I stopped at 7, I lost all my will to be an artist.
The point of branding is to get to the underlying ideas that best represent the SAFE Network in order that we produce a design that reflects the projects values and aims. Having multiple designs in use that reflect the same thing would suggest that we donāt what the network is, would provide mixed messages and dilute the communities marketing efforts IMHO.
I do agree that whatever the end result is not everyone will like in straight away, I think it would be unrealistic that we can get a couple of hundred people to agree on the same thing. Although, I have noticed people that didnāt originally like the safecoin identity, but it has grown on them overtime.
On the strapline, privacy, security and freedom are powerful, but these are MaidSafeās values as well and maybe we need to come up with something else that keeps the company separate from the network? I donāt want to pre empt the process but maybe something simple like āSecure Access For Everyoneā is all that we need?
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I havenāt seen others suggest that the amount is not sufficient, although happy to discuss. How much would you suggest? Looking at 99 Designs there packages give 4 prices:
We could go to Ā£1100 if we felt it was worthwhile. This seem to be the going rate for competitions.
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When I said āpeanutsā I didnĀ“t mean to say itĀ“s not enough, but that it doesnĀ“t hurt the project. I am a long year union member and if you ask me the rates of those packages are a rip off for professional artists. When I do a design for a client it usually takes me at least 10 hours to come up with a feasible idea. Developing that idea further on (different use cases, use of typography, etc.) costs at least the same time. If you reward an hour with 70$, which is an US avarage for freelancers, you will quickly reach 750 pounds, so I personally think itĀ“s not enough for professionals (in particular given that the winner takes it all). For a community contest itĀ“s absolutely fine.
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Ahh OK. Thanks for clarifying.
The success of branding/ marketing is far more important than ownership of effective and efficient straplines. Maidsafe values are important, but a what cost? People worldwide - without even knowing anything about Maidsafe/Safenet - can relate to, and align with, āprivacy, security and freedomā Seeing this on an invitation to participate, download the launcher, the browser or login screen will contribute immensely to the success of the network.
Can Maidsafe come up with a modified version for their use and loan it to the network?
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This reminds me so much of these emails I get every second day, offering to rebuild my website, or, less often, to advertise my business. Having spend hundreds of Ā£ās in the past in response to such blandishments, and had no extra business to show for it, I have learned to consign them to the round file where they belong.
The more the better. Add some cool bling and artwork to the offering and a āMeet the Team in Troonā 3 days 2 nights in historic Troon Scotland - via airbnb
I donāt know that MaidSafe want to abandon or change the values that have driven the company for over 10 years and I also donāt want to pre empt the process, so we will need to see. If the rest of the community thinks this is the way to go then we would look at it for sure.
Thatās OK, if marketing/advertising hasnāt worked well for you or your business then donāt do it. It doesnāt mean that it hasnāt worked for others.
I never meant to convey that, sorry. Of course MaidSafe cannot abandon or change itās values. Im talking about the use of that well positioned strapline by the Network or the Platform.
Ah OK. Yes we can discuss that if others agree that it would also be there choice.
My vote goes to renaming the safecoin logo as the all encompassing network logo with the tagline Secure Access for Everyone.
Hard to beat and it is all pretty much already in place.
But perhaps that should be what the rest of the entries go up against, some genius may blow us away with a spectacular design.
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I think not having this strapline would be a real shame.
I can absolutely understand why you might want to keep the network and the company distinct, but this strapline is very very powerful and would take some beating. Itās the core philosophy of maidsafe, but itās also what most of us believe in too, thatās what galvanised this community into existence, no?
I donāt see why maidsafe canāt keep it as their nod to being the original creators of the network. It is the philosophy of the network because it is the philosophy of the people who built it and the people who use it.
I really hope you let this one thing slide and find other ways to reinforce the distinction between company and network.
Privacy, security, freedomā¦ thatās the dream we all share and thatās what SAFEnetwork is all about. Iād like to see us share that tagline too personally.
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Advertising has worked for me, but not by such people through such channels; not when it is someone presenting themselves to me for the purpose, and not in media purpose-designed for it (e.g., I gave up on Yellow Pages long before it shrank to the nubbin that it is now).
What has worked for me is advertising that I made myself: circulars and spam. 
So the lesson for me is that spam works, for the spammer but not for the spammee.
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I think this is something we need to discuss if enough wanted the privacy, security, freedom stapline although others will have other ideas. We will go over this for sure, thanks for the feedback.
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How much advertising or marketing does the Free Software Foundation do? Richard Stallman raffling a toy gnu at one of his lectures is all I can recall, and they have a website that tells you all about them. But GPLd software runs on most servers on the Internet. Software produced by them, or carrying their licence, builds out GNU/Linux from the mere kernel that is actually Linux.
Lesson: if you build something people want then they will use it, and no amount of marketing makes any difference. marketing is like psychiatry, journalism, and politicians: people trying to persuade you that they produce something real when they donāt.
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I donāt really agree. People would spend billions on it if it didnāt work and with PPC, remarketing, FB adsā¦etcā¦ is has become much more measurable. I agree that if you build something of poor quality then a huge marketing budget probably want convince people to use it, however, effective marketing supplements a strong product/platform.
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I think you made your point quite clear several times. The poll shows that there is a decent number of people on this board who have a different stance on branding and arguing by alleging that those people are just about quackery doesnĀ“t helpā¦like not at all.
So my comparison with the FSF is unsound?