Every couple of years, it's time for some graphic changes on Playak, and 2009 is one of those years.

Working with PHP and HTML etc is no problem for me, but I have to admit I'm a total loser when it come to graphics. I know how to work with Photoshop, but almost everything I make with it has that certain 'My first graphics' touch With the new Playak template, it's no different. I used an old header image and changed it a little, and I'm sure you'll agree that it looks terrible (click image for full size):



Since I'm so hopeless with graphics, I thought it would be a good idea to ask our readers to design something better. Being a small independent site, I don't have huge giveaways for just one small grpahic, but I have some stuff lying around here, and I'll let the winners choose from that:

- 1 Seals Pro Rand Skirt 1.4 with double tunnel (XL)

- 1 Seapecs Kayaking Sunglasses - Sunset

- 5 x 2 Playak beanies, hats or baseball caps


And here are the requirements for the header images:

- 1200x100 px jpg, max 50KB (preferably also send me the original photoshop or illustrator file)
- should fit in well with the typical dark style of playak (emphasis on grayscales and yellow, plus maybe some blue for the water, sky etc)
- the 300 pixels on the right side should be insignificant (as we may cut it off) and easy to extend (as we may want to make it wider). making the right side flow into one solid color may be a good option.
- all artwork used should be owned by yourself or at least copyright-free
- the playak logo's rectangle and triangle should be recognizable somewhere. can be a free interpretation, as long as it can be recoginized as playak.
- i want to make clear that Playak is for all sorts of paddling. you can mix them into one image (as in my example), or you can send one version for stand-up-paddling and one for seakayaking.
- if I decide to use your header image, you're a winner. i'll let the designers of those header images that i like best choose their prize first. i know, that's a bit subjective, but here are some design elements i currently like: dark cityscapes, ipod-style sihouettes, clouds

Mail your header images to jeroen at playak dot com . I plan to start using them asap, hopefully as early as next week!

Happy designing!
Jeroen

PS
Playak log as Adobe Illustrator: playak.com/logos/logo.ai
Playak log as vector PDF: playak.com/logos/logo.pdf
Playak log as EPS: playak.com/logos/logo.eps
Playak log as GIF (indexed color): playak.com/logos/logo-complete.gif