Design Contest

• Posters & T-Shirt design submissions should reflect and include the theme/title, "The Blizzard of Oz" and may include the subtitle "Wicked Cold"

• This theme should be combined with a connection to Dartmouth and traditional winter events. The words "Dartmouth" and "Winter Carnival" as well as "2026" should appear somewhere on the poster & shirt design.

• Designs MUST be original content and may not include trademarked or copywritten characters, names, or images. Clear parody may also be permissible. See notes below. If you have any questions about whether your idea/design is permissible under this standard, please feel free to blitz Winter.Carnival@dartmouth.edu and we will be happy to review the design and advise you.    

• Any medium is acceptable, but must be replicable in a flat printed poster.

• Posters should be created at poster size/proportions (24" x 30" or 24" x 36") so that we do not need to blow up the poster and ruin the quality of your work. 

• Digital designs can be saved at a smaller size for submission to reduce file size.

• To keep the printing cost down, your t-shirt design may contain at most 2-3 colors.

• You may submit more than one design.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Monday, January 5th, 2025 by 11:59pm.

Frank L. Baum's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the characters, places and elements of the story he created entered the public domain in 1956. However, ALL of the films, and any characters or elements unique to those productions are still protected by copyright. For example, the famous "ruby slippers" are a creation of the 1939 MGM film - in the book, the slippers are silver. Some of these elements may be navigated by using parody, but please feel free to reach out if you aren't sure whether your design crosses the line - or feel free to google what is/is not in the book.

• The chosen poster submission wins $500, sponsored by the Dartmouth Co-Op.

• The chosen t-shirt design wins $300.

Designs can be submitted using this form. Digital submissions are preferred this year, but if your posted design is not created digitally, you can still submit it via the form using a high-resolution photo.  If you have any questions, or would like to mail in a non-digital design please contact us at Winter.Carnival@dartmouth.edu

Digital submissions should fit the following specifications:

• 300 DPI, CMYK color

• Digital designs can be saved at a smaller size for submission to reduce file size.

• Please submit a .jpg file (if selected, we will ask for your original file: .psd, .ai, etc.)

Posters/t-shirts should not infringe on any potential copyright issues. All imagery will be subject to approval. Please feel free to email us with specific questions about content violations.

Rauner Library has a wonderful online catalogue of the past Winter Carnival posters. Click here to go to the catalogue.