Opportunity brief
Official Competition Guidelines
Theme: The Things We Don't Question
Organized Collaboratively by: D-LAB, Design Community (IISER Berhampur) with Art Clubs of Other IISERs
Overview & Thematic Brief:
We navigate daily life governed by unexamined habits, systemic norms, invisible social defaults, and unquestioned cultural agreements. ARTICULATE invites designers to interrogate the familiar challenging viewers to pause, reflect, and ask critical questions about the everyday realities we take for granted.
The Theme: The Things We Don't Question:
The Things We Don't Question: Use the medium of graphic design to explore an assumption, belief, behaviour, practice, or system that has become so familiar that we rarely stop to question it. Your poster should make the familiar feel unfamiliar, something that makes people pause, think, and question what they usually take for granted.
ARTICULATE invites thinkers, illustrators, graphic designers, and creative minds across India to disrupt this visual complacency. Your artboard is an analytical instrument to surface hidden paradoxes, challenge accepted defaults, and construct visual metaphors that make viewers reconsider their everyday assumptions.
Thematic Scope & Satirical Commentary / Critiques:
Prohibition on Use of Direct Personalities & Real-World Entities' Identities.
- Critique must remain systemic, structural, and conceptual. - Use allegory, generic archetypes, visual metaphors, and symbolic representation rather than literal real-world identities. - Submissions must maintain ethical design standards, completely avoid personal attacks, hate speech, or defamation, and channel their visual commentary into universal, thought-provoking ideas.
Design Specifications & Technical Requirements:
- Format & Dimensions: Submissions must be exactly A4 size (portrait orientation recommended). - Quantity: One original poster submission per registered participant. - Thematic Alignment: Every submission must demonstrate a rigorous, creative, and critical interpretation of the theme, The Things We Don't Question.
Submission Deliverables:
Participants must compile and submit all three mandatory deliverables via the official registration portal:
- High-Resolution Poster Image: One export in JPG, JPEG, or PNG format (minimum 300 DPI recommended). - Source / Editable Design File: The original editable working file in PSD, AI, SVG, or other industry-standard formats. For designs authored in Canva, an unrestricted editable or template share link must be provided. -
Portfolio & Concept Document (PDF): A single PDF containing:
- A full-page high-resolution preview of the poster. - A structured written rationale (up to 250 words) articulating the conceptual premise, creative methodology, design iterations, and social or moral values reflected within the artwork.
Mandatory Social Engagement & Verification:
To ensure transparent public exhibition and complete validation of participation, entrants must fulfill all of the following steps prior to the deadline:
- Follow @design_iiserbpr on Instagram. - Post the finalized poster on Instagram as a Collaborator Post with @design_iiserbpr. - Include the concept rationale / artist statement within the post caption or in the post itself. -
Tag the following institutional and partner accounts in the caption:
- @design_iiserbpr - @artsclub.iiserk - @artclub_iisertirupati
Note: Collaboration acceptance and tagging of all partner entities are compulsory requirements for jury review.
Prizes & Rewards (Total Prize Pool: ₹10,500)
The competition offers a comprehensive prize pool valued at ₹10,500, distributed across direct cash rewards, Amazon gift vouchers, and official honors:
- Overall Prize Pool: ₹10,500 (inclusive of Cash Prizes & Amazon Gift Vouchers). - 1st Place (Winner): ₹3,000 + Amazon Vouchers / Certificate of Excellence - 2nd Place (First Runner-Up): ₹2,000 + Amazon Vouchers / Certificate of Excellence - 3rd Place (Second Runner-Up): ₹1,000 + Amazon Vouchers / Certificate of Excellence - Special Mentions (3 Positions): ₹500 each (₹1,500 total) /Amazon Vouchers / Certificate of Merit - Category Awards & Top Entries: Remaining prize pool balance distributed across category awards, Amazon vouchers, and recognition certificates. - Certificates & Recognition: All winners and special mentions receive official Merit Certificates; all eligible entrants receive Certificates of Participation.
Originality, Intellectual Property & Ethical Standards:
- Intellectual Property: Participants retain complete copyright and ownership over their creative works. By participating, entrants grant the organizing bodies a non-exclusive license to exhibit and feature the submitted works for non-commercial promotional and archival purposes. - AI & Plagiarism Prohibitions: AI-generated artwork (e.g., Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion) and plagiarism of any kind are strictly prohibited. - Third-Party Assets: Any external brushes, textures, or typography used must be royalty-free, properly licensed, or appropriately credited in the design documentation.
Disqualification, Compliance & Governance:
- All submissions, registration fees, and Instagram collaboration requirements must be completed in full before the specified deadline. - The organizing committee reserves the right to request raw project files or time-lapse recordings to verify asset authenticity. - Failure to adhere to the code of conduct or submission rules will result in immediate disqualification without refund. - The decisions of the judging panel and organizing committee shall be final, conclusive, and binding.
Declaration & Agreement:
- By completing the registration process and submitting artwork, each participant affirms that they have read, understood, and agreed to adhere strictly to these guidelines and accept the governance of the organizing consortium.