An agency of the Government of Saskatchewan is holding a contest for a logo and is offering $300?
I just heard the premier say he wants the province to get the same consideration other more prominent provinces get from Ottawa, but this seems to strike me as a step backwards in that goal for equal respect.

The majority of the entries are horrible, as you'd expect from open contests like this.

wow that sounds great i can do a whole bunch of work and probably not get paid and even if i do win i'll get much less than half of what i'd charge for a basic identity package

this is amazing thank you for the opportunity to work for free

just say the magic words "it can go in your portfolio" and "it will bring in other clients" i'm all over it

I think the AIGA says it best:

"AIGA believes that doing speculative work seriously compromises the quality of work that clients are entitled to and also violates a tacit, long-standing ethical standard in the communication design profession worldwide. AIGA strongly discourages the practice of requesting that design work be produced and submitted on a speculative basis in order to be considered for acceptance on a project."

See also this lowballers article, which gives more insight into the respect our profession deserves, though focusing on a different situation.

Please know and respect your audience's views before bringing something like this to the table.

"logo design contest"

Logo design contests produce crap results for the client, and no benefit to those that enter.

Agree.

I think I would start over with all the logos and your website. I would have a hard time getting inspired with the current website. It shouldn't be hard to find a designer who could handle the whole job. Find someone whose work you like and be prepared to pay them. Maybe you could find a local design firm who would do it at a discount in exchange for on-air and website promotion. I see shows on PBS that say "This program is brought to you by the Cheryl and Henry La-dee-dah Foundation". Maybe you could make some kind of exchange that way. Then your station and the designer would get something of real value.

Sharon

Imagine a hospital where anybody could enter a contest to diagnose a patient, and the one who was right would win a prize. No truly qualified doctor would ever enter because it would not be worth their time, the patient would most likely suffer, and nobody would take the hospital seriously.

Obviously this would never happen in real life, but if you replace "doctor" with "designer", "patient" with "logo", and "hospital" with "client", it somehow becomes acceptable? Do the right thing and hire a real designer unless you want your logo to suffer and nobody to take your business seriously.

- Lex

I agree with Lex, 100%

The entries you have so far look like the clip art collection of an elementary school library. Hire a qualified designer, it's worth it for the dignity of your company.