The Strand Book Store has partnered with the School of Visual Arts, TOON Books, Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics Books to host a tote bag design contest.
Beginning March 1, 2010, artists from around the world are invited to submit original illustrations featuring the Strand Book Store.
In June 2007, the Strand unveiled the first Artist Tote Bag: Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Art Spiegelman loaned his iconic Maus image for the first time ever to celebrate the Strand’s 80th birthday. The Strand then partnered with artists each year, including Adrian Tomine, Seth and Parsons Illustration Alum and Faculty member R. Sikoryak, creating the Strand’s Artist Tote Series. Now, the Strand Book Store wants to give emerging artists the opportunity to have their artwork featured on a Strand tote bag.
Now, the Strand Book Store wants to give emerging artists the opportunity to have their artwork featured on a Strand tote bag.
Contest Dates
March 1-March 31, 2010
Design Requirements
- The illustration must represent the Strand Book Store.
- The illustration must include the artist’s signature, “Strand Book Store NYC” and “strandbooks.com” or a representation of the Strand logo (as seen on this page).
- Size of Illustration: Artwork must be no larger than 11″w x 10″h.
- Line Weight: Use a minimum of a 2 pt. rule.
- Halftones: Must be at a 40 line screen or less, with percentages no less than 20% or greater than 60%.
- No Trapping: If colors come in contact with each other they CAN NOT overlap.
- Typestyles: Should be no smaller than 20 pt. on 15 oz. fabric with a minimum of 2 pt. rule. Do not use reverse type smaller than 22 pt. with a minimum line rule of 3 pt. Avoid serif typefaces! Their detail tends to get lost in the canvas.
Contest is open to all, aged 18 and above. The Contest is void where prohibited. Please see official rules below.
Judges:
- Françoise Mouly, Art Editor of The New Yorker & Editorial Director of TOON Books
- Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize winning comic artist
- Steven Heller, co-chair MFA Designer as Author Program, School of Visual Arts
- R. Sikoryak, creator of the book, Masterpiece Comics
- Adrian Tomine, author of the bestselling book, Shortcomings
Prizes
Grand Prize
- artwork on Strand tote bag, sold in store and online w/ attendant marketing-artist name on all materials
- an afternoon with Françoise Mouly and staff at TOON Books offices
- complete set of Drawn & Quarterly’s 2009 titles (value: $450)
- a selection of new and recent Fantagraphics Books releases (value: $450)
- complete set of TOON Books (value: $150)
- $100 Think Coffee Gift Card
- artwork featured in slideshow on partners’ websites
Second Prize
- complimentary Continuing Education class at School of Visual Arts (value $470)
- a selection of signed Drawn & Quarterly books (value $90)
- “I Don’t Like to Read” TOON Books basket (value: $70)
- a selection of new and recent Fantagraphics Books releases (value: $50)
- $100 Think Coffee Gift Card
- artwork featured in slideshow on partners’ websites
Third Prize
- DaVinci Artist Supply Gift Card (value $300)
- “Beginning Reader” TOON books basket (value: $70)
- a selection of signed Drawn & Quarterly books (value $50)
- a selection of new and recent Fantagraphics Books releases (value: $50)
- $100 Think Coffee Gift Card
- artwork featured in slideshow on partners’ websites
20 Finalists will receive a Strand tote bag filled with Fantagraphics & TOON Books gifts and a $20 Strand gift card.
r. sikoryak's tote for the strand!
About our Partners
School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City is an established leader and innovator in the education of artists. From its inception in 1947, the faculty has been comprised of professionals working in the arts and art-related fields who choose to share their creative skills and experiences with students. SVA offers 11 undergraduate and 15 graduate degree programs as well as hundreds of courses through its Division of Continuing Education.
TOON Books
TOON Books is the leading publisher of high-quality comics and literature for children ages four and up. Launched in 2008 and edited by Françoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker, TOON’s collection includes books by award winner authors and artists, such as Art Spiegelman, Harry Bliss, Jeff Smith, Geoffrey Hayes, Jay Lynch, Dean Haspiel, & others.
Drawn & Quarterly
With cartoonists that have been instrumental in defining the literary comics medium for the past twenty years and a focused editorial direction, Montreal-based Drawn & Quarterly is one of the most influential art and literary comics publishers in the whole world.
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books has been the world’s leading publisher of comics and graphic novels since 1976, with authors including Charles M. Schulz, R. Crumb, Daniel Clowes, Joe Sacco, Peter Bagge and the Hernandez Brothers. In 2007, the company launched its prose division, beginning with fiction by Alexander Theroux, Jules Feiffer, Monte Schulz and Stephen Dixon.
Official Rules
Before submitting an entry, carefully read the following terms and conditions of use.
Partners
Partners are the Strand Book Store, the School of Visual Arts, TOON Books, Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics.
Terms
The Strand Tote Bag Design Contest will begin on Monday, March 1, 2010 at 9:30AM US Eastern Standard Time and ends Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 11:59PM US Eastern Standard Time. By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. This is a skill based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of the winners.
Who May Enter
Contest is open to all, aged 18 years and above. The Contest is void where prohibited.
How to Enter
No purchase is necessary and a purchase will not increase your chances of winning. To enter, please click the “Enter Contest” button at the top of this page. Follow the prompts to complete required information and upload your design onto Strand’s Picasa Web Album. Winners will be contacted via email the week of April 5, 2010. Contest winner will be required to provide a 300dpi, 11″w x 10″h file of the original artwork for tote bag production.
Requirements
The design, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material created by the Contest entrant. By entering the Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges and warrants that the submitted design is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the artwork does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim or interest in the design.
Judging
Images will be judged on overall artistic quality and how they best and most creatively represent the Strand Book Store. Decision of the judges will be final.
Judges:
- Françoise Mouly, Art Director of The New Yorker & Editorial Director of TOON Books
- Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize winning comic artist
- Steven Heller, co-chair MFA Designer as Author Program, School of Visual Arts
- R. Sikoryak, creator of the book, Masterpiece Comics
- Adrian Tomine, author of the bestselling book, Shortcomings
Disclaimer
The Strand Book Store is a family-friendly store and website. We reserve the right to reject any design at our sole discretion, including but not limited to pornographic or violent images. Designs must represent the Strand Book Store.
Public Viewing & Granting of Limited Rights
Be aware that your artwork may be displayed to the public. Your image may be included on the Strand Book Store, School of Visual Arts, TOON Books, Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics websites, in the Strand’s store and in other marketing materials for the Strand Book Store.
By participating in this contest, you are allowing Strand Book Store, School of Visual Arts, TOON Books, Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics to publish the artwork on, including but not limited to, the partner’s websites and other electronic and print promotional materials and in print media, all with artist’s credit.
Copyright
Copyright of the image remains the property of the artist. An artist credit will be provided with your image. All images must be originals and must belong to the person submitting the image; all rights in the image must be the property of the person submitting the artwork.
Winners
Strand Book Store will attempt to contact prize winners by email. If the winner does not respond to our email and claim the prize within 10 days, the prize will be forfeited. Winners are responsible for all applicable federal, state or local taxes, tariffs or import duty fees. This contest is governed by the laws of the State of New York, USA. Additionally, if local laws in your place of residence make this contest illegal, do not enter the contest.
For more information about the contest and the partners, please contact:
Strand Book Store
Christina Foxley, Director of Marketing
christina@strandbooks.com
School of Visual Arts
John Wyszniewski, Assistant Director of Communications
jwyszniewski@sva.edu
TOON Books
Megan Gannon, Editorial Assistant
raw.junior@gmail.com
Drawn & Quarterly
Peggy Burns, Associate Publisher, Publicity & Sales
peggy@drawnandquarterly.com
Fantagraphics
Eric Reynolds, Associate Publisher
reynolds@fantagraphics.com