Challenge Summary
Contest Summary
Welcome to the TopCoder SXSW "Presentation Template Design" Contest. TopCoder is very excited to attend the annual SXSW event that will be held next month (March). As an exhibitor at the SXSW event, we would like to create a presentation that explains TopCoder to a SXSW visitor. We will have a large wall display with 4 large monitors on it. This contest is the second of a series (of quick!) contests to get the presentation theme designed and created for SXSW! Help us out!
[adroc] will be managing this project and providing feedback so let me know what questions you have!
Round 1
Okay - I'm looking for you initial concepts - ANYTHING you want feedback on. I don't want you to waste time going in the wrong direction. Show me your thoughts!
Round 1 design items
0) Opening Slide (with icon updates)
1) Studio Slide Design
2) Education Slide Design
3) Analytics Slide Design
4) Enterprise Slide Design
- any extra slides would be useful!
- remember - simple!
Please number your images (00,01,02,03) - the order I should review them.
- Notes.jpg: Send me some notes and comments! (I'll read them...promise!)
Round 2
Final designs!
Round 1 design items
0) Opening Slide (with final updates)
1) Studio Slide Design
- Slides 1 & 2 (final design)
- Any additional slides you might want to design
2) Education Slide Design
- Slides 1 & 2 (final design)
- Any additional slides you might want to design
3) Analytics Slide Design
- Slides 1 & 2 (final design)
- Any additional slides you might want to design
4) Enterprise Slide Design
- Slides 1 & 2 (final design)
- Any additional slides you might want to design
- Any new items requested in Round 2
- Number your images! (00,01,02,03) in the order I should view them
- Notes.jpg: Send me some notes and comments! (I'll read them...maybe) :)
Contest Details
South by Southwest (SXSW) is the annual film/music/interactive conference conducted every March in Austin, Texas. One of the more popular events of SXSW is the interactive portion of the conference that draws a large technology/interactive/creative crowd to one location. The conference is a platform for startups and techies to showcase their new ideas and services to the world.
This year, Topcoder will attend as an exhibitor at this big event. I would like to create a great "presentation" of what TopCoder brings to the technology/interactive world. I'm looking to impress viewers who step into our booth and want to learn more about TopCoder and the TopCoder community.
Presentation Concept
We have four (4) areas that we want to focus on:
- Studio
- Education
- Analytics
- Enterprise
I envision each of these "TopCoder Pillars" being on 1 of 4 large monitors we will have in our booth. A user can go though any of the presentations to see how the TopCoder community creates and completes projects within these 4 areas. We will also create a quick iPad (HTML5) application to launch a user into 1 of the 4 presentations. I would also like to use this design after SXSW to help explain TopCoder to potential customers.
Design concepts [adroc] wants you to think about
- Think lush colors that would look great on large wall mounted monitors
- Think "great slide presentation" - modern graphic design (this should work as a Powerpoint and web slides)
Note: I also want to track how we get this project done (I'll make sure to recognize the contestants) as a case study at SXSW
Design Guidelines
For this contest I want you to create a template (Theme) that can be easily updated with graphics generated by a future contest. Please share any designs/thoughts you have on how this presentation could work and look.
- Design how the slides should look! After I click one of the initial icons... what do I see?
- Design the background/header/footer - keep it simple (maybe we don't have a header/footer and its simple text plus imagery)
- Create new graphics that help the presentation "POP"
- Include the Topcoder logo - it can be subtle on each slide. Do not distort or angle the logo. You can make it a solid color or transparent - but it must be tasteful. Please use topcoder_logos.zip
- Make sure you do not use logos of clients (NASA, NoNameSite, etc) mentioned in the specification, you can failed in screening if still do this. Just put placeholder if you still want embed the logo in contest.
Deliverables (what I'm looking for)
Opening Slide
- I need you to merge the slide icons/designs from the first contest
- Reference "02_tablet_sample.png"
- Make sure they all look like they belong together
Studio Icon:
- Use the 1st place "Enterprise button/icon" as your base. I like the gray/metallic look and depth to this icon
- Merge the Studio icon from 2nd Place (01-Studio.png - the color wheel) into the base design of the 1st place gray/metallic look
Education Icon:
- Use the 1st place "Enterprise button/icon" as your base. I like the gray/metallic look and depth to this icon
- Merge the Studio icon from 2nd Place (02-Education.png) into the base design of the 1st place gray/metallic look
Analytics Icon:
- Use the 1st place "Enterprise button/icon" as your base. I like the gray/metallic look and depth to this icon
- Update the 1st place Analytics icon to work with the gray/metallic look/depth
Enterprise Icon:
- Use the 1st place icon
Studio Presentation
Reference SXSW-Studio.doc
I am not looking for all the slides in this contest - just a base design to get the rest of them designed.
- Focusing on Studio and TopCoder strengths - what makes us stand out
- You can reference/use the backgrounds from the 1st place submission or design a new solution
- Focus on a consistent look/feel/theme across the presentations - what makes a user know they are in the Studio presentation?
Slide 1) Provide a design
Slide 2) Provide a design
Any additional slides would be helpful
Education Presentation
Reference SXSW-Education.doc
I am not looking for all the slides in this contest - just a base design to get the rest of them designed.
- Focusing on TopCoder and Education
- The presentation for Education will use slides and information from our education site NoNameSite.
- You can reference/use the backgrounds from the 1st place submission or design a new solution
- Focus on a consistent look/feel/theme across the presentations - what makes a user know they are in the Education presentation?
Slide 1) Provide a design
Slide 2) Provide a design
Any additional slides would be helpful
Analytics Presentation
Reference SXSW-DataAnalytics.doc
I am not looking for all the slides in this contest - just a base design to get the rest of them designed.
- Focusing on TopCoder and analytics
- This is extending the TopCoder algorithm and marathon match capabilities
- Concept: Big images, very little copy throughout
- You can reference/use the backgrounds from the 1st place submission or design a new solution
- Focus on a consistent look/feel/theme across the presentations - what makes a user know they are in the Analytics presentation?
Slide 1) Provide a design
Slide 2) Provide a design
Any additional slides would be helpful
Enterprise Presentation
Reference SXSW-Enterprise.doc
I am not looking for all the slides in this contest - just a base design to get the rest of them designed.
- Focusing on TopCoder and our Enterprise clients
- You can reference/use the backgrounds from the 1st place submission or design a new solution
- Focus on a consistent look/feel/theme across the presentations - what makes a user know they are in the Enterprise presentation?
Slide 1) Provide a design
Slide 2) Provide a design
Any additional slides would be helpful
I would like to see the initial presentation design
- How does everything flow together? Is it modern graphic design?
- Use color! make sure the color usage makes sense
- Keep the typopgraphy/text/graphic simple yet sharp to a viewer
Best Practices Presentation Design References
Reference 1
Reference 2
Reference 3
Attachments
- Let me know if your looking a specific TopCoder file or reference - I'll try and help you out
Target User
- SXSW attendee
- Potential Customer
- Potential New Community Members!
Judging Criteria
- Hey - is your design cool!
- High quality and cleanliness of design (always a priority)
- User Exprience (it needs to be sweet)
- It needs to visually "POP"
Submission & Source Files
Preview Image
Please create your preview image as one (1) 1024x768 JPG or PNG file in RGB color mode at 72dpi and place a screenshot of your submission within it. You are free to resize or crop your submission to fit this size, but do not add any filters or elements for dramatic effect, such as drop shadows or reflections.
Submission File
Submit JPG/PNG image files based on contest submission requirements stated above.
Source Files
All original source files. Original source files should be saved as layered Photoshop PSD files or AI / EPS (Illustrator) files.
Final Fixes
As part of the final fixes phase you may be asked to modify your graphics (sizes or colors) or modify overall colors.
Please read the challenge specification carefully and watch the forums for any questions or feedback concerning this challenge. It is important that you monitor any updates provided by the client or Studio Admins in the forums. Please post any questions you might have for the client in the forums.