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Proposal: Marketing - Brand & Design

Ryan Taylor

Ryan Taylor

Well-known member
Foundation Member
This is a cross-post from www.dashcentral.org/p/mrktg-graphic-201611

This proposal seeks funding for professional graphics design services for our logo, background graphics, print media, document templates, upcoming website design work, and other deliverables outlined below.

Dash's current graphics - including the logo and color palate - have been in use since Q1 2015. The logo was the result of a community contest and has served us very well during that time. However, our monotone logo lacks the sophisticated look and feel of a professionally-designed logo, especially when compared to other projects in the digital currency space. Graphic design is critical as we approach a more mainstream audience in the near future, because our branding and other media communicate a great deal about the credibility of Dash through visual queues such as visual texture and depth, color choices, and design creativity.

Over the past several months, the Evolution team has been working closely with EtherDesign on the Evolution graphics, layout, and design and are impressed with the work to date. EtherDesign is a design firm that focuses on the cryptocurrency space, and they have demonstrated a keen eye for creating a modern look and feel throughout their work and excellent foresight to design in a manner that delivers a consistent experience across various devices. See more about the firm and examples of their work here: http://etherdesign.io/about

The proposed deliverables include the following:
- New logo or an improved Dash logo
- New color palate for use in various media types
- Background graphics and headers designed specifically for Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and the Forum
- Business cards
- Word and Powerpoint document templates
- New logos for InstantSend, PrivateSend, Masternodes, and the Budget System
- Dash presentation (slides and presentation) samples leveraging the template
- Dash conference handouts
- Marketing materials for conferences, including stickers and flyers
- Future Dash.org website design - Evo version, incorporating the new graphics

The fees for these deliverables will total 350 Dash. Work would begin in November and extend through the release of Evolution.

Requested funding is as follows for the November 4th budget cycle:
Total: 355.00 Dash

Note: EtherDesign is assuming the currency risk associated with this proposal.

Manually vote YES on this proposal:
dash-cli mnbudget vote-many 90b921bba8fe2b815466fdeaf3935ee9974b7c1fa9c6d83bf3b0d85fbcc19f88 yes
OR from the qt console:
mnbudget vote-many 90b921bba8fe2b815466fdeaf3935ee9974b7c1fa9c6d83bf3b0d85fbcc19f88 yes

Manually vote NO on this proposal:
dash-cli mnbudget vote-many 90b921bba8fe2b815466fdeaf3935ee9974b7c1fa9c6d83bf3b0d85fbcc19f88 no
OR from the qt console:
mnbudget vote-many 90b921bba8fe2b815466fdeaf3935ee9974b7c1fa9c6d83bf3b0d85fbcc19f88 no
 
Apart from EtherDesign, any other companies and relationships you'd like to share with us? I mean, all this time and suddenly when it's beneficial you want to tell us about their input. I think, just goes to show how opaque things can be.
 
babygiraffe said:
- New logo or an improved Dash logo
Click to expand...

Good proposal about new designs, but it is pity that it includes above string about Logo redesign.

So main voting for me will mean "Does Dash logo already need a redesign?"
And my answer is No, sorry - we have to proceed strengthening our identity, instead of changing it every 1-2 years.
("Rebranding every 7-15 years" years is OK for me though. This is how all super-dynamic companies do business).
 
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You know what I think?..... When a bunch of core millionaires don't put their own money on the line on a project this size....It smells, It smells rotten. I sold my last masternode yesterday..and I'll tell you why. (and I had 30+, thanks for running 5 of them Moo! You run a great service) I personally invest 10thousand+ dollars in the overall crypto space for promotion and outreach yearly on multiple projects without ever asking for a cent from any budget or any return at all because I believe that by investing in all... I raise all ships...I help you and me....We all benefit . WHY? Because I believe in satoshi's vision and!...the one rule of business ....put your money where your mouth is! When Core asked me to pay for a google suite app (4000$ or so , I can't recall exact numbers because it was garbage chump change) which they did pay me back for (THANKS!), I started seriously wondering.....why would they even ask? They are millionaires!....to save a couple of bucks on exchange fees? Now I see that this IS a ponzi scheme and that is why I am out. I know a lot of you in the community and I wish you well but this game consists of a few believers trying to catch up and being overlapped by the smarter,younger newer guys on the scene. While Dash is still farting around with logos and business cards, I ask why the hell?? If you believe in your product wouldn't you just fork out the cash to back your convictions!? Evolution is evolving at the pace of evolution, months are decades in this space. These "leaders" "devs" EVAN! (posterboy for kick a ginger day!) have millions of dollars and multiple thousands in income monthly but STILL refuse to really invest in their own vision? I smell a scam and I hope you all see that the core doesn't invest in their own dreams...they want a free ride. This is musical chairs and most of you will be left standing. This budget proposal is absolute proof that the ELITE are getting a free lunch. You will all be holding the bag. But? That is just my opinion.
 
GrandMasterDash said:
I mean, all this time and suddenly when it's beneficial you want to tell us about their input. I think, just goes to show how opaque things can be.
Click to expand...

Do you think all proposals involving external companies should be put out to tender? There are upsides and downsides to any means of hiring external companies. Direct engagement may be opaque, but tendering is slow and can still be gamed to predetermine or bias the outcome.

It is still possible to vote No on this proposal. As long as payments to external companies are posted as separate proposals, they can still be refused if they are a poor choice.
 
Put your money where your mouth is...That is my motto...I have sold all my masternodes and have moved to other systems. Like I said....I don't screw around and put real money into the systems to support you and all. I believe in the crypto space but we all know that 73% of all budget goes to 2 proposers...and really...I will be personally putting 50 grand into crypto outreach this next year to multiple platforms. The dash core does not put their money back into the system.
 
Well unfortunately @Dashmasternode you do not get a say in anything anymore because you sold off your last Masternodes. The beauty of the system is that the people with the most to lose will make the decision.

The reason the core team shouldn't fund things out of their own pocket is because we have a self funding mechanism. This self funding mechanism makes the decisions and funds what it believes is valuable to the network. If core started funding things out of their own pocket then the network does not get a say in any of their decisions, which means we have essentially been taken over by a 3rd party. Bitcoin development has been taken hostage by the biggest bidders and by your logic you want that to happen to Dash.

Another point to make is that the funds that go towards proposals are actually a tax (inflation) on the holders of Dash so if these guys hold Dash then they are paying for these types of proposals out of their own pocket through inflation.
 
Big yes! I would caution against changing the logo too much though. Look at Verizon and how horrible their logo redesign ended up. Let's not go there!
 
ashmoran said:
Do you think all proposals involving external companies should be put out to tender? There are upsides and downsides to any means of hiring external companies. Direct engagement may be opaque, but tendering is slow and can still be gamed to predetermine or bias the outcome.

It is still possible to vote No on this proposal. As long as payments to external companies are posted as separate proposals, they can still be refused if they are a poor choice.
Click to expand...

No no, perhaps I was misunderstood... I meant to say, they had this prior arrangements with EtherDesign yet it's the first I've heard of their involvement. So I was wondering, what other organisations / companies they are working with, because I think they should be more transparent about such activity instead of springing on us when they want something.
 
itscrazybro said:
Well unfortunately @Dashmasternode you do not get a say in anything anymore because you sold off your last Masternodes. The beauty of the system is that the people with the most to lose will make the decision.

The reason the core team shouldn't fund things out of their own pocket is because we have a self funding mechanism. This self funding mechanism makes the decisions and funds what it believes is valuable to the network. If core started funding things out of their own pocket then the network does not get a say in any of their decisions, which means we have essentially been taken over by a 3rd party. Bitcoin development has been taken hostage by the biggest bidders and by your logic you want that to happen to Dash.

Another point to make is that the funds that go towards proposals are actually a tax (inflation) on the holders of Dash so if these guys hold Dash then they are paying for these types of proposals out of their own pocket through inflation.
Click to expand...

For me, I no longer see this as self-funding because core team have shown there are things they will work on (or not) without asking money or permission from anyone. Overall strategy has never been asked of MNOs, we simply grant wishes one at a time. The budget system is actually a grants system and certainly nothing to do with governance.

Ask yourself, what are the stand out use cases for block chains? - voting and supply chain integrity... yet neither apply to dash. Yes, dash has voting but it doesn't manage version control or lock down binaries. The core team are not brave enough to apply block chain technology to their own project because that would take power from their hands.

This proposal introduces us to EtherDesign and it would appear they're already involved with dash... but I'll be damned if I can remember seeing their name before or voting them in. It's yet one more piece to the puzzle that makes me think this self-funding thing just isn't working out very well.
 
GrandMasterDash said:
Apart from EtherDesign, any other companies and relationships you'd like to share with us? I mean, all this time and suddenly when it's beneficial you want to tell us about their input. I think, just goes to show how opaque things can be.
Click to expand...
Your post seems to imply that our hiring of the design firm was somehow improper. Funding for Evolution design work was approved in the July and August budgets. It was made clear that vendor selection would happen at a later date, and the two proposals pre-funded this expense. We started with a couple of smaller projects and their work on the Evolution front-end continues.

Expenses for professional design fees are included in the "Legal & Professional Fees" expense line item in our financial statements (which I briefly discussed on the Q3 call yesterday). I also reported the remaining budget for Evolution graphic design stood at $11,081 at the end of Q3 (although there was only $10,000 allocated initially, price appreciation has outpaced the expenses as of that date).
 
David said:
Big yes! I would caution against changing the logo too much though. Look at Verizon and how horrible their logo redesign ended up. Let's not go there!
Click to expand...
I tend to agree with you. I would rather see enhancements to the existing logo than a complete redesign. That said, I'm open to being "wowed" with something fantastic that I can't live without. We'll have to see what comes out of the process.

I also think it's important to get the purpose-designed graphics for different properties like YouTube, Twitter, presentations, etc.
 
alex-ru said:
@babygiraffe please could you specify: what exactly will be changed in Dash Logo if this proposal be approved.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
We will be presented with options ranging from minor enhancements / refinements to completely new logo options. We would obviously want to obtain input from the existing community and the general population of non-crypto users.
 
GrandMasterDash said:
For me, I no longer see this as self-funding because core team have shown there are things they will work on (or not) without asking money or permission from anyone. Overall strategy has never been asked of MNOs, we simply grant wishes one at a time. The budget system is actually a grants system and certainly nothing to do with governance.

Ask yourself, what are the stand out use cases for block chains? - voting and supply chain integrity... yet neither apply to dash. Yes, dash has voting but it doesn't manage version control or lock down binaries. The core team are not brave enough to apply block chain technology to their own project because that would take power from their hands.

This proposal introduces us to EtherDesign and it would appear they're already involved with dash... but I'll be damned if I can remember seeing their name before or voting them in. It's yet one more piece to the puzzle that makes me think this self-funding thing just isn't working out very well.
Click to expand...
As pointed out in my other post, not all proposals include the vendor if the vendor hasn't been selected yet or the proposal makes up a number of smaller contracts. With the Evo graphic design proposal, those funds are spent on a multitude of small requests and projects as they are needed. As we could switch providers at any time based on the performance of the selected vendor, it doesn't make sense to lock the network into a single provider by including it in the proposal.
 
My concern is that this proposal will be used to further delay getting the Dash.org website completed. Comments like "Oh - we better wait for the new logo and color scheme before we release the new website." are coming I'm sure.
 
Let me clarify few things:
1. This proposal has nothing to do with the current work on the website - this is to fund a new website design necessary to promote Evolution. This will be a new page from the usability perspective and will have new design, as we are launching new product. So the design of the product and webpage should go hand in hand (therefore we have selected the same company, that designed Evolution wallet)
2. Logo is not going to be changed - it will be improved from the design perspective. There will be no revolution with the logo.
3. Maybe it is not explicitly written but the main point of the proposal is to create professional, comprehensive design of all Dash-related materials. At the moment we work with one page, designed more than year ago, and transform the elements from this page into different forms (headers, logos, templates, handouts, videos etc.) - this is far from perfection :) . We need the design refreshed and have dedicated elements for each type of materials and pages.
 
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