Cover Design Contest
Cover Design Contest
$200 Award for the Winning Cover Design!
Spire will be holding a design contest for the cover of the upcoming journal edition. Undergraduate and graduate students at the 91±¬ÁÏ are eligible to enter the contest, as well as members of the public.
We welcome environmentally-themed cover design submissions in the form of photography, physically rendered or graphic artwork, and other digital media. $200 will be awarded to the author of the winning submission, which will be chosen by a committee of Spire’s Editorial Team and Advisory Board members. Other finalists’ submissions to the contest may be featured inside the issue.
Submission Guidelines:
Submissions of physically rendered artwork should conform to the following specifications:
Lighting Condition: A physical piece must be photographed in a brightly lit room without a camera flash.
Image Quality: Please photograph all artwork with a DSLR, Digital Scanner, or other high-quality recording device. (Avoid cell-phones, for example.) Images must be at least 300 PPI and large enough to fit on a magazine-sized cover without having to blow up the image (8″ x 10″).
File Formats: Please submit photographed artwork in formats such as a PDF, TIFF, or high-quality JPEG.
Submissions of photographsÌýshould conform to the following specifications:
Lighting Condition: The image must not contain substantial amounts of “noise” or visual distortion.
Image Quality: Please submit your photo in either a TIFF or JPEG format.
Image Size: The photo must large enough to fit on a magazine-sized cover without having to blow up the image (8″ x 10″).
Submissions of computer generated artworkÌýshould conform to the following specifications:
File Formats: Please submit computer generated artwork in a PDF, TIFF, PNG or high-quality JPEG file.
The submission deadline for the cover design contest is January 23rd, 2026. All submissions should be emailed to the Editorial Team atÌýspire@maine.edu.ÌýThe email subject line for all submissions should include the contestant’s last name and the words “Design Contest Submission.” Example: LastName_Design Contest Submission.Ìý
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Please send all questions to the Editorial Team atÌýspire@maine.edu.