Before you aim the international flame thrower, this post is not going there. We are all going to settle down and make love, not war. Or in this case, we are going to make art, not war. Okay?
Okay. Mister Wong, the German-based social bookmarking portal which recently launched in the U.S., is now looking for a new logo. The search is taking place via an international contest open to anyone. Registered users of Mister Wong will get to vote on their favorite logos, creating a pool of finalists. The final logos will then be judged by a panel of international media, marketing, design and web professionals and the creator of the winning logo gets $6,000! According to the rules:
“The logo should not exploit or offend anyone’s sex, race or religion, be obscene or propagate violence. The logo may not depict any human beings. Beyond these exclusions, it`s all up to you”
I’d say this is a wise guideline, because we all know what happened with the last “logo.” No! Settle down. Focus on the present. Aside from being a brilliant lemonade-from-lemons marketing strategy for Mister Wong, I think this is a great opportunity for everyone who had an opinion about that logo (aesthetic or political) to get creative.
Are you an aspiring artist? An experienced designer burned out from hours of working “for the man?” A German who needs to channel your frustration at us crazy Americans? An Asian who wants to win this one for Ernie or for all those times you got ching-chonged? I say throw your hat in the contest and create a beautiful logo that represents what Mister Wong aims to be: a worldwide social bookmarking tool. There is so much badly designed crap (including some of mine!) that blights the visual landscape of the web. This is your chance to elevate a small piece of it. I know I’m going to give it a shot. Good luck and remember: make art not war.
