The Department of Interior Should be Ashamed

I got a disturbing retweet from USGS today

RT @Interior: Want to design @Interior's new logo? We're #crowdsourcing the design and want your ideas. http://on.doi.gov/mmBjBw

I clicked the link. What the hell, US Government?! They're offering $1000 for a spec logo design that will go on the clothing of over 70,000 employees. Are you SHITTING ME?! That's just highly unprofessional.

The other day I was saying "What the hell is WRONG with people?" when I read on Trey Ratcliff's website that the Austin airport had taken a photographer's work off Flickr, cropped out the best part and printed it and just put it up in the airport. Do companies just think creative people are all independently wealthy and make this stuff just for fun? We are happy for other people to use it for commercial purposes? They think that at A FEDERAL AGENCY?! I scared up some kind of budget document that tells me the Secretary of the Department of Interior has over $100 million to spend on salaries and expenses out of a $20 billion overall budget. And he thinks $1000 is a good price for their logo design? On spec? I think I can legitimately say "What the hell is WRONG with this COUNTRY?!"

So you say you want my idea? My idea is, "Fuck You, Department of the Interior." First congress insults the engineering profession with those NASA cuts and now you go and put down professional graphic designers? This country is going to hell in a cheap knockoff handbasket carried by the Department of the Interior.

I was going to use Comic Sans but then I saw Plantagenet Cherokee....

I'm reminded of an episode of Community where they have a contest to design a new school flag and the winner is an image of a sphincter ringed with the words E PLURIBUS ANUS.

To see all the entries so far click the Gallery tab at the top of the Crowdspring page.