"Rewarding Creative Designs for UniKeep™ Products"

2012 Rules & Guidelines

The UniKeep™ Design Awards were initiated to encourage our users to share their unique and creative ways of customizing their UniKeep™ View Case Binders. Our goal is to make the widest variety of covers and cover templates available online that can be used by anyone, anywhere.

Official Contest Rules

When submitting artwork for contest consideration, you agree to abide by the following rules.

  1. Eligibility

    No Purchase Necessary To Enter or To Win
    You do not have to actually purchase a UniKeep™ product in order to design a cover for it. Contestants can use our sample templates as a guide.
    Void Where Prohibited by Law
    Any disputes arising under the terms and conditions of this contest will be governed by the law of the State of Ohio, U.S.A.
    Age Requirement
    All contestants MUST be age 16 or over at time of entry.
    Cash Awards Payment

    Option 1: PayPal Account - All contestants have the option to create a PayPal account in order to be awarded prize money. For contestants under the age of 18, a parent or legal guardian must have access to a PayPal account in order to be awarded prize money.
    *Some International countries may not allow access to PayPal accounts. It is the contestant’s responsibility to seek out this information before entering.

    Option 2: Company Check - All contestants also have the option to receive a company check via the US Postal Service. Please be aware that there is no guaranteed time period in which the check will be delivered to the address you have provided. We can only provide the date when the check was mailed from our facility. We will not transfer contest prizes to your personal bank account. If you choose to be paid via check please be aware that we will only send payment once. If you do not receive the first check we send you will need to notify us and we will have the check cancelled. However, at this point you will need to sign up for a PayPal account as we will not re-issue the check.

    For contestants outside the Continental United States, it is important to clarify that The UniKeep™ Design Contest does not have control of international mailing systems.

  2. Contest Entry Guidelines

    No Copyright Infringement
    All work must be released for individual usage or purpose usage grants. All entries must contain copyright-free art or art released for entrant’s and public use. No unauthorized use of any copyright images, text, or other material will be accepted.
    All Entries Must be Submitted Online
    You must register for an account and be signed in to submit an entry. If you are under the age of 18, your parent of legal guardian must create an account and be logged in to submit an entry. Entries must be submitted using this form.
    File types and sizes (dimensions listed below in pixels)
    Contest entries must be submitted in either .JPG, .PNG or .GIF format, have dimensions as listed below for the type of product under which you are submitting artwork, and a file size not exceeding 2MB (2048 KB).
    Product Name Min. Width Min. Height Max. Width Max. Height
    UniKeep™ 0.5" View Case Binder 792 612 2448 1584
    UniKeep™ 1.0" View Case Binder 792 612 2448 1584
    UniKeep™ 1.5" View Case Binder 792 612 2448 1584
    UniKeep™ 0.75" A5 Mini Binder 792 612 2448 1584
    UniKeep™ 1.25" A5 Mini Binder 792 612 2160 1296
    Designing for UniKeep™ Products
    All entries must be designed as a UniKeep™ cover or organization system.
    No limit to entries
    There is no limit to how many entries each contestant can submit.
    No multiple entries
    Each entry can be submitted to only ONE category.
    Technical Difficulties/Support
    UniKeep™ cannot be responsible for entries not received due to technical issues and accepts no responsibility for technical support of any entries.

  3. Contest Categories

    Monthly Categories
    All entries will be judged according to the month in which they are received. Entries must be received by midnight EDT/EST on the last calendar day of the month to be eligible for that month’s award.

  4. Guidlines & Judging Criteria

    This section describes general guidelines for what our judges are looking for when deciding to approve your artwork and its award merits. Before submitting your entry for consideration, please understand the following guidelines.
    Appropriate Content
    Content should fit the category.
    Content should be appropriate for public use. (If it wouldn't be acceptable for a Times Square billboard, it won't be accepted here.)
    The content/design should be unique and interesting to a wide audience of UniKeep™ users.
    UniKeep™ Brand
    The design should incorporate the UniKeep™ logo. You can download the files here:

    UniKeep-Logo.PNG   UniKeep-Logo.EPS
    The design should embrace the UniKeep™ brand promise. (Each entry will be judged on its contribution to organization and clear communication.)
    Overall Design
    The layout should be clean and communicate clearly.
    The design must utilize the front, spine, and back of the binder.

  5. Other considerations

    Keep in Mind...
    Although photography is fine to use, come up with a unique use of it by incorporating it into your overall design.
    Avoid designs with personalized images and names of family, friends, or other organizations. (Remember that your design needs to relate to a broad user base.)
    Saving Files
    Files must meet the dimensions and file size to fit the product type you are designing for. (Once approved, your artwork will be available to download. In order for it to be used on the product it was designed for, it needs to meet the requirements as listed in section 2 of this page. When saving your design, find a happy medium between quality and file size/dimensions for submission. If you are a winner, you will be required to submit a high resolution .eps file.)

  6. Winners

    Winners will be notified by email
    Winners will receive an email announcing their award, and will be asked to submit an .EPS version of their winning design for the best quality printing when their design is put to use.
    Cash Prizes will be awarded in U.S. Dollars
    Prizes will be in U.S dollars and submitted via PayPal ONLY. The winning contestants must create a PayPal account in order to be awarded their prize money. U.S. residents must also complete a W9 tax form before they can be awarded their prize.
    Prize money will be distributed as follows:
    • Monthly Winners will receive $100.00 each
    • Annual Category Winners will receive $500.00 each
    • Annual Overall Winner will receive $1,500.00
    Monthly Winners
    One winner will be chosen per category at the end of each month.
    Annual Category Winners
    One annual winner will be chosen for each category from the pool of monthly WINNERS awarded throughout the calendar year ending at midnight EST December 31, 2012.
    Overall Annual Winner
    One annual winner will be chosen from the pool of monthly WINNERS awarded throughout the calendar year ending at midnight EST December 31, 2012.

  7. General Conditions

    Authorize Rights to UniKeep™
    By submitting your artwork you authorize UniKeep™ to post your entry on our site indefinitely, and grant UniKeep™ the right to use and display prints of your design for marketing purposes.
    UniKeep™ Reserves the Sole Right to Determine Eligibility
    Each entry will go through an approval process to determine if the artwork meets our criteria before the entry will be available for judging in its category.
    UniKeep™ Reserves the Sole Right to Adjust Contest Rules Without Notifying Contestants
    Based on the volume of entries or legal requirements, contest rules can be changed and updated without notice. Contest participants are responsible for checking the site for changes, and should review the rules prior to each submission.
    UniKeep™ is not responsible for damage to computer equipment during downloads
    UniKeep™ will make every reasonable attempt to approve only artwork we deem safe for our users to download. However, UniKeep™ accepts no responsibility for any damage to contestant or visitor computer equipment that may result from system malfunction or corrupted/infected files. Scanning any file prior to download with a virus protection program is recommended.
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Guidelines & Judging Criteria

This section describes general guidelines for what our judges are looking for when deciding to approve your artwork and its award merits. Before submitting your entry for consideration, please keep the following information in mind.

Judging Criteria

Appropriate Content (10%)
  • Does the content fit the category?
  • Is the content suitable for public use? (We won't presume to judge whether or not it's art, but if it wouldn't be acceptable for a Times Square billboard, it won't be accepted here.)
Unikeep™ Brand (20%)
  • Does the cover embrace the UniKeep™ brand promise? (This doesn't mean it needs to have our logo, but each entry will be judged on its contribution to organization, clear communication, and the utilization of the front, back and spine of the binder.)
Overall Organization (20%)
  • Does this cover help general UniKeep™ users organize important information in a useful and flexible system?
Overall Design (50%)
  • Is the layout clean?
  • Does the design communicate well?
  • Is it unique in design and interesting to wide audience of UniKeep™ users?

Other things for designers to keep in mind

Although the following are not considered judging criteria, you should keep them in mind.

Design Ideas to Avoid
  • Does my design only use photography? (Although photography is fine to use, come up with a unique use of it by incorporating it into your overall design.)
  • Did I submit something very similar to what is already entered? (Create something unique.)
  • Is my entry personalized and/or contain images and names of family members or friends? (Remember that your design needs to relate to a broad user base.)
Saving Files
  • Does my file meet the dimensions and file size necessary for the product type you are designing for? (Once approved, your artwork will be available to download. In order for it to be used on the product it was designed for, it needs to meet the requirements as listed in the official rules section of this page. When saving your design, find a happy medium between quality and file size/dimensions for submission. If you are a winner, you will be required to submit a high resolution .eps file.)

Categories

General categories are required for the purpose of judging and for helping users find templates that are of particular interest to them. There will be some overlap in content, but each entry must choose only one category to participate in. The first 25 entries will receive a binder sample with their printed artwork inserted.

General Categories

  1. Arts & Entertainment

    Anything involved in creating, distributing, promoting or displaying any form of artistic expression. May include photo albums, portfolios, scripts, sheet music, recorded music or video.

  2. Business & Professional

    Covers designed to be used for work. May include presentations, reports, archives, personal record keeping, marketing and sales materials or business publications. This is the only category where entries are not required to be useful for others. You may submit company-specific designs to share your concepts and be eligible to win.

  3. Education

    Anything used for school or teaching. May include school reports, memory books, homework, notebooks, records, project presentations, teaching plans or school publications.

  4. Hobbies & Recreation

    Fun and non-profit. May include scrapbooks, travelogues, journals, home decorating planners, family albums, or craft and project files.

  5. Sports

    Big league to little league, anything sports-related fits here. May include record books, rule books, play books, stats, memory books or team rosters.

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Templates

The following templates are available for your use to assist in the design process.

Choose the appropriate template to use for your entry (dimensions in pixels)
Product Min. Width Min. Height Max. Width Max. Height Description Download Template
UniKeep™ 0.5" View Case Binder 792 612 2448 1584 Download and use this template when designing for the Unikeep™ 0.5" View Case Binder Get PDF
UniKeep™ 1.0" View Case Binder 792 612 2448 1584 Download and use this template when designing for the Unikeep™ 1.0" View Case Binder Get PDF
UniKeep™ 1.5" View Case Binder 792 612 2448 1584 Download and use this template when designing for the Unikeep™ 1.5" View Case Binder Get PDF
UniKeep™ 0.75" A5 Mini Binder 792 612 2448 1584 Download and use this template when designing for the Unikeep™ 0.75" A5 Mini Binder Get PDF
UniKeep™ 1.25" A5 Mini Binder 792 612 2160 1296 Download and use this template when designing for the Unikeep™ 1.25" A5 Mini Binder Get PDF
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Prizes

Prizes are listed below and will be distributed shortly after judging commences for the current entry period. You will be notified if you are are a winner via the email address provided during registration. If you need to update your email address, you may do so after signing into your account.

For more information refer to the content under "Winners" within the Contest Rules section at left.

What you can win...

  1. Monthly Winners Receive:

    $100 + Scrapbooking & Beyond Magazine and Paper Creations Magazine Subscriptions

    one winner chosen from each category

  2. Annual Category Winners Receive:

    $500 + Scrapbooking & Beyond Magazine and Paper Creations Magazine Subscriptions

    one winner chosen from all monthly category WINNERS

  3. Annual Overall Winners Receive:

    $1500 + Scrapbooking & Beyond Magazine and Paper Creations Magazine Subscriptions

    One annual winner will be chosen from the pool of monthly WINNERS awarded throughout the calendar year
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Sponsors

We truly appreciate the support of all of our sponsors.

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