Interior Department turns to crowdsourcing for new logo

The Interior Department's new logo - whatever it ends up looking like - will be a product of crowdsourcing enabled by new technology unheard of when the agency's current seal was developed nearly 100 years ago.

The famous seal featuring an American bison won't be going anywhere. Rather, the Interior Department is seeking a cheaper, simpler logo to be used on hats, T-shirts and other doodads.

In its quest for an updated logo, the department turned to Chicago-based crowdSPRING, a company that sets up an online contest for anyone to submit designs. More than 600 entries were filed online before the contest closed on Wednesday.

Next Wednesday, some lucky designer may get $1,000 for the winning logo, with two runners-up receiving awards of $250 apiece.

But the crowdsourcing doesn't stop there. "More specifically, the logo must appeal to the 70,000 employees of Interior, as well as (in alphabetical order) cattlemen/ranchers, coal miners, conservationists, farmers, fishermen, historians, hunters, Native Americans & tribal entities, offshore oil and gas producers, recreation enthusiasts (boaters, hikers, campers) and others," the agency wrote in its official call for entries.