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2017 T-shirt Design Contest

Museum of Biological Diversity Open House

We are in this together! Discover the connections between organisms that sustain life on Earth.

The Museum of Biological Diversity Open House is the largest outreach event in the College of Arts & Sciences at The Ohio State University.  The 2017 Museum Open House will be April 22, 2017, and it will focus on "The Web of Life."

We seek creative interpretations of this theme to use in the promotion of the 2017 event.  We are looking for original designs that highlight the connectedness of organisms from across the tree of life.  The winner will receive recognition and an event t-shirt featuring his/her design.

Submission Deadline: Wednesday February 1, 2017 at 5:00 pm. Entry is free of charge.

See contest rules for details.  Questions should be directed to mbd@osu.edu

Contest Rules:

  1. ELIGIBILITY
    1. The contest is open to Ohio State University students and employees.  
    2. Participant must be 18 or older.
    3. Maximum of 1 (one) entry per participant. 
    4. Individual entries only. Collaborations are not eligible.
  1. DESIGN
  2. The design must address the theme of the 2017 Museum Open House -- “The Web of Life” -- as it applies to animals, plants and biodiversity in general. 
  3. Design must be completely original. Images that have been submitted to other contests or artwork that has been previously exhibited or sold are not acceptable. We reserve the right to request proof that an entry is the original artwork of the participant and created solely by the participant for this contest. Non-compliance to this rule will result in disqualification of the entry.
  4. Design and artwork must be participant’s original concept – no plagiarism or “sampling” of any kind.  Upon submitting an entry to this competition, the participants are solely responsible for any infringement of copyrighted materials. 
  5. Artwork deemed inappropriate will be disqualified.

We reserve the right to make adjustments to the winning design for purposes of reproduction.

  1. DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS & SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
  2. Design Specifications:
    1. Media: A five-color (maximum) design to be printed on a T-shirt. Design must be suitable for reproduction by silkscreen and must also adapt well to electronic and print media, to reproduction on small and large surfaces.

Size: 10” wide x 8” high (maximum). Use the 2017 Open House T-shirt Design Contest Template.pdf as guideline.

  1. Submission Requirements:
    1. Artwork must be submitted in digital media
    2. Size – resolution 300 dpi (minimum)
    3. File types accepted: .gif .jpg .png. Participant should be prepared to submit the original Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop file at higher resolution if the artwork is chosen.
    4. File names should follow format:  last name_title 
    5. Artwork must be created at final imprint size 
    6. Include ink colors and provide t-shirt color recommendation(s) for your design
    7. Colors used in the design must be in The Ohio State University secondary color palette. 
    8. Artwork must be signed and signature visible in the uploaded image
    9. All submissions must include a brief (50-100 words max) synopsis of the participant’s concept as applied to the theme (see form below).
    10. Entry must include a completed “Entry Form” & “Release and Waiver Form”. Must include participant’s full name (and artistic name if desired), date of birth, major & minors, year of expected graduation. 
    11. Entries that do not adhere to the rules will be disqualified.
  1. JUDGING
    1. Winner(s) will be picked based on:
      1. Adherence to the theme and rules of the contest
      2. Interpretation of the theme 
      3. Concept
      4. Creativity
      5. Composition
    2. The decision is final.
    3. We reserve the right to not select a winner if, in its sole discretion, no suitable entries are received.
  2. PRIZES
    1. Winning design will be recognized publically and receive an event t-shirt.
    2. All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation.
  1. DATES
    1. Forms and design files must be uploaded to the contest site by Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 at 5PM.  
    2. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, February 15th, 2017 after 1 PM.
  3. By entering this art competition, the participant is granting The Museum of Biological Diversity a non-exclusive perpetual license to reproduce images of the submitted artwork for other purposes/projects including, but not limited to, printed materials, (give-aways like mugs and tote bags), public display, websites, social media, and/or institutional publications. We reserve the right to modify the artwork for these purposes. The winning design will be reviewed by OSU’s Trademark and Licensing Office.