robbalvey Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) Hey TPR Members! It's once again time for you guys to use your creative sides and help us with a Design Contest! This time around, you guys will be helping us design our new Facebook Page Cover Photo! And what is a Cover Photo you ask? It is quite simply the image that shows up at the top of Facebook's Timeline profile pages. Here is a good example of one: (Scroll to the bottom for more example of cover photos) We are looking for submissions from our members and they must fall withing these rules and guidelines.... RULES! 1. The winner will be chosen by Robb & Elissa. We welcome everyone to give their comments and input on the designs that are being submitted, but we will have the final say. 2. All submissions must be entered by Sunday, March 18th at 11:59 P.M. (EST). 3. The winner will not only have their design show up at the top of the new TPR Facebook page but we will also send some cool stuff your way! 4. You may submit multiple versions and revisions of your cover photo design. However, your final version *MUST* say "Final Submission" and you may only submit ONE final cover photo design per person. 5. Robb & Elissa will be giving critical feedback on submissions and you can either decide to or not to revise your image based on their feedback. If you are not open to constructive criticism on your artwork, we suggest not participating in this contest. 6. Any images you produce shall be owned by TPR and we will own all rights to said material and can reuse those images in whatever way we feel will work best for the website. 7. You will need to be prepared to submit your work in a layered .PSD file if requested. 8. Your contest submission must be 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall. These are the dimensions that Facebook has set for the cover photo. 9. Facebook has set guidelines for cover photos that you must follow in your design. These requirements can be viewed here: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=276329115767498 Please remember that Theme Park Review is a "theme park" site, not a "roller coaster" site, so a design that would most likely be selected it one that includes more than just a roller coaster, but it is not a requirement. Please also note that TPR has been a bit more "minimalistic" in our approach with logos, but again, that is also not a requirement. There isn't anything we can tell you to give you much direction on this other than "When we see something we like...we'll let you know." And that's it! Looking forward to seeing everyone's submissions. Good luck! Other examples of Facebook Cover Photos http://www.facebook.com/facebook http://www.facebook.com/cocacola http://www.facebook.com/ford http://www.facebook.com/windows http://www.facebook.com/walmart http://www.facebook.com/xbox http://www.facebook.com/nike http://www.facebook.com/universalstudiosentertainment http://www.facebook.com/rihanna http://www.facebook.com/FamilyGuy http://www.facebook.com/MTV http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks http://www.facebook.com/subway http://www.facebook.com/Hooters Edited March 12, 2012 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkeyman18 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 This will be interesting. Wish I had the time to do this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelchaircoaster Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 OHHH! I can do this for one of my marketing class projects!! I really love this type of thing I hope to have it ready soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I don't know about you guys, but I like to change my cover photo every so often (it's currently a picture of the Huebirds of Happiness from Rhythm Heaven Fever). A great thing to do to show that Theme Park Review is so popular and has so many events would be to change the cover photo every time a major event happens. For example, at this moment, the photo could be this one or this one because West Coast Bash just happened recently. You could then add the Gadzoox logo layer at the top of the photo where there aren't any people. After that, all that would need to be done to change the cover photo would be to crop a big group image down to 851x315, replace the bottom layer, and export it to JPG or PNG. It would be really simple to do. Heck, I spend all of fifteen minutes changing my avatar's shirt color and putting in a new Pokémon sprite every month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 ^I like the idea of having a placeholder for a "rotating" photo somewhere in the design. But, I envision the final design to be a little more than just a photo and a logo. Not to speak for Robb, but there is a lot that a graphic designer can do with the allotted space, so I think the winning design will need to have a little more "oomph" than that. Take a look at the Nike Facebook in the link above. That is a good example of getting a lot of design in the cover photo. Please note, that is in no way an indication of what Robb or Elissa are wanting in the final design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) ^^ I do like the idea of updating it with a "rotating photo", but it's also not necessary as I'd also like it to be something that is consistent. So perhaps work on a design that might include an element that could easily be swapped out? For example, look at the on for Coca Cola: http://www.facebook.com/cocacola Maybe we could have 1 spot on the image where a photo could be updated ever so often. Honestly, my favorites out of the ones posted are: http://www.facebook.com/xbox http://www.facebook.com/facebook http://www.facebook.com/universalstudiosentertainment http://www.facebook.com/Starbucks They are clean, iconic, simple, but are very representative of the brand. I would prefer something like that for TPR, but I'm open to many different suggestions. As you've seen in the past, what we end up with, may not be exactly what we had in mind originally...and that's a good thing! In my mind, I see it being more of an iconic logo like the ones I've posted. But if someone can come up with a really classy looking design that incorporates a rotating photo, that's awesome! Edited March 5, 2012 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadster Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 We should just use the one from Hooters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelchaircoaster Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Here is my very rough, rough draft. NOT FINAL. Much, much more will be added later. I said bubbly and I am making all of it little bubbles because you guys have a ton of fun at your trips to theme parks, so I thought I would showcase how fun this site can be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) ^ It looks like it was done in 5 minutes in MS Paint. This isn't what we are looking for at all. What is "bubbly??!?!" Have we ever said that on TPR? Please don't show us "very, very rough drafts", because they look terrible. It gives us a bad first impression, and to be honest, I'm already turned off by it that it's doubtful that the next revision is something I'll like. Sorry for being so harsh, but that's what this contest is all about! Please try harder next time. Remember that the TPR Facebook Page is one of the most popular, highest trafficked pages of any theme park/roller coaster fan site. Many of the parks read it every single day. If your cover photo is chosen, it will be seen a LOT!!! It *HAS* to be good!!! Edited March 5, 2012 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougMJr Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I'll definitely be submitting something for this. My favorite design out of the examples posted is the Universal one. I like the idea of one design element such as a photo being easily switched out to highlight major events on the forum. If this is anything like the front page re-design we will have some really great submissions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Does it have to be a digital art/Photoshop submission or can you use photos/drawings/etc you did yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 ^ I'm not even sure what exactly that means, so I'd say "go for it!" I said it in the original post, we're not really sure what we want, we just know when we see something we like, we will tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueerRudie Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 We should just use the one from Hooters. Except that 3/4 of the members wouldn't understand it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Is there an anniversary for TPR? Like when it started or a milestone anniversary soon? Like the Universal logo has on it? Also what about using some of the stylings of the homepage contest winners? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) OK, everyone - I just had to clean up this thread and give someone a temporary ban due to people not understanding the rules, and not being able to take feedback on their designs. Just like the Club TPR logo, just like the front page design, if you post something, expect us to be VERY CRITICAL of it. We do not have time to waste by giving people sugar-coated feedback, nor are we going to let someone waste their time by working on a design that we don't think we will ever like. Those of you who have been through the design process before I would hope can appreciate or candor. Let me re-post rule #5 once again in case some people just didn't bother to read: 5. Robb & Elissa will be giving critical feedback on submissions and you can either decide to or not to revise your image based on their feedback. If you are not open to constructive criticism on your artwork, we suggest not participating in this contest. I also want to make sure you all understand the visibility your design will get if it is chosen. In the month of February alone, our Facebook post impressions were over 4 million views. And that was a slow month for our Faceook page! If your design is chosen for the TPR Facebook page, it will be seen millions of times. Any up and coming graphic artists should know how important and valuable that could be to them. So please, take this seriously. We absolutely do. We know there are a lot of VERY talented people out there who visit Theme Park Review and we would love to give them an opportunity to have their work seen by millions of people. --Robb Edited March 5, 2012 by robbalvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 Is there an anniversary for TPR? Like when it started or a milestone anniversary soon? Like the Universal logo has on it? Also what about using some of the stylings of the homepage contest winners? Technically, 2011 was our "15th Anniversary", but I normally don't like to draw attention to those kind of things. I always found they were kind of "cheesy self-promotion", and if we were going to promote something, I'd rather it be something we actually worked on, like a new DVD or something like that. Just not into the whole "pat ourselves on the back" kind of thing, I guess. The front page contest thread is still there. That's going to take us quite a few months to get worked, considering we have lots of TPR tours to do in the meantime! But we have a front page design we are happy with, and that will eventually get put into place...it just takes some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadster Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 So based off of the examples the immediate preference seems to be simple, clean, and pops with brand identity, I think we can work with that. And no, I won't submit something with Hooters girls as a suggestion, afterall I've got to keep our demographic makeup in mind here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 I was thinking something along these lines ... simple and to the point. Didn't want to overload it with coastery stuff, but did want to put something "non-coaster" in there, just couldn't think of anything that would work. Tried SSE, tried MK castle ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chroniq Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 (edited) First try. Yes I realize this is an image of a roller coaster which kind of goes against the contest rules. But; I love the idea of one vibrant, artistic, single image that resonates in your mind (especially if it isn't mine) over a slide show . -chris "always has an opinion" con Edited March 6, 2012 by Chroniq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadster Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 So I just thought of something, commercially shot photos or photos not owned by the designer. Should they or should they not be used? I'm putting my lawyer hat on here and thinking it might not be a good idea unless the photos are included in a press kit for re-use and distribution under a license that states you can manipulate the image. Not my call tho. Chad "I'm not a real lawyer but I work with a D.A. and slept at a Holiday Inn Express" Carter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 The coaster pics I used were from the park index. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) Here's mine so far. A much better attempt than my front page design. EDIT: I removed it because I have an inability to read the rules. Edited March 6, 2012 by A.J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Clinksalot Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 A.J., I like the "like" tagline ... I LO'd. I also thought of something like this that could be used for trip promotion. Obviously the actual trip logo's would be better on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) Here's mine so far. A much better attempt than my front page design. A.J., Facebook guidelines for the cover photo prohibit saying phrases "Like this" or "Share this". Take a look again at the link that Robb posted in the contest rules: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=276329115767498 Most importantly, take note of these restrictions: - Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page's About section - References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features - Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends" Edited March 6, 2012 by ernierocker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.J. Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Argh, okay! I completely glossed over that. That'll give me more space for the holes though. I'll keep working on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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