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We're launching another round of our holiday 'B' design contest

The City of Boston wants to celebrate our logo, the Boston "B", and we need your help.

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Deadline extended: please submit your designs by Friday, December 6.

For many major holidays, the City sends out a graphic or message on our social channels depicting a custom "B". With hundreds of holidays, our designers aren’t able to create custom artwork for every single one. That’s where the artists of Boston come in.

Last year, we asked local artists, students, and residents to choose a holiday and create an idea for a custom "B". We loved the results and were able to feature 11 new designs in 2019:

 

Image for winners of 2018 design holiday b contest

We're putting out the call again for 2020. Send us a design for your holiday of choice. Representatives from the Digital Team, the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, and other City departments will review each proposal. 

When we select projects, we may work with some of the selected artists to make changes to their design. We plan to select up to 25 proposals.

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Contest rules

  • You must be an artist currently living or working in the Boston area.
  • You can send as many submissions as you like. You can only have one submission per holiday.
  • The deadline for proposals is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, December 6, 2019.
  • All proposals and submissions must be digital and uploaded to Submittable.
  • To complete the application, you will have to sign up to be a vendor with the City of Boston. This is how you'll receive the $50 if your design is selected.
  • You must use the B graphic.
  • Other than the graphics, logos, and marks we provide you, all other content must be original.
  • No offensive imagery. Including offensive material will automatically disqualify the work submitted by an artist.

Apply for the contest

  • You own all of your work, no matter what. By proposing and submitting, you grant the City of Boston the right to display the work on our print and digital channels indefinitely.
  • The City will be offering a stipend of $50 in addition to giving credit to artists for designs that are chosen.
  • There is no guarantee that by submitting a proposal your artwork will be shown by the City. We reserve the right to use chosen artwork across our media channels.
  • If you see a holiday or significant event we missed, please let us know and feel free to submit for it.
  • We accept proposals and artwork based on originality and execution of the spirit of the holiday selected. Here are some examples.
  • We’re open to artists using any type of medium that can be digitized and used for social media (we can help you with this).

Submit a design

Holiday inspiration

You're welcome to submit a design for any holiday you'd like, even if it's not a federal holiday (shout-out to Ice Cream Day). If you need some extra inspiration, here's a list of holidays to get you started. Again, don't feel limited in any way – any holiday you can think of is in play. 

  • Eid al Adha
  • Eid al Fitr
  • Lunar New Year
  • Bunker Hill Day
  • Roslindale Day
  • Citizenship Day
  • Thanksgiving
  • Tax Day
  • Boston Marathon
  • Holi
  • Norwuz
  • Patriots Day
  • Take Your Child to Work Day
  • National Maritime Day
  • Kwanzaa
  • Internet's Birthday
  • Bow Tie Day
  • World UFO Day
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