FR: Rick Raddatz, CEO
RE: Artists -- Would You Like More Clients and Better Clients?

 Sunday, November 4th, 2007

If you do high-end website design, I'd like to promote YOU to my entire list of high-end internet marketers -- hundreds of thousands of them!

Here's the scoop. We're about to launch a bunch of new products, and so I want to re-design my Xiosoft.com homepage.

If I were to hire just one artist to do my new site, that artist would "eat for a day". But if I run an ARTIST CONTEST -- and if you are in the top 20 finalists, then I will promote YOU to my ENTIRE prospect list, and I will post YOU on my Recommended Resources page for at least the next 12 months. If that happens YOU and those other 19 artists will "eat for a lifetime".

This is my 'Starving Artist No More' Contest. :)

How cool is that? A true win-win scenario.
    **** CONTEST RULES ****

  • Step 1: Help your fellow artists by spreading the word about this contest on blogs, forums, etc. ( Xiosoft.com/ArtistContest )

  • Step 2: Take this image and improve it as much as possible. Use any style you want, but entries will be judged on their estimated real-world success. (Here's a high-res PSD of the logo)

  • Step 3: See below for a list of what you can change, and what you cannot change.

  • Step 4: Email it back to Work@Xiosoft.com with the subject line 'MAKE ME FAMOUS' and include your name, phone number, website, and the preferred email address for first-time contacts.

  • Step 5: The top-20 artists (judged by me and my team) who submit entries by November 16th will be promoted to my list, and added to my Recommended Resources list for at least 12 months.

  • Step 6: If you submit an entry by November 9th, I will give feedback to you so you can submit an even better entry and have an advantage in the final judging. (Quick turnaround should be rewarded I think!)
That's it!

It's that simple.


HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU MUST KEEP THE SAME:
  • Keep the image size exactly as-is.
  • Keep the Internet Explorer 'frame'. (to show your re-make in context)
  • Keep the non-latin words the same.
  • Keep all the page elements. (but feel free to move them around)
  • Keep the video-still-frame of the woman
YOU CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING ELSE!!
  • Art-Style / Logo / Icons / Fonts / Colors / Layout / Art-Style
  • Video-player controls
  • Sizes of anything/everything can changce except the size of the video (320x240)
  • You can remove or change the grey border between the browser frame and the white area
  • You can make the mock-up interactive or animated if you like... in that case send me HTML and art files in ZIP format (not SIT or RAR!) And please use relative paths in your HTML so I can place your artwork in a sub-folder without issue. Use <body TopMargin=0 bottomMargin=0 leftMargin=0 rightmargin=0> so it appears correctly in the iframe.
Here again is the starting point for your work. Take this mock-up and have fun with it!


Click for Full-Size Mockup Image

Click to Download a 9mb PSD file of the Xiosoft Logo

IMPORTANT: All submissions become the property of Xiosoft Inc and by submitting your artwork you give Xiosoft Inc permission to use it any way Xiosoft desires including but not limited to using it as inspiration and making derivitive works.

NOTE: Xiosoft reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of artists promoted based on the quality of submissions.

Why do this contest? Why submit your best work for free?

 1) The best time to raise your prices is when you're flooded with clients

2) The best way to get flooded with clients is to have someone with HUGE impact in the marketplace promoting you.

If you have what it takes, this could be a career-making move for you.

So have fun, and Good luck!

Rick Raddatz
CEO, Xiosoft