Over the past two months, we've awarded $42,000 in prizes to winners of daily creative challenges. Now everyone has a chance to compete for the Grand Prize, in a contest where one person will win a laptop, software, and merch prize package worth nearly $8,000!

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THE CONTEST

Step away from the computer and re-create the Veer logo using real-world objects or materials. Build, carve, light, shape, cut, project, or [insert verb here] your entry, then take a photo and send it to ideas@veer.com along with your name and mailing address. Entries will be judged on creativity, execution, and sheer awesomeness.

You can grab a vector file of the logo here: http://bit.ly/veervector

*** The deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m. PDT, November 5, 2009. ***

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THE GRAND PRIZE

A MacBook Pro and accessories worth nearly $8,000

- Apple® 17” MacBook Pro
- Adobe® Creative Suite® 4
- 1,000 Veer Marketplace credits
- Jukebox Type collection (122 fonts)
- a Type Tray laptop cushion
- a Kern Zip-up

Plus the envy and adoration of all of your peers (including us).

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The winner will be announced here on The Skinny on November 10, 2009. For full rules, regulations, and eligibility requirements, click here. Play hard!

T-shirt I recently designed for Kokanee Olympic Program (through GRIP in TO).
The theme was "Fernie, BC"... not much more in the creative brief than that, really, beside a palette and a big no-no to use the sasquatch (if you're familiar with their Canadian ad campaign!) Darn!
So, I vectorized a picture of Mount Fernie, found stats on wikipedia about the town, its altitude and GPS coordinates, and voilà!... can't wait to see it printed and worn.

Strips for any occasion you desire.

This weeks it’s all about strips. Dark strips, light strips any type of strip strip!

This week’s “It’s A Wrap” includes, 2, 8.5×11 wraps and 2 gift tags for an occasion.

{More Information}

There have been a handful of concerned emails (from individuals, and also a large, governing design association that we love) that the grand prize contest we’re running could be perceived as a “logo design competition”.

We wanted to say a few things about this to dispel any worry.

1) The Veer logo was designed by Sheldon Popiel (one of Veer’s founders) in 2002. We still like it and have no intention of ever changing it or asking anyone to redesign it.

2) The grand prize contest is an offline art and creativity challenge. We’ve asked participants to reproduce the Veer logo in an interesting way and snap a photo.

3) When the contest concludes, we’ll be showcasing the entries online for the creative community to enjoy. That’s the only way the entries will be used.

4) The contest abides by and respects the regulations and best practices of both the AIGA and GDC. Those are, in fact, two of our favorite acronyms.

And lastly…

5) Veer Ideas, The Skinny, and all of the contests of late are conceived and hosted by members of our in-house studio. We're career creatives just like you, with the same principles and pride that go along with that. We would never ask a creative to do something we wouldn’t do ourselves, and we are wholeheartedly against both spec work and logo design competitions. And cannibalism.

Well the lads and lasses here have been working away on making the Veer Ideas section even more usable. Here’s a quick list of some of the highlights.

Notifications:
Well, this one really just makes sense :) Now you’ll see when someone has commented on or tagged your posts, portfolios, profile, and worlds, and when someone has added you as a contact. You can also set up e-mail notifications if you like. You can access notifications on your member page and a link will appear next to your name at the top-right of every page. As an interesting side-note, you can see who is following you using the “See who has added you as a contact link” at the top of the contacts page.

Drafts:
Now you can create posts and portfolios in draft mode which lets you publish everything when you’re actually ready.

Centralized Worlds:
All of those fantastic worlds are now viewable from the “See all worlds” link on the World of Possibilities 2 page, and from members pages under “Activities”. The Fat has been cleaned up and is now reserved for design-related posts.

Simplified Links & Bits:
Go nuts and use free form text and html to add interesting information about yourself. No more fields to fill out...

For the Geeks:
Lots of Ruby performance improvements. Booyah!

We hope you like the latest additions to the site and, as always, just drop us a line or leave a comment here if you have suggestions for additions or changes.

Caffeineasaurus:This ferocious cafevore's frequent tail twitches easily clear coffee shops, staff rooms and commuter trains - virtually anywhere there is a pot of coffee brewing. It's high sensitivity to the pungent odor of fresh brew sends it into a terrifying tizzy to tipple top off after top off.

One pumpkin. One knife. One killer creative instinct. This week we're asking you to carve up a jack-o'-lantern for Halloween and submit a photo of your handiwork. Extra points if you can incorporate some typography or design references! The 5 best pumpkins will win $199 subscriptions for Veer Marketplace.

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How to participate:

1. Carve a pumpkin into a jack-o'-lantern.

2. Take a photo of your finished pumpkin.

3. Host your image wherever you like (Flickr, TwitPic, Veer Ideas, etc.).

4. Sign up or sign in to your free Veer Ideas account.

5. Post the URL of your image here, in the comments section of this post.

Having trouble signing in? See the first comment below, for help.

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Entries will be judged on design and craftiness. You have until next Thursday (October 29nd, 11:59pm PDT) to enter. We'll announce and post the five winners here and on Twitter (VeerUpdate) on Friday.

For more information and eligibility requirements, visit the contest page.

The final week of daily and week-long contests is over! Phew. Here are the week's winners and entries:

Contest #34: Carve a pumpkin - extra points for type and design references.
Joe Buckland for Pantone 144
Kristin Gibson for Happy Halloween
Austin Jansen Shy Guy
D78 for Kernie!
Patrick Snyder for Devil

Contest #35: Take a photo themed "HALF".
@infinetcreative for Entry
@traisea for Entry
@amaliachimera for Entry
@wizzoh for Entry
@Nekouyoku for Entry

Contest #36: Write a typography-related scary movie title.
@thecorybardwell for “2012: The End of the Univers”
@johndiggity for “The Texas Chainsaw Majuscules
@garyblaney for “Zombie Apoc-Ellipsis”
@popandshorty for “An American Typewriter” in London
@monkeyhumper for “Vampire Dingbats 4”

Contest #37: Caption this photo of a man and his son at the beach.
@cheeseduaneish for “Now swim away, boy...become the merbaby you were always meant to be!”
@Rob_Objectz_III for “Nothing like a game of catch. Try tossing a little son with your ball at the beach.”
@jsb182 for OK, “Dad, I think I've got the basic stroke down. But isn't swimming supposed to be in the WATER?”
@hamtibz for “In the case of flying sepia toned silhouette baby, you ARE the father!”
@barispe for “Ballonboy finally jumps out when he hits the beach. Thank God his dad was there to catch him, with the media in tow.”

Contest #38: Create a type sample that says "The End".
@Kaonashii for Entry
@maydaybrandon for Entry
@thursdy for Entry
@EpifanioM for Entry
@lizfulghum for Entry

Hello!

Come to my veer space to see my artistic side.

Please leave a comment too, let me know you were here.