I just wanted to let everyone in on the progress and future vision of my baby.  At first the site was essentially extended posts that I would not have posted on UO.  However, the model of the site is changing and maturing a bit.

 

Traffic has been way up lately, and the new focus is to cover stories that aren't getting the mainstream media coverage they deserve.  This is going to include a lot of stuff about the arts, music, events, etc.  It will also cover press releases that other entities don't feel like picking up, or don't do a thorough enough job with it (i.e. GoCincinnati Report, environmental issues, etc).

 

The site has also taken on an additional writer for a more consistent stream of content.  I have also purchased the domain and made some graphical modifications to the site to give it a more professional look.  At the same time, I have been talking with various places about setting up special aggreements for UrbanCincy (i.e. exclusive news, discount specials, etc).

 

Things are improving quite a bit, and hopefully they continue to get better and the readership continues to grow on one of the growing positive Cincinnati blog sites.  Thanks for everyone on here that has helped to make the site what it is today...I am very thankful.

 

UrbanCincy

your cincinnati blogspot

Great work.  All we need is about two dozen more postive Cincy sites, and we could take the city over! 

Hmm, didn't even know that was your site. I come across it all the time in web searches. lol

I come across it all the time in web searches. lol

 

That's fantastic to hear.

this is awesome!!!

College student's urban blog site grabs attention

http://www.pulsedt.com/blogs/default.asp?Display=2191

I actually check your site out every morning before I leave for work. Didn't know it was yours 'til the other day though.

^Thanks for reading.

College student's urban blog site grabs attention

http://www.pulsedt.com/blogs/default.asp?Display=2191

 

Get ready for the big time!!  Your well on your way.

congrats on the write-up randy.  thats awesome. 

I'm currently trying to rework the site a bit.  Here are the changes on the way:

 

• Cleaned up graphics
  
• New header
  
• Changing the 3 dots around to be something more visually pleasing and actually have some kind of meaning (might need some help on this one)
  
• New slogan - connecting the tri-state with its urban core
  
• 1 advertising slot (still considering whether or not to do this)
  

 

Here is a quick mock up of what I may end up doing with the new header which incorporates the new slogan and the 3 dot graphic symbol.  What I'm thinking with the symbol is something that has the 3 dots - one for each of the three states.  It then shows them overlapping generally where the river might be within the region.  It also has different sizes to represent the overall population distribution in a very subtle way.  Thoughts?

I think you need to make the three dots somehow contain a U and a C.  That would be much better than just three dots. 

I know the talent that many of you have with graphic design and what not.  Right now I am in need of some help designing a logo for my website - UrbanCincy.com.  There may be some sort of reward and/or special recognition in it for the person who ultimately helps with create the logo.  The one thing is that I would like to get it in place relatively soon (1.5 - 2 months).

 

Website focus/slogan:

The slogan is "connecting the tri-state with its urban core."  The focus is on Arts/Entertainment, Urban Design, and Politics.  The color scheme should be the same as what is currently on the website, but should be able to work as a logo printed on various forms of media.

 

Other notable information:

The site gets between 8,000 - 12,000 pageviews/month with about 6,000 - 9,000 unique visitors.  The logo will be used extensively on the website, Facebook page, any advertisements, and possibly any future collaborations with other companies.  These companies may include, but are not limited to: Esemble Theatre, Blue Wisp Jazz Club, FMG Entertainment, Know Theatre, 94.9 The Sound, Vitality Over-the-Rhine, and the Contemporary Arts Center.

Would you like for it to continue to be a wide banner or something else?

Can you give us the color numbers for your current color scheme?

Would you like for it to continue to be a wide banner or something else?

 

No this should be in a logo format...something more square in shape.  It should be compact...much like stuff you see on promotions where there are sponsors and what not.

 

Can you give us the color numbers for your current color scheme?

 

Dark Blue (background color on website):

RGB = 17, 34, 50

CMYK = 90, 75, 53, 63

#112232

 

Red:

RGB = 221, 169, 119

CMYK = 15, 36, 58, 0

#DDA977

 

Green:

RGB = 152, 204, 119

CMYK = 45, 3, 70, 0

#98CC77

 

Light Blue:

RGB = 136, 222, 221

CMYK = 44, 0, 19, 0

#88DEDD

 

Grayish looking font:

RGB = 170, 187, 204

CMYK = 34, 20, 13, 0

#AABBCC

where would you like us to submit it to? And will you provide feedback to improve designs as we submit them to you?

You can submit here, or if you would like to keep your design secret (for competitive purposes) you can email your designs to me at [email protected].  You can send multiple revisions as I will most likely ask for certain things to be tweaked along the way.

Do we have any other takers...so far I have only gotten 1 response.

I messed with it some yesterday but I don't have photoshop, just elements so it's tough.

The deadline for submissions is August 3rd.  Some revisions can occur after that point, but all initial submissions must be in by that date.  There will be a cash prize for the winner in addition to the recognition you will receive.

Have we seen a skyscraper coming out of a cornhusk yet?

I STILL stand by that design. :)

Have we seen a skyscraper coming out of a cornhusk yet?

 

Nope...go for it.  :-D

I keed! I keed!

I won't be home till Aug 3rd.  I was wanting to attempt to put something together...

^That's fine...just please try to get something in sometime in early August.  I need to select a winner/logo by the end of August for a couple of different time line issues.

 

I will choose a date to announce a winner, so you could submit whenever up until a winner is selected.  Your chances at winning just greatly diminish your chance at winning since you will have limited time for revisions with any feedback.

 

So please do work on something and submit.

Here they are...these are the submissions for the UrbanCincy Logo Design Contest.  Color schemes for each design can be changed from what they are now, but I would like to know what everyone thinks of the overall look of each.  Please weigh in...btw, these are listed in order of submission not any kind of ranking (although I do have my favorite).

 

1.

 

2. #2, 3, and 4 are by the same creator

 

3.

 

4.

 

5.

 

6. The last three are variations on the same concept.  The creator submitted a variety of color combinations, I just decided to post the 3 different layouts submitted.

 

7.

 

8.

You can vote only once, but you are able to change your vote if you so choose.  The poll will close on August 20th and count as a factor in the final decision rendered.  Thanks.

They are all good. I had a hard time deciding between #1 and #6. I went with #6.

#3 reminds me of an album cover for They Might Be Giants

2, ohio is just such a sexy shape

I went with #6 as well. They're all very nice, though! :)

2 would be much better with different colors.  That given, 6 wins.

Don't mind me, I'm going to channel my favorite judge from 'America's Next Top Model':

 

#1. One of the criteria was that the logo should look good when printed on various media. Picture this logo - in black and white, on a business card.

 

#2. I like the playing around with the typefaces, as well as the stylized rendering of the buildings and bridge. I think it's a bit TOO stylized, though - the buildings don't evoke Cincy in particular. This gets the Creative award - it may not be the most workable, but it's definitely the most fun.

 

#3. Hipster album cover. It'll be dated in a year. Absolutely nothing tying it into Cincinnati beyond the verbiage.

 

#4. Better than #3 - love the dimensional qualities and the use of the negative space. Still a bit hipster album coverish - that extruded type could look like crap when printed on certain materials - and especially if it were to be embroidered on a ballcap. (Yes, you have to think that way).

 

#5. If I have nothing nice to say...

 

#6. Creative, iconic - not the most "forward" design but definitely the most workable and recognizable. Converted to black and white, it'd be just as effective.

 

#7 and #8. Not bad, but not as much "umph" as #6.

 

Creativity award to #2 - but the winner is #6 for me.

5 cuz it's real

3 looks like a bag from Urban Outfitters... 6 and 7 are kind of a tie for me.  I like the ".com" highlighted in green better with the orange letters of "connecting the tri-state..." of number 7, but I like the horizontal layout of 6 better.  So...6 it is, though you can't go wrong with 6 or 7 imo.

The winner will be announced tomorrow.

6 and 2. 3 and 4 are cool, but too VH1-ish.

I like 6 a lot, just not big on the font.

The winner is #6.  This was put together by UrbanOhio forumer CornerCurve.  Thanks for the input everybody, and a big thank you goes to CornerCurve for the excellent work.  All of the other submissions are very much appreciated.  Without those the competition and creative process wouldn't have been the same.

The title is the question. What happened to Urban Cincy, they used to have a highly active social media presence plus the website. They haven't posted anything in over a year and I haven't been able to find any information about it. I assume they shut down?

@taestellprobably knows first hand what is going on and what the future of urbancincy will be. 

Yeah, that was the website that got me addicted to urbanism and helped me realized how well off Cincinnati is in terms of historic amenities and form. I just kinda assumed all the guys working on the site got super busy with careers and started have families. Its hard to keep up such an endeavor, especially one that really didnt pay all that much. 

UrbanCincy was started by @UncleRandowhen he was an urban planning student at DAAP. Over the years he brought in additional contributors (including @JYP and myself) and at the site's peak, we were publishing 5+ articles per week. In college, I hosted a radio show called Explore Cincinnati, and after I graduated, we incorporated it into the site and renamed it The UrbanCincy Podcast. We also hosted an event series called UrbanExchange where people interested in urban planning and adjacent topics would come together at the Moerlein Lager House every month.

 

There's no real interesting story about why UrbanCincy stopped publishing. It just comes down to the fact that a we all got busier with our lives and careers, and always struggled to recruit new regular contributors to keep the site going. We would often get volunteers who would seem really passionate and excited, write an article or two, and then disappear. We did have a great relationship with the Cincinnati Business Courier for a few years, where they would republish UrbanCincy articles and the article's author would get paid, but that didn't seem to help our writer retention very much.

 

It's great that sites like Urban Ohio and Columbus Underground have been able to find business models that have allowed them to keep going. With UrbanCincy, the goal was never to start a business, it was just to have a place where we could publish news and opinions about Cincinnati's urban neighborhoods at a time when most of the local media was really dropping the ball. Thankfully, the situation is a lot better now, especially with the Business Courier's excellent coverage of urban development and transit issues.

Yeah, I was going to say that a major lasting legacy of UrbanCincy was pushing the BizCourier to actually give a damn about urban development/transit.  It was not like that prior as it was more-Mason-less-Madisonville-oriented.  For the record, I was proud to see all the good things that came from UrbanCincy (and fellow writer/owners).

There is a new group called Civic Cincinnati which advocates for Strong Towns style policies in Cincinnati. Some of the members of that group plan to use UrbanCincy as a platform for publishing some of their ideas and proposals, so you may see some new activity on UrbanCincy in the coming months.