Not sure what happened here, but I'd just like to make it clear that I do realize graphic design can take a very long period of time, especially from scratch. I am a freelance web developer part-time and work directly with one of my best friends who is a graphic designer and our work is split 50/50 time wise. Much of that work is sunk into logo design, type-facing, color schemes, custom artwork, and layout design. Many of those things can take place in this contest as well, and for a fully redesigned banner or theme, yes, the amount of time that is required is on par with the programming contest.
However, the average banner being submitted is certainly much less work than the BARE MINIMUM you need to do for a functional coding entry. All I simply meant when I said what I did was that the barrier for entry is lower for all of them but the programming one, and therefore takes a guaranteed amount of time that is generally greater than the others. And of course, the inherent issues faced when throwing code up on a site was my main concern, which has already been addressed.
Hope that clears some things up.
However, the average banner being submitted is certainly much less work than the BARE MINIMUM you need to do for a functional coding entry. All I simply meant when I said what I did was that the barrier for entry is lower for all of them but the programming one, and therefore takes a guaranteed amount of time that is generally greater than the others. And of course, the inherent issues faced when throwing code up on a site was my main concern, which has already been addressed.
Hope that clears some things up.