Eligibility
All students from 7th - 10th grades, who attend an associate school district of Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools, and have parental/guardian consent, are eligible to compete in this annual virtual art, design, and photography contest. All students who wish to make a submission and participate in the contest must provide parental/guardian consent to these Terms of Participation when submitting your design.
Subject Matter
The subject matter is up to the contestant. However, the following general guidelines must be adhered to:
- Submissions should be the original artwork of the student submitting it and should not be older than one (1) year old.
- Only one submission to this category per student.
- No collaborative works or group projects are allowed.
- Any artwork determined to be copied or downloaded from the internet will be disqualified.
- All or part of the entry may not be developed by AI (artificial intelligence).
- All submissions must be received by the deadline to be accepted.
- Any work deemed "inappropriate" for school or public display and/or in poor taste (not family friendly) will be disqualified (no nudity or violence).
Submission Deadline & Timeline
The deadline for submission is Friday, December 1st, 2023. All submissions must be received via the contest entry form by 11:59 pm EST on or before the deadline date. Each student may submit no more than one entry per contest category. First and second place will be selected by a panel of judges designated by the Eastland Career Center Graphic Design instructor. Late entries will not be eligible.
- Submission Window: November 13 - December 31, 2023
- Show Opens: January 5, 2024
- Winners Posted: January 8, 2024
Submission Format
- Traditional artwork should be created with traditional art mediums, photographed or scanned, and submitted as a JPG file, that measures 10" tall, with the entry form.
- Digital artwork should be created in software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, GIMP, Inkscape, Sketchpad, Canva, Procreate, etc. and saved as a JPG or PNG file. The file size should not exceed 10mb and submitted with the entry form. See the table below for resolution and file sizes:
- Photography should be formatted to medium resolution and saved as a JPG file. See the table below for average resolution and file sizes. The file size should not exceed 10mb and submitted with the entry form.
| Resolution | Width | Height | Average File Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72ppi | 864px | 720px | 1.78mb |
| 100ppi | 1200px | 1000px | 3.43mb |
| 150ppi | 1800px | 1500px | 7.72mb |
By entering this Contest and providing your email address you agree that ECC may contact you directly about matters directly related to the Contest.
Design Requirements
- The design must be the original creation of the student submitting the entry and shall not be copied or duplicated from previously published art, including photographs, clip art or electronic graphic images. Photographs or photo manipulations will not be accepted.
- Designs should adhere to the contest subject matter: celebrating student voice and leadership.
- Designs should not contain any offensive or inappropriate content, including but not limited to hate speech, violence, or drug references.
- Designs should not include any copyrighted or trademarked images or logos.
Judging Criteria
Judging is based on recognized standards of quality, skill and workmanship. Entrants who are honored with an award should know that it is because their entry was judged as a quality entry by qualified and impartial judges. Once made, the decisions of the judges are final, and cannot be challenged.Entries will be judged based on the following criteria:
- Creativity/Uniqueness/Originality/Concept: There is evidence of imagination, creativity, and individuality. The result is distinctive and the concept presented in a unique way that is imaginative and inventive.
- Aesthetic Qualities: design, composition, balance, color/tone.
- Technique: The student chooses and utilizes media and tools competently to enhance the appearance of the work.
- Technical Skill: neatness, craft, quality.
- Overall Impression: What is the effect of the artwork in general and as a whole? Overall, does the artwork stand on its own as a complete and outstanding work of art?
Prizes
The winning entries will be selected by qualified and impartial judges and the following awards will be given:
- Best of Show prize will be awarded in each category. This is the top prize for the contest category. (Total of 3 awards)
- 1st and 2nd Place prizes will be awarded in each division and in each category. (Total of 12 awards)
- T-shirts will be given to the first 10 entrants in each category. Only one t-shirt per entrant. (Total of up to 30 t-shirts)
Terms of Participation
By entering the Contest, you agree to abide by these Terms of Participation. Either Eastland Career Center or the Graphic Design program reserves the right to amend the Terms of Participation at any time, and if we do so, we will publish the amended version on this website. It is your responsibility to check regularly to make sure you are aware of the updated information. If you do not agree to any changes to these Terms of Participation, your only remedy is to withdraw from the Competition.
Representation, Warranties, Covenants, and Legal Responsibility
By entering the Competition, you represent, warrant, and covenant that: (i) you are the sole creator and owner of any material you submit as part of your application (“entry”); (ii) display of the your entry does not violate any applicable laws; (iii) display of the entry does not infringe any third-party proprietary and intellectual property rights, including without limitation, copyright and trademark; (iv) all entries are free from defamatory, obscene or otherwise harmful or unlawful components; and (v) you are not bound by any obligations or conditions that conflict with your participation in the Contest. You further agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless ECC or the Graphic Design program, and each of its respective employees, officers, directors, contractors, agents and representatives, from and against any and all known or unknown, anticipated or unanticipated, third party claims, damages, liabilities, judgments, liens, costs and expenses, including reasonable outside attorney’s fees, arising out of your breach of any representation, warranty or covenant made as part of your participation and your entry in this Contest.
Publicity
You agree that ECC may use, without compensation, your entry, your name, voice and likeness for any purpose related to the Contest.
Miscellaneous
This Competition is void to any student outside the grade of 7th - 10th and any student outside the associate school districts of Eastland Career Center. There is no purchase required to enter this contest.
Contact Information
For questions or additional information about the contest, please contact: Brian Whitney, MFA, M.Ed.Graphic Design Instructor
Eastland Career Center
614.836.5725 x.1339
bwhitney@efcts.us