After over a year of nail-biting anticipation, the creators of graphic design competition Cropped are bringing it back in all its glory.
“It’s back by popular demand,” said Cropped organizer and graphic designer Cole Hooey. “People keep asking about it.”
A past Cropped event. Photo by Ockhardt photography.
The free event, inspired by the format of popular TV show Chopped, pits four graphic designers against each other in three 25 minute rounds of intense design action. But, like Chopped, there is a catch – the designers are forced to use the “ingredients” given them by the organizers, in the form of four images, a font, and a theme.
“People are really interested in the creative process that goes on behind closed doors,” said Jeff Knight, a graphic designer who created and organized the first Cropped event in November 2012.
“For most people, they just see the logo, or final result – they don’t see the 10-40 hours of work behind it,” Hooey added. “At Cropped they can follow along with what the designer is envisioning.”
The Birth of Cropped
Photo by Ockhardt photography
Knight began to formulate the idea of Cropped after he noticed a disconnect in the graphic design community of Fargo-Moorhead.
“Originally it was to provide a competitive, bonding environment for creatives to meet…because that really wasn’t happening,” Knight said. “For me personally, I was looking for designers, but there was no club, and no chapter of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts).”
Knight held the first Cropped event in November 2012, and it was such a hit that it began to expand immediately. After a rapid-fire series of over 10 events held in Fargo, Minneapolis, and elsewhere around the region, the organizing team put the event on hold for a while – mainly because of the huge time commitment it needed, Knight said.
But over the past year he and other organizers Cole Hooey and Jordan Nelson couldn’t ignore the repeated requests for a Cropped comeback. After deliberating how much time they could put into it, they decided to start planning in early fall.
feels good to be a gangsta. Hooey + Knight.
Go All Out
You may see posters pasted around town, featuring a computer-cleaver design by Jeff Knight in battle-of-the-bands-esque style. Indeed, the creators highly encourage face painting, t-shirt making, and poster signs supporting your favorite designer. (The designers names have not yet been released – stay tuned on Cropped Facebook’s page for the announcement.)
“One time somebody blew up a photo of the contestant’s head, and that was awesome,” Knight said. “I want people to do that more. Come out and cheer on your friends.”
One way this Cropped event will differ from previous events is its new judging format. Rather than have the audience be the sole judge for the winner, this event will have two judges who vote, with a third vote coming from the audience.
“It changes it because you have to communicate something to the judges’ tastes, and to the audience,” Knight said. “You have to appeal to their senses.”
Ultimately, he said, the competition is purely about fun.
“This is not a representation of professional design practice. This is a taste,” Knight said. “It’s a quick exercise in creativity.”
The event is going down on Thursday, November 19, 7 PM at Drekker Brewing Company. Sponsored by Eide Bailly (“Eide Bailly is the best!” Hooey and Knight said.)
Winners will get prizes, a trophy, and of course….bragging rights.
Sign up here. Check out www.thisiscropped.com for more info.
