St. Charles Arts Council announces a call to artists
The board and steering committee of the St. Charles Arts Council have announced a request for qualifications to find an artist who will be chosen to design the organization's logo. Among the many things that the council needs are collateral material and a web site. Those require a basic design aesthetic – colors, fonts, feel. A logo that meets the council's collective vision will be the key to the design aesthetic that opens the door to all of the organization's other design needs.
The deadline for submission is Feb. 11, 2011. Send an e-mail to StCharlesArtsCouncil@gmail.com, call (630) 443-3794, or send a request for information to St. Charles Arts Council, 2 E. Main St., St. Charles, IL 60174 to inquire or to get an application.
The council's mission is to create an organization that serves and promotes the arts and cultural activities in St. Charles, to the mutual benefit of the arts and the community.
The council's vision is to make the arts an economic engine for the city of St. Charles, driven by the work and activities of the St. Charles Arts Council and its partner organizations. The SCAC will become the go-to source/resource for information about and assistance with anything arts related. The organization will be financially sound and fiscally prudent, raising funds primarily through fee-based activities, including one major partnership event. Both operations and an endowment fund will be supported with funds raised.
Artists must fill out an application, which is available by contacting the St. Charles Arts Council. A completed submission should include a portfolio of up to 10 examples of past work on a CD and a corresponding image list, along with a statement of design intent, a professional resume, and three references. It is suggested that each example of past work demonstrate the artwork's adaptability with no more than four examples of the artwork's reproducibility in multiple formats.
No original artwork should be submitted.
Design proposals will not be accepted.
All materials submitted become the property of the SCAC and will not be returned unless a self-addressed, stamped envelope with sufficient postage, is provided. The SCAC will be make very effort to protect submitted materials, however, it will not be responsible for any loss or damage.
Reproductions of existing work will be used to judge appropriateness of style, technique and proficiency. One finalist will be selected from submitted work. This finalist will then work with the SCAC to develop an approved logo design.
The SCAC defines a good logo as one that is persuasive, elegant, and precise.
The logo will be used as the primary graphic representation of the council in its collateral materials (which will be the public face of the arts in St. Charles), and events sponsored by the council and its partners. The logo must reproduce well in a variety of sizes from brochures to street banners.
Entries will be judged by a panel of artists and art collectors. No juror is eligible to enter the competition.
The SCAC has chosen a combination of objective and subjective criteria, which have been given a numeric rating, as follows:
Artistic merit of submitted work samples 5 points
Relevance of samples to the project and purpose 5 points
Simplicity of sample work 5 points
Reproducibility of sample work 3 points
Qualifications/Resume 3 points
Artists who live or work in St. Charles 3 points
Award:
The artist of the selected logo will be awarded an $800 cash honorarium in exchange for all rights to the final, approved design.
NOTIFICATION OF WINNER:
The selected artist will be notified by email and US mail by February 25, 2011; other entrants will be notified shortly after.
Submission Format:
1. Entry Form
2. Professional resume – resume should highlight the applicant's experience with graphic design, specifically logo development. One page maximum.
3. Images of applicant's work – up to10 digital images. (PC compatible-JPEG files only_ on CD JPEG's shall be no larger than 300 dpi at approximately 4” x 6”.)
CDs must contain the applicant's name on both the CD and the case/cover.
All digital files must include applicant's last name and image number. For example: Smith_image 1
Image List should be numbered and correspond to the images on the CD and include applicant's name, and a list of each logo/graphic (the numbers on the list to correspond to the numbers on the CD images), year when the logo/graphic was completed, and price paid by artist's client.
4. References – names, titles/positions and contact information for 3 references who may be contacted by the selection Panel.
5. Optional – selected printed materials, such as catalogues, articles, etc. that might assist the panel in understanding the applicant's work.