AIGA is proud to present the first-ever poster show of the Carolinas. Join us and re|THINK our environment in the Carolinas.

1. Overview
2. Steps
3. Resources & Links
4. Judges
5. FAQ

AIGA Rethink Poster Competition Promo on YouTube.

1. OVERVIEW

re|THINK our environment in the Carolinas.

Believe. Conceive. Create.

Believe that our natural environment is in peril, but there is hope. Believe we, as creative professionals, are empowered to make a difference through design. Believe that small, local changes are the first and most powerful step toward sustainability.

Conceive an idea for a poster that promotes a direct, sustainable intervention that Carolinians can undertake to preserve the environment. Design a poster that communicates a sustainable practice or idea for use in everyday life. No idea is too small or too large. Cover any topic in the gamut of sustainable practices, from compact fluorescent light bulbs to wind-powered energy. Find an idea that speaks to you, describe it, and promote it through your poster design.

Create a digital poster design that inspires Carolinians to care about and protect the environment by making sustainable decisions in their everyday lives.

Encourage your colleagues to believe, conceive, and re|THINK by creating a poster.  Submit designs by February 15, 2008.

Attend the exhibition reception on April 4, 2008 at Designbox in Raleigh, NC, to share, learn, and re|THINK.

View the poster entries so far at Flickr.

2. STEPS

1. Download a template:
   • Illustrator
   • Photoshop
   • InDesign (zipped)
   
   
2. Design a CMYK poster that is 18.5 inches wide and 23.75 inches high at 300 dpi (portrait orientation).
   
   
3. Convert your whole design to a RGB JPG that is 598 pixels wide and 768 pixels high (portrait orientation). Save the JPG file with high to maximum quality (8-12). If your design includes small text you should send a file with higher resolution: a PDF is ideal. The next best option is a JPG that is 2000 pixels wide and 2568 pixels high (portrait orientation). Email rethinkposters@gmail.com if you have questions about file format and sizes.
   
   
4. The fees are the same for AIGA members and nonmembers, and you do not have to be a resident of North Carolina or South Carolina in order to participate. Submit your entry fee via PayPal. Entry fee is:
   • $10 for one design
   • $20 for two designs
   • $30 for three or more designs
   
   
5. After you complete the PayPal transaction, email your JPG design(s) to rethinkposters@gmail.com by February 15, 2008. Be sure to include your contact information: name, address, phone, and email address.
   
   
6. By emailing AIGA Raleigh your file you permit AIGA Raleigh to print copies of your design, to showcase your design online, to project your design at a gallery, and to provide free downloads of your file so web visitors can print their own copies.
   
   
7. All submitted JPG entries will be projected onto a wall at the April 2008 show at Designbox in Raleigh, so all designers will be part of the show.
   
   
8. Judges will select a handful of designs to print. If your design is selected, we will contact you to send a high resolution file for printing. Selected designs will be showcased online and be available for free download so web visitors can print their own copies and share your message.
   
   
9. Copies of the printed posters will be sent to AIGA Charlotte and AIGA South Carolina for public display. Additional copies will be available for purchase. Designers of printed posters will receive a free copy of their poster.
   
   
10. Dates to remember:
    • February 15, 2008 (entry deadline)
    • April 1, 2008 (show opens at Designbox in Raleigh, NC)
    • April 4, 2008 (opening party at Designbox, part of First Fridays Gallery Walk)
    • April 22, 2008 (Roundtable discussion on Design Sustainability. Details TBA.)
    • April 30, 2008 (last day of show at Designbox)
    
    
11. Contact: rethinkposters@gmail.com

3. RESOURCES & LINKS

Sustainable Design

• conservatree.org
• designarchy.com
• designbynature.org
• designcanchange.org
• ecolect.net
• greenbiz.com
• greenoptions.com
• metgroup.com
• metropolismag.com
• re-nourish.com
• seql.com
• sustainablepackaging.org
• sustaincom.org
• treehugger.com

AIGA Sustainability Efforts

• compostmodern.org
• sustainability.aiga.org

Carolina Environment

• earthsharenc.org
• enoriver.org
• NC Environmental Groups
• nc.sierraclub.org
• p2pays.org
• SC Environmental Groups

4. JUDGES

Amy Chapman Braun of Raleigh, NC, is the award-winning designer and creative director for the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke University. Under her design direction, the Nicholas School's Dukenvironment magazine and interactive Web site have received national recognition for excellence from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Braun, who focuses most of her work on nature and the environment, holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from Appalachian State University and has a background in ad agency design. A batik artist and fine art photographer, Braun has been featured in Coastal Living and Our State magazines and her personal artwork graces the hallways of the new five-star hotel, The Umstead in Cary, NC.

Michael Salter is an associate professor of digital arts at the University of Oregon. Previously Salter taught at Mount Olive College and lectured at East Carolina University, the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Peace College and the North Carolina Museum of Art. Salter's art work has shown nationally and internationally in Berlin, New York, London, Amsterdam, Miami, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Seattle, Atlanta and Chicago. Throughout his career as an artist, Salter has made a commitment to the support and success of Lump Gallery/Projects, an alternative art space dedicated to exhibiting challenging work by emerging artists. Michael Salter's work is a massive and in-depth response to visual culture. A self proclaimed obsessive observer he culls through the avalanche of mass media and corporate branding to find poignant, absurd and baffling pieces which become part of his work. His work bridges all disciplines from product and toy design, to kinetic sculpture, logotypes, animation, and signage. He is currently interested in cognitive behavior and its relationship to particular visual stimuli, and the continued construction of Styrofoam robots.

Noah Scalin is a lifelong activist and founder of the award winning, socially conscious design and consulting firm Another Limited Rebellion. Noah's work via ALR has been featured in dozens of international books and magazines and in 2004 Noah was named one of the Top Forty Under 40 successful young professionals who give back to the community by Style Magazine in Richmond, VA. Noah also founded the community supported agriculture group Sprout and is an adjunct faculty member in the graphic design department at Virginia Commonwealth University where he teaches Design Rebels, a course on socially conscious graphic design. Noah is currently in the midst of the year long art project called Skull-A-Day.

5. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who can enter the show?
The exhibition is open to everyone, both members and non-members of AIGA.

I do not live in North Carolina or South Carolina. Can I still enter the show?
Yes you can. We welcome entries from designers around the country and the world.

Does my poster have to be about recycling? Does my poster have to be about sustainability?
No. Your poster can be about any environmental issue that you feel is important to Carolinians, which includes recycling and sustainability but also includes numerous other issues.

Do I have to place logos on my poster?
No, we will place sponsor logos and designer info on posters selected for printing.

Should I include a white border around my design?
You don't have to. Posters selected for printing will have a white border added to them, so you are free to fill the design space with your image.