Hasta La Ideas

CR has partnered with Bridgeman Studio, a new online platform representing contemporary artists, to launch the Bridgeman Studio Award 2014. To help you with your submission, Bridgeman asked creative professionals to give their insights into what’s important when selecting licensed artwork…

Entrants will be assessed on their ability to translate up to five images on the theme of ‘joy’ to an album cover, a book cover and fine art print, ensuring they reflect the demands within the global image-licensing industry. You could win £500 and a year’s subscription to Bridgeman Studio offering professional representation for your work. 

CD/Album Cover

“When choosing the perfect image for your CD cover, don’t forget to consider the physical and practical confines as well as the purely aesthetic impression that it creates.”

Cass Cassidy, designer/director of Cassidy Rayne Creative

Book Cover

“Book covers need to lead a reader to want to pick the book up in the first place, so a bold image with strong composition is essential.”

Lily Richards is Picture Researcher for Vintage, at Penguin Random House

Fine Art Print

“Images depicting gardens, flowers and seascapes and British wildlife are enduringly popular and suit many rooms. I have also recently noticed more demand for graphic art and illustration.”

Georgina Angless, Bridgeman Account Manager, London office

Advice from Bridgeman Marketing

“With book cover design, album artwork and a stand-alone piece of art you are looking at very different formats. My advice would be to craft your idea into its simplest form and be true to yourself rather than trying to create something you think people will like. An emotional response is what you are trying to gain from the audience, and in the case of the Studio competition, it is the very specific emotion of ‘joy.’

I remember a quote by Fairfax Cone (a legend in the advertising world) who was once quoted as saying, “Speak to millions and you reach no one. Speak to one individual and you reach millions.””

Alan Firmin, Bridgeman Digital Marketing Director, London office

Advice from Bridgeman Studio Team

1. Look at what is trending in the licensing world. For top tips visit our monthly Studio wish list of subjects/areas that our sales team have identified as being ‘in demand’.
2. Consider anniversaries and annual celebrations. There will always be a licensing demand around celebrations like Easter, Christmas and sporting events etc.
3. Clear use of colour and medium. A clear, bold image has more chance of working across multiple types of licensing deals.
4. A good number and range of works within your portfolio. You never know, a client may be struck by an image they see of yours, and then on visiting your artist page, decide to license multiple images or ‘book mark’ you for future use. We therefore encourage our artists to submit work with a good range.

To enter, submit up to five single pieces of original artwork on the theme of joy, which will be assessed on their ability to be licensed on all three of the following products: Book Cover, CD/Album artwork, standalone piece of art. Deadline: May 20. Send entries to competition@bridgemanstudio.com

Licensing example of Bridgeman Studio artist for calendar: The directors of multinational food and shopping corporation Lotte Co. chose Rebecca Campbell’s artwork as the face of their 2014 calendars for clients.

Prizes and judges

Judging will take place on 21 May. The winner will receive £500 and one year’s free subscription to the Bridgeman Studio portal, offering professional representation for your work. Five runners-up will each be given a free one-year subscription on Bridgeman Studio or £100 (at Bridgeman discretion to decide which). Results will be announced in the CR’s July Issue and across all Bridgeman social channels, website and newsletter.

• Victoria Bridgeman – CEO (Bridgeman)
• Lucy Innes Williams – Bridgeman Studio Manager
• Patrick Burgoyne – Creative Review editor
• Pixie Andrew – Curator at Will’s Art Warehouse
• Jenny Wen – Director of Merchandising at Art.com

Details
• Maximum of 5 entries per artist.
• All artwork entered into the competition remains 100% copyright of the artist.
• All artwork can be used in marketing and advertising the competition from Bridgeman and third parties (Creative Review) .
• Entrants must give permission for their names and photographs to be used for publicity.
• The entry can be photography, illustration, digital art or fine art.
• All artwork must be 100% original copyright owned by the artist and not use any third party copyright material.
• Entries must be supplied as two files, one high resolution .jpeg sized between 3MB and 5MB, and one low resolution version, sized between 250KB and 500KB.
• By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to these terms and conditions.

Further details here