Digital Mischief for a Good Cause
The Ice Bucket Challenge - a pretty rad fundraising stunt - kicked off in August and Facebook feeds and Twitter streams have been awash (pun unintended) ever since with images or video of celebs, pop stars, CEOs, politicians and ordinary people tipping icy cold water atop their heads in the name of a good cause - to raise awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) also known as Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The aqueous endeavours of millions of people has generated over $100M in online donations. DesignCrowd also wanted to help raise awareness about ALS so we launched a photoshop design contest with a twist.
Designers were invited to create some fun images and photos of famous historical figures doing the #icebucketchallenge. The winner was quite a subtle (and very clever) submission from Bucharest, RoumanianI-M-Unique featuring an Egyptian mural. DesignCrowd asked I'm Unique how he came up with the concept:
I focused on humour and surprise. Initially, I visualized a painting of someone famous, a king of Medieval era but felt it wasn't going to be enough and I needed to present something out of the ordinary. So I started thinking 'what's impossible' and the Ancient era proved to be perfect. Thinking about a beautiful ancient wall painting... what would be better than the Egyptian paintings?
The DesignCrowd judges agreed unanamiously that I'm Unique's submission was very clever, funny and innovative. Well done!
The winning prize of $290 was matched by a donation from DesignCrowd to our local ALS organisation. We had a lot of fun with this contest and below are a heap of entries featuring famous historical figures like Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, JFK, and the odd fictional character like Santa plus much more. Twenty-six designers submitted over 85 designs and the best are showcased below. Enjoy!
US Presidents and Famous Political Figures
UK designer mzpresto submitted this description with his submission of current US President faking the ice bucket challenge: "Obama refuses ice bucket challenge, but donates instead. Oh really? Says who?"
Don't Cry For Me Argentina:
The First Lady of Argentina, Eva Peron sings while taking a drenching
Photoshop Design by Rijan
Technically not a historical figure, Kim Jong-un is the son of Former Supreme Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, and we couldn't resist.
Albert, Artists, Actors and Art
Elizabeth Taylor dressed in her most famous role as Cleopatra does the Ice Bucket Challenge
Photoshop Design by Jellie
Group Pics & Other Cultural Oddities
Only a contest like this one could justify this lot of superstars being 'chopped' together in one graphic.
We don't believe he exists but if did exist, Santa Claus, would totes be up for the ice bucket challenge.
Famous Sports Stars From the Past
View more designs here: Ice Bucket Photoshop Design Challenge 2014
I hope you enjoyed the round up. Which was your favorite design? Have you done the ice bucket challenge? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Written by Jo Sabin on Thursday, September 18, 2014
Jo Sabin is Head of Designer Community at DesignCrowd. She's led the company's public relations and social media programs since 2012. With more than ten years' experience working with Australian and international tech startups in the creative industries, Jo has been instrumental in meeting DesignCrowd's objectives in Australia and abroad. Get in touch via Twitter.
