[Cafepress Manager]

Hooray, I'm finally getting around to starting this whole thingy!

Purpose:
To get some new M.A.I.L. designs to put on items from CafePress so our members can get neat gear and show their support of the site.

Who can enter:
If you can post in this thread, you can submit a design. Go for it!

How to enter:
Post here with your proposed design. Feel free to only give us a small resolution sample for now in any format you like, but you'll need to be able to provide a full-size image if we decide to print it. Remember, no images wider than 800px embedded in your post, but you can link it.
Text-only designs are perfectly fine, but CafePress requires it in image form, so it's up to you to pick a font. I can make images out of it if you'd rather just submit a slogan.

Content requirements:
This contest is for designs to print on various items available from CafePress and as such cannot violate their terms of service.
Required:
* Something [maille/M.A.I.L.]-related.
Desired:
* Eye-catching
Undesired:
* Large chunks of small text that can only be read when the person reading your t-shirt is practically touching you already
Forbidden:
* "Adult" content or any content that you or MAIL don't have the rights to.
* Your name, your company name, your website, or any other personal promotion. This is to promote MAIL, not you.

How the contest will work:
The contest is in two parts:
This thread will always be open to design submissions, but on 2012-01-01 we will look at all the existing entries and put them up to vote by the community. Submissions after that point may be printed at the BOD's whim or put towards a future contest, so don't let that date stop you from designing. If all goes well, we plan on hosting this type of contest on a repeating basis, so don't think that being late makes you miss your only chance.
For the first part, on Jan 15th (or somewhere around there) we will set up a voting thread in same way as gallery contests have gone, and I'm thinking of having that open for around 2 weeks. Instead of picking a single winner, we will print designs that get reasonable interest - it's still up in the air, but at least two will be printed. At that point, the second part of the contest begins - the one where people vote with their wallet.
For the month starting when the new designs are made available on CafePress, people start to buy the items. At the end of that month, we'll look at the sales numbers and whichever design sold more will win the designer a free item from the storefront. If one or more of the printed designs are specific to an item (say two designs go on hoodies and shirts, while one person makes one specifically for a water bottle or something), I'll have to find a way to fairly compare sales - probably normalizing by item cost or something. However, unless the designer specifically makes one that only really fits on one item style, I'll do my best to make each item type available with all designs.

Image size/format requirements:
CafePress has specific requirements for image format, size, and resolution for each type of product. They don't accept vector graphics for some arcane reason, but I'm very comfortable with them and can convert to what they want. Because of the different sizes of different items, I would really prefer a vector image (e.g. '.ai', '.eps', '.svg') and designs that aren't so intricate as to lose detail when they'd be used on a shirt pocket or something, but don't let that stop anyone from making a 2000x2000 pixel image version of their pet tutorial for the back of a shirt. If Adobe Illustrator can read the vector file, I'll accept it and do all the background format shifting crap they want.

For general designs that can be printed on multiple item styles, aim for a square aspect ratio, but if you've got a very specific item in mind you can take a look at their templates page for specific sizes. The end images need to be 200dpi in RGB space, but if that's a foreign language to you I can convert whatever you submit. For transparency, most of the time any white in an image won't be printed on a light-colored item (which is the only way to get transparency in a .jpg), but for darker items you will need to have an image with actual transparency (.png).

Again, if that's all mumbo-jumbo to you, here's the short version: 2000x2000 pixel png images, please. If anyone needs assistance with technical stuff, talk to me over a PM and I'll be able tell you if your proposed submission will work (like if you made it by hand and scanned it in or took a picture, etc), and will probably be able to convert it for you.

Copyright and other Legal stuff:
With any image submission, you grant M.A.I.L. (defined as any current or future Board of Directors members acting on behalf of Maille Artisans International League) the permanent rights to display said image on the website, print it on any matter of apparel or other physical items that will will be sold and used for promotional material, and any other promotional use as M.A.I.L. sees fit. The rights shall not be sold by M.A.I.L. to any third party. As creator you may still use the image in full as you see fit, provided it does not reflect negatively upon M.A.I.L. in any capacity. You may not use the image in part or in full, either in its submitted form or a modification thereof, to promote or support other organizations.



So, break out your pens, pencils, crayons, watercolors, paints, tablets, image editors, 3d renderers, cameras, blind autistic-savant charcoal-drawing neighbors, or anything else you like to use and get designing!

If you have any questions about this whole thing, feel free to ask in the thread or via private message.

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Maille Code V2.0 T5.9 R5.1 En.o Fcir MFe.s Wgm$ Cab$w G0.2-2.0 I1.2-14.1 N(many).~25 Pdjs Dacdejst Xg(many)t1w5 S03
deviantArt

[Gallery Admin]

[Gallery Assistant]

Ooh, a peep show!

[Website Admin and Coder]

[Gallery Assistant]

[Cafepress Manager]

[Gallery Assistant]

I quite like the bottom one. It would make a great shirt front logo, imho.

[Mouth]

nice work. i think i like the plain text best. the last 2 make me want to triforce, but i can't.

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PSA: remember to stretch.
3.o is fixing everything.

[Website Admin and Coder]

Random note:

It would be nice to have a new MAIL Site logo to match the new merch... Jus' sayin...
Or am I the only one thinking this?

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