The latest culprit is another shoe company, albeit an online retailer rather than a manufacturer, as I wrote about last time.
Hey designers, HikingBoots.com loves you! At least, that’s what their CEO says. He says that the company has a “deep admiration for great designers and sophisticated design.” In this love note, he implores us to “get involved because you love design, too.” Your payment for creating this sophisticated design? A chance to win a 13″ MacBook Air, Photoshop CS5 and your choice of boots. Oh, and the visibility you’ll get if you make it to the final round. But be aware, “the most technical, the most sophisticated or the most creative design may very well not win.”
I won’t rehash all of the reasons design contests bug many of us creative professionals. You can read about that in the last post on this subject. But, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that HikingBoots.com decided to host a contest for their new logo design. After all, if a well-known and respected company such as Simple just launched one… Seems to me that HikingBoots.com is trying to emulate the big guys with this contest. Perhaps they’re hoping visitors to their site will be impressed that designers would compete on spec to create the “winning” logo?
I think this is a lazy marketing ploy to get traffic on the HIkingBoots.com site. When people read the news release about the contest they’re likely to visit the site to see what the current logo looks like, then click through the site to look at the products. Designers entering the contest are instructed to review the site to gain an understanding of the company and its products, and will undoubtedly return many times while developing their work. Entrants will tell others about the contest, driving more traffic. Et cetera…
Lastly (and I promise to stop here), unlike the Simple contest, there is no clear outline about the selection process for this contest. The rules state that the company’s judges will choose a winner by 2/15/11 – nothing further. Designers, if you elect to spend time creating work for contests such as these, at least be sure that those judging your work are qualified to do so.
It seems as though logo contests are becoming more prevalent lately. (I’m afraid to Google the topic.) My hope is that companies considering this route for their new identities instead apply their energy to finding a design firm that is a proper match for them, and who will become a trusted partner to their brand.




