ATTENTION:
Artists, Designers, Typographers, and Non-professionals.

INTRODUCTION:
chashama is currently working on updating and systematizing the implementation of our brand identity. Everything is being reviewed, from signage to the website to stationery. And of course the logo is the cherry on top, so get your non-digital drawing tools out and take a whack at it!

IDENTITY OVERVIEW AND INTENTIONS:
The reason we are looking for a hand-drawn style is that although chashama is becoming a large organization and is working on a "brand identity," we are not a corporation. Our intentions and goals are very different. We are not profit driven, impersonal, or monolithic. We are creative, personal, and community-based, and provide services that inspire, connect, and support people.

So we would like the logo to convey imagination, warmth, and openness. Make it creative, human, and visionary; "chashama" means "vision" in Farsi. Stay away from anything that looks regal, corporate, financial, etc. No overly elaborate illuminated manuscript styles. No John Hancock signature styles (although cursive or a handwriting style is fine to explore). No Copperplate or Times Roman kind of typefaces. One could use the existing typeface (Verdana: see website) as a place to start from though. One could even explore a touch of "playful," as long as it does not cross the line into corny, hokey, or childish.

We recommend that you also review chashama's website for the history and mission statement to get a feel for chashama.

DETAILS ABOUT STYLE, USAGE, AND MATERIALS:
"chashama" is ALWAYS all lower case. DO NOT capitalize the initial "c" or use any uppercase at all. Also, it is ALWAYS horizontal; so, no vertical versions.

A lot of the typography in the book HAND JOB (see below) is too complicated for a logo. Remember to keep it simple. Just black, no tones, fades, drop shadows or crazy amounts of details. As a logo it will need to function in many different contexts from small black and white office printers, to digital displays, and huge signs. It will also have to be made into a vector-based Illustrator file. So a simple design is the easiest and cheapest to implement in all cases. We recommend using black india inks or acrylics, and dip pens/brushes, or markers of some sort. Even a paint stick might work if the edges don't become too expressionistic. Charcoal, watercolor, pencils, crayons, are all probably just too soft to translate.

REFERENCE LINKS:
The book called HAND JOB: A CATALOG OF HAND-DRAWN TYPE is a great place to start for inspiration. See pics of pages on the sites below. Or St. Marks Books on 9th street and 3rd Ave in Manhattan has a copy. You could also use the list of contributors to google for more examples. But do not copy or mimic anything exactly please. These links are just for inspiration and to get an idea of what we mean by "hand drawn" and "hand written":
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/galleries/hand_job/2hj.php
http://www.amazon.com/Hand-Job-Catalog-Michael-Perry/dp/1568986262
http://www.book-by-its-cover.com/design/interview-with-the-author-hand-job

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
DEADLINE: Sunday, November 15, 2009.
PRIZE: $800

LOGOS: Submit as many different logos as you like. Scan or photograph them at a decent resolution. Attach the jpegs to your submission email. Please label your files like this: YourName-Logo01, YourName-Logo02, YourName-Logo03, and so on.

EMAIL: Your name and contact info. Also please attach, or put into the body of your email, a resume of some sort. If you have a website, references, artists statement, or anything else pertinent, you can include or attach those too, but they are not necessary.
Email to: ianhfarrell.chashama@gmail.com

DETAILS: If your logo is chosen, you will be expected to refine and create the final drawing over a month or two. This would entail an initial meeting to discuss and plan the refinements, and two more meetings as we progress. Half will be paid at the first meeting; half will be paid on receipt of the final drawing. chashama retains all rights to the logo. Also, a contract will need to be signed at the first meeting, so we will email it to you a week prior for review.

Thank you for your entries!

Sincerely,
Anita Durst,
Ian Farrell,
and The chashama Staff.

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