SWTJC Cowboy Mascot Design Contest

Creative Brief

Southwest Texas Junior College is looking to update and modernize the SWTJC Cowboy mascot. The design will unite and represent our school spirit and serve as a public symbol of loyalty. It will also integrate into the college's brand, defining and identifying our institution for both internal and external communities. The mascot will display in college publications, advertisements, the website, social media platforms, clothing, facilities, and more. 

The mascot design committee has defined the Southwest Texas Junior College brand personality as prestigious, original, classic, distinguished, of western heritage, strength, power, and friendly. The winning mascot design must reflect this personality and incorporate the school colors. The colors consist of three primary colors red, blue, white, with black being an accent color.

Submission Guidelines

1. Current students, faculty, staff members, alumni, and friends of SWTJC are eligible to compete in the college's mascot design contest.
2. Multiple submissions are allowed, with each design submitted individually.
3. All design entries must be submitted electronically by completing the Mascot Design Competition form found below. Submissions will only be accepted electronically. Once the submission is complete, participants will receive a confirmation e-mail. For questions, please contact the Public Information Office at (830) 591-2942.
4. The contest deadline is noon, Friday, April 23, 2021.
5. All mascot designs must adhere to the following requirements:

• Place on white background
• Fit on one 8.5" x 11" page
• Create as line art or other digital media format
• Submit in high-resolution, 300 dpi jpg format
• File must not be larger than seven megabytes
• Develop and submit a graphic representation of a family-friendly character
• Utilize the primary colors red (#cf2630), blue (#243770), white (#ffffff) and accent color black (#000000).

By submitting artwork to this design contest, you warrant and represent the artwork is original to you and hold exclusive and perpetual rights to all intellectual property rights. Additionally, you grant all intellectual property rights to Southwest Texas Junior College. Furthermore, you represent and warrant the design you submit is original and not, to your knowledge, confusingly similar or substantially similar to any existing works.

Regulations

The mascot design challenge runs through April 23, 2021. All entries submitted after 12:00 p.m. April 23, 2021, will be disqualified. All design entries which do not follow the mascot design guidelines and/or are incomplete will be disqualified. Artists may not post their designs on public websites or use them in portfolios until an official winner is selected and announced. After the announcement, all artists should label their artwork as a contest entry or sample.

Artists who do not meet these requirements will be disqualified. Decisions of the SWTJC Mascot Design Committee are final. The winning design shall become the exclusive and perpetual property of Southwest Texas Junior College; by submitting the design entry, the artist agrees to this assignment of all rights to SWTJC in the event the artist's submission is determined to be the winner. Furthermore, the college reserves the right to alter and to create derivative works from the design entry.

Judging

All submissions will undergo a blind review—without name or position—by the Mascot Design Competition Committee in round one. The top finalists that best embody the spirit of SWTJC will move on to round two. In round two, an online voting contest will be conducted to select the winning design.

SWTJC may replace the first-selected design with an alternate design if it determines an alternate design is more appropriate at the college's sole discretion.

Winning Design

The winner will be revealed at the Fall 2021 Convocation. The artist with the winning design will be credited for their work on the SWTJC website, including various communications channels (social media, press releases, etc.). Not all uses of the design by the college will carry attribution.

Upon notification of the winning design, the selected artist will be invited to work collaboratively with the Public Information Office to refine the design and prepare it for use in publications, the website, and other communications channels.

Mascot Design Competition Form