Designer of the Month – bulletproof – February 2016

Today we have an interview with a great self-taught designer bulletproof. Great logos, cool car wrap designs, T-shirts and so on – all of this is made by our creative bulletproof! Moreover, he gave a lot of useful tips to our newbies 🙂

You’ve registered in 2011. Were you active all this time?

I was only active for about 6 months when I first registered in 2011.  Since then, I have been freelancing locally and maintaining design and branding duties for a retail business that I own with my wife.  I recently returned to Design Contest in January 2016 and have seen some success, securing 9 new gold medals, a couple of paid silver medals and a couple of one-on-one projects in a short amount of time.

If you get silver or bronze is it more challenge or disappointment for you?

I’m actually okay with bronze or silver.  I look at crowdsourcing more as an opportunity to improve my skills rather than a chance to make a few bucks.  I only find myself disappointed if I am really invested in a project or if a less-than-stellar design takes the gold.  A bronze or silver tells me that I am doing something right and motivates me for the next contest.

Do you have some artworks not connected with DC?

Yes, there are some logos I have created in which I am actively developing branding for.

Is there some logo of a famous company that you really dont like?

I try not to be too critical – especially if I am not familiar with the brand, but I do find myself commenting on logos all the time.  I’m not a big fan of the original Verizon logo, or their newer one.

What is logo of the future for you?

Anything simple.

Are there some designers who inspire you?

Absolutely.  There are so many great designers here on Design Contest.  A few that quickly come to mind are lizonil, hollander, junifer, and tjgraphics .  There are so many, it’s hard to just name a few.

Freelance or office?

In a perfect world, I would prefer to design for just one client.  Freelancing is great, but I feel like branding a business, watching it evolve, and being partly responsible for that growth is a feeling that you can’t really understand until you do it.

I’ve also had a recent desire to try my hand as a crowdsourcing broker, locally.  I love the crowdsourcing world and I think there is an opportunity to act as the middle man between the client and designers.

What can make you quit the contest?

Indecisive contest holders or contest holders that don’t stay true to their brief.  For instance, if the contest holder states they do not want a coffee mug in their logo, but all of their top rated designs include coffee mugs – that’s a red flag for me and indicative of a contest holder that is unsure of what he really wants.  I will also avoid any non-guaranteed contest from a contest holder that has been refunded in the past.

How do you usually react when somebody is copying you?

Blatant copying is aggravating, but Sharie and Babba do a great job enforcing the rules around here.  It’s tough when you have a good design and the contest holder rates it high.  You can just sit back and watch the flow of “inspired” designs come in.  If I have a design that I think will perform well, I will wait closer to the contest expiration to submit.  It’s hard though because you still want to get in before the contest holder takes a liking to a particular design.  

I’m a proponent of making ratings hidden.  (The designer can see what his or her design is rated but can not see the rating of other designs.)  I think this would bridge the gap between blind and open contests.  

What would you say to DesignContest newbies?

Read the rules, then read them again.  Once you familiarize yourself with the rules, browse for a contest.  Don’t just throw some random abstract design into every contest.  Take a moment to think about the brief and to visualize something unique.  You want your design to stand out.

If you are designing a logo for a realty company and everyone is submitting logos with houses – submit something with a tree and birds.  

If you have the Satisfaction font installed on your machine, delete it.  There is a place for this font, but it’s not for rookie designers to submit as a plain text logo in every contest.  We all know that clients like this font, but they don’t realize how amateur it has become and how this could negatively impact their business.  It is our job as designers to take care of the client.  

If you have a problem with a contest holder or another designer – speak with the admins.  Leaving negative or criticizing comments, cheapens the platform.  We are working with professional people and we need to keep the environment professional.

Don’t leave comments asking for feedback, instead leave a comment describing your artwork and how you arrived at the final design.  Explain your vision.  This is what the contest holder cares about.  

Avoid submitting a dozen different versions of the same design.  Submit your best design and wait for the contest holder to request revisions.  If the contest holder doesn’t like your concept, you are wasting your time on all of your other versions.  Change your direction.

Try not to be too inspired by the top designs.  Remember to keep things unique.  It’s good to understand the direction the contest holder is leaning, but make it your own.  In my experience, it’s quite uncommon for the top design on Days 1-3 to be chosen as gold winner on Day 7 – in reality, it’s usually a completely different concept in the end.

Most importantly, have fun!  Don’t take eliminations too seriously.  Your first gold will arrive before you know it!

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