Cover Design Contest

$200 Award for the Winning Cover Design!
 
Spire will be holding a design contest for the cover of the Spring 2024 journal edition. Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Maine are eligible to enter the contest, as well as members of the public.

We welcome environmentally-themed cover design submissions in the form of photography, physically rendered or graphic artwork and other digital media. $200 will be awarded to the author of the winning submission, which will be chosen by a  committee of Spire’s Editorial Team and Advisory Board members. Other finalists’ submissions to the contest may be featured inside the issue.
 

Submission Guidelines 

 Submissions of physically rendered artwork should conform to the following specifications:
  • Lighting Condition: A physical piece must be photographed in a brightly lit room without a camera flash.
  • Image Quality: Please photograph all artwork with a DSLR, Digital Scanner, or other high-quality recording device. (Avoid cell-phones, for example.) Images must be at least 250 PPI and large enough to fit on a magazine-sized cover without having to blow up the image (8″ * 10″).
  • File Formats: Please submit photographed artwork in formats such as a PDF, TIFF, or high-quality JPEG.
 
Submissions of photographs should conform to the following specifications:
  • Lighting Condition: The image must not contain substantial amounts of “noise” or visual distortion.
  • Image Quality: Please submit your photo in either a TIFF or JPEG format.
  • Image Size: The photo must large enough to fit on a magazine-sized cover without having to blow up the image (8″ * 10″).

Submissions of computer generated artwork should conform to the following specifications:

  • File Formats: Please submit computer generated artwork in a PDF, TIFF, PNG or high-quality JPEG file.
 
The submission deadline for the cover design contest is February 1st, 2024. All submissions should be emailed to the Editorial Team at spire@maine.edu. The email subject line for all submissions should include the contestant’s last name and the words “Design Contest Submission.” Example: LastName_Design Contest Submission. 
 
Please send all questions to the Editorial Team at spire@maine.edu.