Ringbrothers T-shirt Design Contest - FREE Hood Hinges

[Ringbrothers]

At Ringbrothers we have a lot of creativity flowing but no one can seem to come up with a design for our t-shirts. So Jim had the idea to have a contest to see who could come up with the coolest design. No real guidelines - just be creative.

Anyone interested should post your design in this thread and email it to me at [email protected]

All submission have to be in by February 18th. We will make a decision on the best design the following week.

The winner will receive a FREE set of Ringbrothers billet hood hinges.

ps I'm going to run the contest on www.lateral-g.net too. Only one winner will be picked.

[LeighP]

Damn....I'm going to get a set of your hinges, but I have no design talent worth a hoot...lol. Guess I'll have to buy them like anyone else, eh? :)

[Damn True]

Slogan for the front of a ladies Tee: "You should see the parts under my hood."

Too much? I never know.....

[ChevelleNV]

Ok, first off I am not a designer at all, but I will not walk away from a challenge like this for free parts.....I am sure someone will come up with something way cooler but at least I tried for some really cool parts......

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[Ringbrothers]

Ok, first off I am not a designer at all, but I will not walk away from a challenge like this for free parts.....I am sure someone will come up with something way cooler but at least I tried for some really cool parts......

Thank you Greg - I added the design to my file. Better than I could do!
Staci

[Ringbrothers]

Slogan for the front of a ladies Tee: "You should see the parts under my hood."

Too much? I never know.....
Funny is always good.

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

not to mexican sports car makers..

[fantasygoat]

Imagine if a customer came to you and asked you to design and build a finished car, and asked the same of other car builders to do the same, and they'd pay for the one they liked?

You might say it's not the same, this is "just a t-shirt." But it's exactly what you're asking people to do - design a finished product on the hopes of maybe getting compensated for their time. As a design professional, you should understand the time and effort it takes to build your skills and experience, plus the investment in tools and other hard costs to be able to do design work - it deserves fair compensation. When you diminish the value of design work by treating it as something without value, it hurts all professional designers.

If you need a t-shirt design, you should seek out professionals whose work you like and commission them to design a shirt for you. It's good for designers and it's good for the industry in general.

For more information on why spec work is bad, check out:

http://www.no-spec.com/

[andrewb70]

If a designer doesn't want to participate, they are free not to. This whole process is voluntary, so I see no issue with it. I also think that Ring Brothers will get a better t-shirt if they did commission an artist to do the work.

Let's keep this on topic.

Andrew

[Tony_SS]

delete

[fantasygoat]

If a designer doesn't want to participate, they are free not to.

The problem is that such contests, by their design, diminish the value of the work regardless of whether or not a designer participates - it sets the expectation that design work is worthless, or so cheap that it's perfectly fine to ask people to do fully finished designs for free. Also, the type of work that gets submitted is usually much lower quality than they would get if they just commissioned a professional in the first place, and probably about the same cost.

With spec work, everyone loses, whether involved or not.


Let's keep this on topic.

As far as I'm concerned, this is on-topic - Ring Brothers, who are professional designers, expect to get paid for the work they do. So I would hope, once they realize what they're asking, they'll reconsider asking other designers to work for free.

As a professional designer myself, I take this very seriously. This sort of thing impacts my business directly.

[andrewb70]

The problem is that such contests, by their design, diminish the value of the work regardless of whether or not a designer participates - it sets the expectation that design work is worthless, or so cheap that it's perfectly fine to ask people to do fully finished designs for free. Also, the type of work that gets submitted is usually much lower quality than they would get if they just commissioned a professional in the first place, and probably about the same cost.

With spec work, everyone loses, whether involved or not.



As far as I'm concerned, this is on-topic - Ring Brothers, who are professional designers, expect to get paid for the work they do. So I would hope, once they realize what they're asking, they'll reconsider asking other designers to work for free.

As a professional designer myself, I take this very seriously. This sort of thing impacts my business directly.

As I said in my post, Ring Brothers will probably do better if they commissioned the work.

Staying on topic means that you gave your opinion and that's the end of it. This thread is about a design contest. If you wish to start your own thread discussing the evils of spec work you may do so in the " off topic" section of this forum.

Andrew

[thedodgeboys]

Soooooo not wanting to cause problems but...
Lets say I submit the winning design; will they build a set of hood hinges to fit my car? Because they don't currently list any for it and I have no use for any others.

I ask because I have the winning idea :)

[DarkBuddha]

A quick point: designers are by nature their own worst enemies since they exist because of the commodification of art. Once you take commodification out of the equation, the impact of lesser artists creating lesser art becomes hugely less consequential. If you're a designer, live with it. If you're an artist, live without it.

Now I'm off to come up with a design instead... I could use the hinges.

[ProMav71]

I don't see what the big deal is. If your a professional designer and dont want to participate...then dont. Im currently seeking my degree in graphic design so contests like this are perfect for someone like me who is starting out and needs to build a portfolio. And the plus side is I could win a cool set of hood hinges! Thats a win win for me.

I'll be summiting my design shortly guys.

Travis

[chevyhector]

I know you said "no guidelines" But there has to be something that has to be on the shirt. My question is, what do you want on the shirt? or What don't you want on the shirt?

[wellis77]

Soooooo not wanting to cause problems but...
Lets say I submit the winning design; will they build a set of hood hinges to fit my car? Because they don't currently list any for it and I have no use for any others.

I ask because I have the winning idea :)

Really good question since you don't list any hinges for my car either, and it's likely nobody ever will...

[Ringbrothers]

Jeremy - I'm sorry if you were offended. Your point is taken. We were only looking to have fun with this by involving our customers and friends. The goal was to have fun and get some cool ideas. The guys here completely understand your opinion and respect it. Again I apologize if we offended anyone.
Thank you to everyone that has participated - we appreciate it! Hope you had fun.
Staci

[Ringbrothers]

Soooooo not wanting to cause problems but...
Lets say I submit the winning design; will they build a set of hood hinges to fit my car? Because they don't currently list any for it and I have no use for any others.

I ask because I have the winning idea :)

It would have to be a set of hinges we currently make. E-body is on the list but it will be some time yet:(

[1969rs]

Well here is my shot. I hope you guys like it. Thanks again for the opportunity, pretty cool to give guys a shot to win some killer hinges.
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[LeighP]

Actually, thats an unusual and pretty cool shirt. I like it!

[intofx]

I'll throw my hat in the ring...https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

I tried to incorporate your specific design cues into the shirt while keeping it marque nonspecific- ie: camaro guys may not want a mustang shirt, etc.... Additionally, I think the idea of "rings" showcasing your products (they could be any product from your catalogue - these elements are suggestions) and logo on the back makes good design and thematic sense. The stripes and font on the front are iconic much like the "Nike Swoosh" and make the shirt cool and basic enough to wear anywhere without being that shirt you only wear in the garage. Hope you guys like it!

THANKS!

Matt

[Ringbrothers]

Thank you everyone that participated. We will take a look at the designs and make a decision by next week.
Have a great weekend!
Staci

[intofx]

Here's a final idea I had for a logo shirt. It could be on the back (across the shoulders) or used in conjunction with my other t-shirt back with this logo over the breast.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

matt

[Ringbrothers]

Love it Matt!

[Ringbrothers]

We picked a winner - it goes to.... 69Clark
44881

[Ringbrothers]

I loved this... so funny...
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2011/02/Sketch2011021623_30_59-1.png

[ChevelleNV]

Damn guess i gotta save my pennies now to buy a set of hinges.... Congrats to the winner...

[Damn True]

Nice shirt. Congrats.

Another ladies tee suggestion:
Ring Brothers, Check out our Bolt-On's

[Tony_SS]

Off topic, but in regards to the logo, why is the B mirrored before the R? I don't get it.

[dropit69]

I'll throw my hat in the ring...https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

I tried to incorporate your specific design cues into the shirt while keeping it marque nonspecific- ie: camaro guys may not want a mustang shirt, etc.... Additionally, I think the idea of "rings" showcasing your products (they could be any product from your catalogue - these elements are suggestions) and logo on the back makes good design and thematic sense. The stripes and font on the front are iconic much like the "Nike Swoosh" and make the shirt cool and basic enough to wear anywhere without being that shirt you only wear in the garage. Hope you guys like it!

THANKS!

Matt

Really love this design the best...Congrats to winner though