Dear all,

Recently we have passed the 250,000 milestone on eYeka! Two hundred and fifty thousand creative creators! How awesome is that? :D

So today, we would like to express our gratitude and thanks to each and everyone of you. Because without you, we will not be where we are today. You guys rock!

And to celebrate this milestone, we asked some creators on what they think about eYeka, whether eYeka has changed their life for better or worse. Check it out:

cloudesign (Indonesia):

eYeka is a place where I can work on some creations with my friends to answer a contest brief. This is very fun because it gives us plenty of experience from every creative process that we do. At eYeka, we also find a lot of inspiration from hundreds of thousands of creators about everything that is currently happening. We are also very happy to be a part of a big community with big brands from all over the world.

I hope eYeka will be able to accommodate all kinds of creativity their members have and appreciate them even better.

  garygeorgec (Philippines):

eYeka is a very good platform to enhance your skills. It changed my perception in life on how to create animations. The call for entries in eYeka makes your brain produce more creative stuff than usual. It forces you think out of the ordinary because most of the Call for Entries are really challenging.

Because of eYeka, I found my specialty: Paper Animation. It is very meticulous and needs lots of patience & time to make. Most artists struggle on what specialty to make and what style to perfect. I did too. For many years, I struggled on what style to make as my personality. I tried lots and lots of styles, from creating films with live subjects, to motion graphics, to combinations of different art styles. Through eYeka, it helped me furnish stop-motion paper animation style and at the same time, I was able to execute my concepts easily because with paper, I can create different scenarios of almost everything.

eYeka helps me a lot in helping others. Some of my prize money was given to foundations because we had lots of calamities. It also helped me in upgrading my gears and bought more stuff that I needed to create my entries.

eYeka also allows me to form a global friendship. From the moderators (Hi Amelia & Xuan! who are always there when you need them most. :) And also Marghe. She left eYeka a year ago but still a friend) to the creators and members. I had friends here that collaborated with me on my projects by just exchanging emails because we're million miles apart. From making concepts, to scripts, and soundtrack.

Even though most of our collaborated entries did not win, I am still proud of our works because for me, eYeka is not just about winning the call for entries. It's about having fun in creating what you love to do. And strengthening your style as you do it. And most of all, having international friends is awesome! You learn about their cultures and a lot more. :)

Enter the Call for Entries and have fun making your entry. Even if you don't win, at least you learned and had fun creating it! :D

  ranggaimmanuel (Indonesia):

I know eYeka from a friend about a year ago. He (Met Mangindaan) wanted to join a Danone contest at that time but didn't know what to draw. So I just gave him a simple sketch of my idea and he executed it perfectly. A few weeks later he told me that he won the 1st prize. We were both surprise and excited! I have never joined any online contest before, so this was something new for me. Since then, I've joined some contests on my own and surprisingly, I won some of them too (Nexity and Danonino). But one thing that makes eYeka an important part of my life is the latest contest that I won (Living in the moment). I was planning my wedding with my fiancé and we were having a money issue. Our savings wasn't enough to make it happen. We were just about to apply for a loan from a bank and suddenly when I checked my mail, there was an email from eYeka saying that I won the first prize! And you know what? The amount of prize I won was the same as what we needed for our wedding! For us, it was more than just a prize. It was an answer to our prayers. Now we're getting closer to the wedding day (August 31st), and thanks to eYeka, we can make it happen.   Alfonsog35 (Spain):

I can see that this is a very useful platform, you give the opportunity to some producers, designers, photographers, etc. to be known among great brands which they would have never been able to work for otherwise.

For me eYeka is quite complete. I saw a lot of platforms with the same concept but the contests were kind of disappointing, whether because of low prizes, or what the prizes were. What I like about eYeka is the various contests live on the platform, the fact that they are also interesting, and the different skills that we can use. I would not change that much on eYeka. I would maybe improve the translation of the brief, though.

  Narx (Portugal):  

I first discovered eYeka because I was looking for video contest. For me eYeka is an open door for everyone. It’s an opportunity for each and everyone to show their worth in front of big brands.

What I like most in eYeka are the various challenges present on the platform and also the fact that I keep learning in every contest in which I participate, besides the prize. What I would improve on eYeka is the interaction among creators.

  Savat (Italy):

I found eYeka during summer 2012.

I was browsing on Google to look for reference images for my work when I found something that was linked to the Y of eYeka. I was intrigued and, instead of saving the picture (the size was too small), I visited the page directly and I thought "this place is comfortable enough to put roots".

I personally see eYeka as a platform with eye-catching colors, proposing competitions from international brands, and multilingual contents... wow!

About eYeka, I like the fact that I can choose the right contest for me... I want to work alone? I'll find the contest that I can take on alone; I want to create as a team to have fun with friends / colleagues? I'll find the contest that unites us; you win? Then it’s so much better.

Another thing: I like the human touch from Prisca (and the people before her).

Here are some changes I would suggest for eYeka:

1-   A better multilingual service (translating a long brief is annoying when you're tired ... it's not exactly mistake-proof );

2-    A better e-mail notification would be appreciated;

3-    Find a way to view the winning works in confidential competitions (I want to be able to say "but my work was much better!"... it's my right :( ).

I hope you will appreciate my sincerity.

Peace and love, Salvo.

  HenriClairan (France):

 

What brought me first on eYeka was the desire to participate in contests to train me in the video field. This is a way to test yourself, to obtain a form of recognition, and also the opportunity to earn money.

I see eYeka as a modern initiative with a great future. This concept exploits the possibilities of the Internet to open up the worlds and free the talents and initiatives. In eYeka competition, the only criterion is the quality of work, regardless of the qualifications/diploma, the origins, your "relations", etc.. In this way eYeka is one of the few places in the world to achieve such an ideal equality level. The big advantage for designers is that for once we feel invited to participate, without any requirement (age, education, nationality, social class, etc..). It's fun!

Personally, my career goal is to become a writer and director of fiction. What interests me about eYeka are the video contest that enable to develop this narrative creativity. I like contests where you must tell a story, fairly original, daring and free, more than the "closed" competition, when something rather conventional is expected, or presentation of a product or a "new concept of consumption", for example.

Now how to improve the eYeka platform? Well, the eYeka platform has already improved, the main problem used to be related to the management before the reception of media and the communication. However, I still see a track for improvement:

-       Better communication on the results.

-       Keep this accessibility to all, and try to have more and more competition, with prices higher and higher!

-       Finally, maybe adding a forum for assistance, or a "meeting place" to enable different candidates to share their skills or experience.

  valerirr777 (Russia):

 

I am really glad that eYeka reached 250,000 members!

How is eYeka changing my life? This community has turned my life upside down! In a good sense of course! :) Before I used to live, work, develop myself creatively, but it did not bring the moral satisfaction.  A lot of ideas were born but there was no one to share it with… But now, after I suddenly became a part of this amazing community of the most talented and gifted people, it feels like I opened my eyes for the first time!!! All these world of ideas and creativity opened up in front of me!!!  And the whole world became alive, full of colors and odors. In a way, I found the sense of life! And it is really like that!

I participate in the contests because I want to share my ideas, express my creativity and to get the feedback! :) And I get it in every work, in every eYeka’s author !!!

That is why eYeka for me is my personal “pill” of self-expression, creative adrenalin and freedom of inspiration! eYeka has become a part of myself :) Without it it would not be so full, bright and intriguing!:)

eYeka’s authors – you are the best! eYeka – I love you! :)

  Pudich (Ukraine):

  I see eYeka as a global site for advertisers and creators, who are ready to rush to the embrasure of the creativity any moment. Since January 2012 I actively follow all the updates and new novelties of eYeka, And I would like to say that I am immensely glad, even better to say immensely amazed by the speed and quality of its development: website update, new contests, interactive communication with the eYeka team, simple and easy use and many more. This what makes eYeka special. This what will ensure its bright future. With every new brief I turn on starting the search for new ideas and to catch the inspiration. This process is so engaging that you want to repeat it again and again. It feels something like speed acceleration for a racer or dive in the water for a swimmer – it fascinates and traps you. This feelings make my life more interesting and full and enriched, which make me glad.

What do I like about eYeka is that first of all, it gets me by its simplicity and usability. Minimalism – the last trend of our society and eYeka has successfully implemented it. Together with that new briefs and interesting tasks, which I want to receive again and again. I would like to mention the staff separately: it is not that easy to find such understanding and remembering people in our tough world.

What would I like to change? Not to change but to improve. I would like to improve the interaction of the creators between each other. This is something that is really missing. Professional communication determines the professional development. It would be great to have something like a mini-chat for each contest.   ypp1117 (China)

I joined eYeka more than 2 years ago. eYeka is like my old friend – I check the website daily and see what the latest contest is. Like most creators, I found eYeka online by searching on the Internet. It was exciting to see such a great place to practice myself and win cash prizes. Actually I was quite disappointed when my first participation failed. I guess because there are too many great creators worldwide here. After all, it’s an international contest. Later on when I saw Coca-Cola contest ("Energizing Refreshment") with amazing prizes, I was so excited and wanted to participate. Sadly, I missed the deadline. Great news was, eYeka launched another Coca-Cola contest (which was only opened to Chinese creators) and I won! I can’t describe how happy I was that time. I bought an iPhone for myself and gave the rest of the prize money to my parents. I was so proud of myself! I participated a few times after that but didn’t win. Then I started to think of ways to improve. I realized sometimes I didn’t read the brief carefully, so when I was preparing for the next contest, I didn’t rush to finish up my creation. Instead, I did a lot of research about the brand and the brief – and I won again! Now I understand how important it is to read the brief carefully and get to know what brands really want. I know there are great creators everywhere, but you also need to trust yourself and be confident! This is what I have been experiencing in eYeka in the past 2 years. I've won some prizes and learnt a lot too. Thanks eYeka for providing such a good platform. I would especially like to thank all the Community Managers for the great service. I hope I could improve more in the future. I believe eYeka will improve too! I am looking forward to it.   rojesbastet (China)

I accidentally found eYeka and I found the contests here are very inspiring and attractive! It's fun participating in different kinds of contests, not just design, but also animation and even idea contests. I've learned a lot from each of my participation and for me, taking part in an eYeka contest is always an interesting experience. Sometimes you get to win prizes too! I visit eYeka frequently to see the updates and see which contest interests me most among those available. I think it’s good to keep your brain active and creative. I enjoy creating, no matter whether I win or not. Of course sometimes my entry gets rejected, but I always learn something new if I know the reason of rejection. That’s why I like eYeka. After being with eYeka for more than 2 years, what changes me the most is that now I am more willing to experience new things and try something different. Even though I may not be a professional, I want to showcase myself. Working with so many famous brands helps me to improve my creativity and develop my portfolio, especially with me being a student. eYeka is indeed a good platform. ------------------ THANK YOU, everyone! It was really nice and heartwarming reading all of your stories. We are glad if eYeka could be a part of your creative life and help you to improve in ways we've never imagined. Thank you for being with us and supporting us all these while. We truly appreciate it and we will keep on improving to give you an even better service and platform where you can showcase your awesome creativity. Thank you for squeezing your brain and pouring the creative juice to every creation you have made. Thank you for trusting us. :) Of course, we would like to hear from the rest of you as well! So what do you think of eYeka and how do you see it? Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestion to improve it in the comments below. We would like to hear from you :D And if you are keen to meet up with your fellow creators, do check out our eYeka Meetup page and join the meetup near you or create a meetup in your city! This would be a great way to interact with other creative minds and talk about the things you are mutually interested in. ;)

Cheers! The eYeka team