: Please, forgive my poor english.

We understand – thanks for taking the time to comment.

I think if someone do simple google search and not finding anything similar will post his/her hand made idea chances that something would be similar to any registered brans is not that big. If you like competition then you take a risk :) This statement protects RP charity from cheaters and I think it is fair.

Regards :)

Great defense!
“I did a simple google search, judge.”

Good luck.
By the way, it is not the same to compete than to bet.

regards.

when the result comes out? :D

We’ll be putting a shortlist of the best on the website at the start of October, and getting readers to vote on their favourite.

[…] per Mail eingegangen sein und eine Reihe von Bedingungen erfüllen. Auf der Homepage findet ihr sämtliche Informationen zum […]

As someone who has designed successful major international identities, I can tell you that there are so many issues to consider that simply cannot be addressed by asking for a single picture of a logo in isolation.

A logo is one thing. A working visual identity is something much wider. It considers the logo in juxtaposition with its supporting logotype wording, it considers usage and exclusion zones. How it works on dark and light backgrounds, all manner of things.

You mention the possibility of using the wording Raspberry Pi and you ask for a logo, so presumably if anyone uses the wording Raspberry Pi they will also have to show the logo you desire with it, unless you will accept a purely typographic approach. Even if that were the case, to get the word Raspberry in a 1 cm logo, it is going to look cramped and probably be in a condensed typeface.

It is a shame there is nowhere that we can show how some of the above things might work for you and a pity there is nowhere for the designer to explain his rationale. Already I can think of a few ideas that might demand a simple explanation, but once you knew you’d see how valid it might be as an idea.

It’s actually quite rude and dismissive to ask for designs without giving the designer the opportunity to explain his or her ideas. I cite the case of David Ogilvy who’d once prepared carefully for a pitch, only to be told at the interview he would have five minutes, after which a bell would be rung and the next candidate would be shown in. David Ogilvy said ‘Ring the bell now’ and left without a further word. If the client was not going to be given the chance to explain he didn’t want to work with that client.

It’s bit like you producing a credit card Linux box but not being allowed to speak about it – the device will be expected to speak for itself and its functions be obvious to the user before its purchase.

I think the Raspberry Pi will be huge and I will submit some ideas, but I am not sure this is exactly the way to go about it. You might end up with something as atrocious as the UK Olympic logo.

Perhaps a short list would be good, where a designer might be invited to develop the theme for further consideration might be sensible.

On the other hand, it is just a logo competition so anyone, not just professionals, can have a part in the charity.

Agree about the Olympic Logo – that really is sh*te. And cost £600k or something. And was part of a working visual identity…perhaps they should have held a logo competition too…..

[disclaimer: i have entered the competition but have no expectation of having a logo in the top 1000]

personally i’d prefer for the winning logo to have been designed by a kid. of course they’d have to design something good but all things being equal (slightly less than equal with school age having a slight weighting factor) my vote would go to the youngster as it just seems to be more in line with the aims of the foundation in a roundabout way.

Thanks for publishing my post anyway, I’d half thought it would get edited out. Nobody is more passionate about the success of the Raspberry Pi and let’s make no mistake, it is a no-brainer that it will be a huge success and thus any chosen logo will have huge exposure, so it’s not a matter of payment or even the fame rubbing off on me I care about, it is finding a fitting solution for this product.

This logo needs to work hard for its living and whatever else it is, the chosen design will be very simple – it has to be to be silk-screened onto a circuit board that is already pushed for space. 1 cm square is optimistic, I think it has to work at a quarter of that size, ie 5mm square. So the word Raspberry will almost certainly NOT feature anywhere in the chosen design – in fact I guarantee it, the type size won’t hold up. Nor probably will any representation of a raspberry be possible in such a small space, printed in such a crude way, it’ll coalesce into an amorphous indistinct blob.

Therefore, supporting type used in conjunction with this logo in other publicity WILL be hugely important, but there’s no way for us to portray how we might see this happening, so it’ll put off some of the more serious people who might otherwise participate and offer their years of hard-earned experience for free.

It’s like saying ‘Draw us a picture of a person, perhaps a cute one that appeals to the target audience of teen kids, but I only want to see a hand right now, I’ll make a decision based on what I see of that hand.’

As the videos we have been shown so far suggest to us, it is unlikely that it is the kids’ opinion that will primarily influence the brand recognition and interest in this device – we are told that Raspberry Pis might well be benevolent institutions, individuals, schools or parents.

Oops, there’s another issue – what is the plural of Pi without encouraging sniggering? It should be Rapsberrys Pi, but we know that won’t happen, everyone will be taking a ‘Pis’. Have you got one of those Pis yet?

I meant to say that Raspberry Pis might well be bought by benevolent institutions, individuals, schools or parents.

And yes, Raspberrys Pi not Rapsberrys Pi

@Liz You are missing the point of our comments. It’s not the ‘working for free’ bit we have a problem with. If I was still freelancing, I would have been interested in working pro bono for a charity such as yourselves – the aims of the Foundation are great. It’s the message you are putting out about the value of design, and the damage that ‘could’ be done to the Foundation with the selected logo, that is important here. By following a method that is rejected by the *majority* of the design community, you are (unintentionally) slapping us in the face.

Well, I really find your attitude very hard to believe. What damage can possibly be done to the foundation by selecting the best logo that is received? None. I would expect that with the level of entries there will be quite a number of very high quality.

As to a message of the value of design? The design community? What? This isn’t a competition aimed at this so called design community. It’s aimed at everyone. Competitions of this sort of thing have been around for years – where is the rejection? Where is the ‘slap in the face’? You (and a *very* few like minded people) seen to be the only ones who think there is something wrong here. I for one fail to see the problem.

Perhaps it would have been better to ban members of the ‘design community’ from entering, keeping the competition entirely amateur? Or would that have been slap in the face as well?

Some people are never happy.

Jamesh, from your comments I can tell that you have not read anything on the no-spec site. How can you comment so assuredly on a subject you don’t try to understand?

Can I ask – what do you do for a living?

I would support Jamesh here. I for one, have read your precious site, and I still disagree. In addition, I think Steve; you have made your point so many times on this thread that you are started to come off as an offended child that won’t stop bickering.

Also, asking Jamesh “what he does for a living” could only be a pretentious pointer to the fact that you don’t think he is a designer himself and therefore not entitled to an opinion – asking that question is just plain rude.

He made that same point so many times on Twitter (including getting angry at one point that it had taken us a whole 15 minutes to respond – we were demoing the board at that point, rather than sitting in front of a Twitter client) that we’ve had to block him. Steve – we do encourage debate here, but this argument is going nowhere, and I’m afraid that you’ll be blocked from commenting here too if you continue with it. First warning: you don’t get two.

That wasn’t the framing of my question, but thanks for shoehorning a reason in there based on your own bias. He is making a judgement on my profession, but my asking about his is rude?

If you still disagree with the majority of a profession (precious site?) I obviously haven’t got my point across even once.

I’m a professional designer, currently contracting for Saatchi & Saatchi. *

In my space time I work for Broadcom as an applications engineer

In my spare spare time I answer questions on this forum.

In my spare spare spare time I have my own brain with which I form opinions, with or without the aid of websites.

James

* that’s not true.

Liz

I wasn’t angry that it took you 15 mins to respond, I’m not even sure how it could be perceived that way. I was annoyed that you refused to discuss the matter, that is all. It’s not that you disagree, it’s that you refuse to acknowledge or address any part of what we say. If you had, it could have been a positive and friendly discussion. As it is, it has ended badly.

I am with Steve here. It is the way the competition is framed that will deter those most able to provide you with the best solution.

Experts got to be experts in any field because they studied the subject and continued to gain the practical experience that made them able to sustain a living doing it and providing a service or product that is valued by the clients that use it.

I await the results with interest. It’s never just about a logo.

Will whoever wins the competition be made to implement the logo across a wide range of devices, media and advertising, creating suitable usage guidelines to establish the brand and maintain its integrity and recognition on behalf of the charity?

Or will some other graphic designer then be asked to do all the hard work to shoehorn the resulting logo into all the places it will inevitably need to be put?

[…] Today I was trying to find cheap computers for my students in Cambodia and I found the RaspberryPi organisation. After reading everything about their wonderful project which providing ARM linux boxes for 25 dollars( I will write more in depth about this one my teaching blog) I decided to participate to their logo competition. […]

I just want to put my two cents’ worth in — as a freelance graphic designer, I agree with most of what’s said on the ‘No-Spec’ website. However, I also think that there are different rules for different organisations. A for-profit business (of any size) and a large foundation with an established reputation are both very different animals from a tiny foundation trying to develop ridiculously cheap computers (I presume there’s almost no margin in these things) on a shoestring.

It would’ve been nice to have a one-on-one interview with the Foundation, sit down and find out more about their audience, do a proper bit of research, and work with them through every step of the process, but at the end of the day we all have the power to choose what to do with our lives.

I don’t think it has anything to do with undervaluing a designer’s labour; I’m sure the foundation said, ‘gee, we don’t have the money to hire a branding agency; let’s run a contest and hopefully .’ They’re aware (and I’m sure all the contestants are aware) that this is a ‘pro-bono with a thank you’ sort of affair, rather than spec-work.

I’m sure the foundation realises that the end result may be a bit more ‘generic’ than if they’d been able to hire a designer, and I know that all designers (professional or hobbyist) realise that they might get nothing at the end of the day. Everybody can come to the table, choose whether to support it or not, and be satisfied with their decision.

Nevertheless! Could we get a bit more background information on the target audience(s) and the sorts of emotions/messages you want to convey? Is there any history behind the name ‘Raspberry Pi’?

Thanks in advance,
Paul d’Aoust

So excited to see the winner! I put my entry last month and ive been waiting since!

By the way, how many entrants has there been so far Liz?

What’re the chances that the top 10 could get the opportunity to buy an alpha board?

Alex

Not very high (at all). All the boards are currently out with developers and distro people.

Hi
Just want to clarify, the 1000px square jpg file you require means an image that could be 40px x 25px , 33px x 33px (I know, it’s 999) or 50px x 20px etc etc – is that what you mean?

Something that would fit in a box with 33×33 sides.

Thx. Now Im not an expert in design and image software, but Im concerned that if I submit an EPS image to you and I’ve mucked up the CMYK requirement, that my submission, however good (potential winner), will not be considered. Is this true?
Also, the 33×33 px advice you gave … that seems SO tiny.
Finally, what sort of size (pixels) can the EPS file be?

Sorry – I mean 100×100. Very bad jet lag!

And if you much up the CMYK, I’ll still consider you; go for it!

@ Campbell, I think when someone in this case says 1000px square they mean 1000px X 1000px, not 1000 sq. px. Big enough to show largish on a screen. As it is not known whether your logo will be vertical or horizontal a square format is specified.

As for your comment about the EPS and pixel size, it is clear that the competition asks for a resolution-independent scalable vector EPS, not a bitmap, so pixels do not enter into it. It is an EPS (Encapsulated PostScript file) with a mathematical description of your strokes and fills that is requested.

Your chosen fill and stroke colours should be specified in the CMYK colour model for print, not screen RGB. CMYK is a four channel mode in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Why is black K? Because K stands for Key, black is the colour that overprints and ‘Keys’ the other colours in traditional film separation work. See also the term keyline.

It would be possible to specify an EPS that has colours defined as ‘spot’ colours, usually shown on-screen by their nearest CMYK equivalents. You have been asked to avoid spot colours for your competition entry.

Sorry if I repeat the question. I can be sure that my logo was obtained and reviewed?

It was. Thanks (and obviously, because we have hundreds of entries, we can’t confirm receipt of all of them).

Am I right in thinking that the words ‘Raspberry Pi’ do not need to be included on the logo, given that it has to work at 1cm x 1cm? In that case is it OK to submit a logo that features no words at all?

Yes, absolutely. But you’ll need to hurry – the contest only runs until the end of the month!

Thanks, I’ve been working on it I just had a brief moment of panic.

I would like to join, i HOPE there’s still a chance? I have a great idea in mind. Please inform me if so.

I would like really to join, i have a GREAT idea in mind. Please inform me if it’s possible to extend the deadline? Thanks in advances.

Afraid not – if you look at the top of the page, you’ll see the logo that won. We’re already printing it on the test run of final boards, and selling stickers with it on (and we love it!)

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So does this mean that the raspberry logo above is NOT the going-forward logo? What’s wrong with that one?

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