Contest Rules

View DxD's official rules, including what you need to enter and how to get permission from a parent or guardian.

The Diversity x Design Student Poster Contest (the “Contest”) begins at 12:00 am North American Pacific Standard Time (PST) on April 7 , 2021 and closes at 11:59 pm North American Pacific Standard Time (PST) on October 24, 2021. The Contest is presented by the California Academy of Sciences (the “Academy”).

See the Google Doc

ELIGIBILITY

The Contest is open to all high school students living in the Bay Area (the “Bay Area” being designated by the following nine counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma), or enrolled in Bay Area public, private, homeschool, or after school programs, except students who are the immediate family members (or living in the household) of an employee, volunteer, Board Member, or sponsor of the Academy, or of any person or entity, including Inneract Project, Inc., connected with the production, administration, or judging of the Contest.

The Academy reserves the right to verify, in its sole judgment, Entrant eligibility. The Contest is void where prohibited.

POSTER THEMES

Posters should celebrate Diversity in Science and represent one of the following Themes related to the Academy, science, diversity, and advocacy.

The Beauty of Diversity—Show your awe of science and the natural world (which includes humans).
My Favorite Academy Exhibit—Feature your favorite exhibit at the Academy—existing or imagined by you.
Including Me in Science—Share a personal story related to science, or the journey or inspiration of a science hero.
Envisioning a Bright Future—Create a positive vision of life in the next decade for your adult self.
Science Call-to-Action—Advocate for environmental justice or any other science or nature-based movement about which you are passionate.

SUBMISSION MATERIALS

Entries must be submitted as digital files uploaded through the Diversity x Design entry platform. Submission Materials should include:

One poster (original may be created digitally or by hand)
Dimensions: 16 inches wide x 20 inches tall at 120–300 dpi/ppi:
- Minimum: 1920 x 2400px
- Maximum: 4800 x 6000 px
- Resolution: 120–300 dpi/ ppi (dots-per-inch or pixels-per-inch)
Digital file specifications:
- Maximum file size: 30MB
- Acceptable file formats: TIFF, JPG, JPEG, PDF, PNG
Written statement from Entrant (25–100 words, describing the idea(s) underlying the poster) and poster title
Entrant’s name, school, and grade
Photo portrait of Entrant
Consent form—If Entrant is under the age of 18, the consent form found at bit.ly/dxd2021-consent must be completed and submitted by Entrant’s parent or guardian.

Consent form

CONTEST RESOURCES

Entrants may access free design and science resources online at calacademy.org/diversity-x-design/design-resources and may elect to participate in free online educational design workshops, hosted by the Academy in collaboration with Inneract Project, Inc. (the “Workshops”). The Academy will announce Workshop dates and registration instructions by email to Entrants who preregister at judgify.me/dxd-contest. The Workshop(s) will include:

Workshop Teachers: Contest judges, Academy staff, and other design industry professionals associated with the judges, the Academy, and/or Inneract Project, Inc.
Workshop Attendees: Contest Entrants who have opted to receive information about the Workshops and opted in to participate in a Workshop or Workshops.
- All Contest Entrants under the age of 18 will be required to submit a Parent/Guardian Consent Form, permitting such Entrant to opt in and to participate in the Workshops.
- Workshop Attendees will be asked to edit their screen names to include their first names or nicknames only.
Format: Online video conference workshops with chat, hosted by the Academy and moderated by Academy or Inneract Project, Inc. staff.
Purpose: Educate high school students about graphic design and the design industry to provide basic graphic design instruction, with the ultimate goal of showcasing diverse design role models, encouraging interest and diversity in the industry, and creating community.
Topics: Basic graphic design concepts, including typography, photography, illustration, composition, layout, and messaging.

CONTEST CRITERIA

The criteria (“Categories”) on which submissions will be judged include the following (further details about these design Categories are posted at calacademy.org/diversity-x-design/poster-themes):

Typography*—up to 20% How well does the poster use lettering to convey the message?
Imagery: Illustration or Photography*—up to 20% How well does the poster use imagery to convey the message?
Composition and Layout—up to 20% How well does the poster use composition and layout to convey the message?
Messaging: Communicating the Idea—up to 20% How well does the poster inspire thinking, tell a story, or spark emotion? How well does the poster answer the prompt?
Originality—up to 20% How well does the poster show a unique perspective or express an idea creatively?
*Typography/Imagery Alternative Points—up to 20% If no Typography or Imagery is used in the poster, then that Category’s 20% will be allotted to the other Category.

RIGHTS OF OTHERS

Entrant’s submission must not infringe on the rights of any other person or entity.

JUDGING

The judges are a diverse panel of external educators and designers, along with Academy design staff, and may include student representatives of the Academy (the “Judging Panel”).

Judges will use the criteria specified above and the Entrants’ written statements to select winners.

All decisions by the Judging Panel will be final and binding. Academy will notify winners on or before November 22, 2021. Winners may be viewed December 2, 2021 though January 10, 2022 at calacademy.org/dxd.

The judges will be required to agree to terms of conduct consistent with ensuring that the spirit of the Contest is maintained throughout. Judging will comprise one round of critical evaluation. Each submitted poster will be reviewed by at least two members of the Judging Panel. All entries will be judged anonymously. The Judging Panel may move individual posters between categories as appropriate at the discretion of the full Judging Panel.

Five Winners will be selected, one for each of the five Themes specified above, and five Honorable Mention Recipients will be selected, one in each of the five Categories specified above. A Students’ Choice award may be made. All decisions made by the Academy are final.

PRIZES

The Winner of each Poster Theme will receive:

$100 gift card
A one year Family Membership to the Academy
Exposure for their poster displayed at the Academy and via the Academy website at calacademy.org
Large format print of their poster (Academy will notify Winners via email as to availability for pick up at the Academy)

Each Honorable Mention recipient will receive:

4 General Admission tickets to the Academy
Exposure for their poster displayed at the Academy and via the Academy website at calacademy.org
Large format print of their poster (Academy will notify Recipients via email as to availability for pick up at the Academy)

Entrant agrees that, if their entry is awarded, their poster may be used in related publicity, and agree to the use of their first name, age, and grade for the purposes of advertising, promotion, and publicity of the Contest, as well as their first and last name, or first name and last initial, social media handle, and/or photograph as permitted pursuant to the Consent Form, without additional compensation.

Academy reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in the event any offered prize is unavailable. No substitution or transfer of prizes permitted except as provided herein. In the event there are not enough eligible entries, not all prizes will be awarded.

EXHIBITION

The Winner of each Poster Theme, and each Honorable Mention Recipient, may be featured with their Poster in a Diversity x Design exhibit on the Academy’s public floor on or about December 2021.

POSTER RIGHTS—ENTERED POSTERS

Entrants retain ownership and all other rights to submitted posters subject to a nonexclusive, irrevocable license to the Academy to reproduce, publish, and display submitted posters in all media throughout the world directly in relation to the Contest, including but not limited to use in the context of the Academy website and social media sites, the Exhibition of winning posters at the Academy, and promotional and marketing materials regarding the Contest and Exhibition. Any commercial opportunities contemplated by the Academy regarding a poster will be negotiated separately.

All submitted posters may be used by the Academy for the purposes of the Contest, Exhibition, and promotion of the Contest and Exhibition, including all future Contests, from the date of poster submission at the Academy’s sole discretion.

REPRESENTATIONS AND GRANT OF RIGHTS

By entering the Contest, each Entrant:

grants the Academy the right to publish the Entrant’s first name, age, grade, and poster on the Academy website in connection with the Contest, as well as their first and last name, or first name and last initial, social media handle, and/or photograph as permitted pursuant to the Consent Form.
represents and warrants that their submissions—including images, text, or any other elements within their submissions—are original, do not infringe upon the proprietary rights of any third party, or that Entrant has obtained any necessary permissions from any third party if a third party or third party’s property appears in the image or any other element(s) within their submissions. Academy reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it finds in its sole discretion that any of the foregoing warranties are not true. Decisions of Academy shall be final and binding.

Entries from Entrants who are younger than 18 years of age must have their parent or guardian complete and submit the Consent Form found at bit.ly/dxd2021-consent.

HOW TO ENTER

Entry is via Judgify, online at judgify.me/dxd-contest.

Only digitally uploaded posters can be entered. Physical entries will not be accepted. Each poster must specify the Poster Theme for which it is entered. Entrants may not submit their poster in more than one Poster Theme. Judges will not know the identities of the Entrants during the judging process.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Further Conditions

By entering the Contest, Entrant agrees to these entry terms and Official Rules. By entering, Entrant warrants that their entry is original, does not infringe on any third party’s rights, and that Entrant has obtained any necessary permissions from any third party if a third party or third party’s property appears in the poster.

By entering the Contest, Entrant grants the Academy the right to publish Entrant’s first name, age, and grade on the Academy website in connection with the Contest and Exhibition, as well as their photograph if permitted pursuant to the Consent Form.

Academy reserves the right to disqualify any entry if it finds in its sole discretion that any of the foregoing warranties are not true. Decisions of Academy shall be final and binding. By accepting a prize, winners agree to release Academy and its affiliated entities, together with their respective directors, employees, officers, licensees, licensors and agents, and respective advertising and promotion entities (collectively, the “Releasees”), from any and all liability, loss or damage arising from or in connection with awarding, receipt and/or use or misuse of a prize or participation in any prize-related activities. Academy reserves the right to cancel, suspend or extend the Contest, in its sole discretion, should it receive fewer than one hundred entries, or receive no entries that have a judged score above 85%, or due to circumstances beyond its control, including natural disasters. Academy reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value in the event the offered prize is unavailable. No substitution or transfer of prizes is permitted except as provided herein. In the event there are not enough eligible entries, not all prizes will be awarded. Academy may prohibit an Entrant from participating in the Contest or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such Entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest in any way. Disputes regarding these Official Rules and/or this Contest will be governed by the internal laws of the State of California.

All federal, state, and local taxes, fees and surcharges on prize packages are the sole responsibility of the winners. Winners may be required to execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form. Return of any prize and/or prize notification as undeliverable or failure of any entrant to comply with any Official Rules may result in disqualification. If, for any reason, the Contest is not capable of completion as planned, including, but not limited to, by reason of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of the Academy that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, the Academy reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest.

In no event will Academy, its directors, officers, employees, attorneys, agents and representatives be responsible or liable for any damages or losses of any kind, including direct indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages arising out of Entrant’s participation in the Contest, or Academy’s use of submitted images pursuant to the terms of these Official Rules Academy is not responsible for lost, damaged, late or misdirected entries, or for uploading connections, garbled transmissions, unauthorized intervention or technical malfunctions. Void where prohibited.

PRIVACY

All personal information collected by Academy will be used for administration of the Contest. In addition, Entrants may receive email correspondence from, or on behalf of the Academy, subject to the Academy’s privacy policy, which is located at calacademy.org/privacy-policy. The Academy uses reasonable commercial efforts to comply with Federal CAN-SPAM guidelines, and Entrants may subsequently opt out of receiving further emails by following the opt-out instructions contained in the email.

COPIES

For a copy of these Official Rules or a winners list, send your request in a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: California Academy of Sciences, Creative Studio, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco CA 94118. Requests must be received by December 31, 2021. These Official Rules are also available online at bit.ly/dxd2021-rules.

See the Google Doc

HOW TO CONTACT US

Questions and inquiries regarding Contest rules or technical matters, including problems uploading photos, can be emailed to dxd@calacademy.org.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

These rules, guidelines, terms, and conditions are subject to change.