Contest: Design A CelticsBlog T-Shirt!

It is the dog days of August, and the middle of the NBA off-season, so predictably, we're a little bored. We assume you are too.  In an effort to alleviate the boredom, we are having our first ever (and if successful, first of many) "Design a T-Shirt" contest!

Basically you need to design a concept for a T-shirt. The shirt needs to clearly reference CelticsBlog in its design, and it needs to follow copyright laws (see below) in order to qualify.

The winner will not only be the man who designed a graphic worn by possibly dozens of avid CelticsBlog readers, they will also be given as a prize, a free t-shirt with their own design on the front.  (and if you happen to be a graphic designer by trade, we'd be happy to give your company some publicity)

If you aren't artistically gifted, feel free to leave your ideas in the comments below - maybe someone will use your idea (no promises on a free shirt though because there could be duplication of ideas).

We already have a T-Shirt store with a standard CelticsBlog t-shirt that we're pretty fond of.  But we can't help but think that there are some great ideas out there worth investigating (like this store [not affiliated with CelticsBlog] that has jumped on the Shaq bandwagon).  So have fun with it and be creative!

Click below to read the full rules and submission guidelines.

Contest Rules: (only 2, pretty simple)

1) Shirt must follow forum and blog guidelines. (e.g. no obscenities, no inappropriate pictures. Basically if its NSFW, its out.)

2) Must conform to current copyright regulations. See below for some FAQ's:

Can we use the name of a team on our t-shirts?

Yes, you can use a team name (unstylized - no logo type) on a t-shirt as long as the context does not suggest affiliation, endorsement or sponsorship.  If you're using it to clearly suggest fandom, you're probably fine.  For example, "Best Nets Fans On The Net" would be OK.

Can we use the name of a player or coach on our t-shirts?

Yes, so long as (1) the use does not suggest any endorsement or sponsorship relationship between the person and our company/our site/the t-shirts, and (2) the use is flattering to the person (it's
clearly fan merchandise).

Can we include the image of an athlete on the merchandise?

We cannot include an image of any sports figure or famous person, whether it's a photo, a drawing, or other likeness.  Use of such an image might get in the way of the person's publicity rights (it might suggest an endorsement, affiliation or sponsorship relationship bettween us/our site/the t-shirt and the person).

What if we don't use a photo, but instead we use a drawing of a famous sports figure...or we convert a photo into a drawing using software or a web application?

It doesn't matter which format the image is in, we cannot put it on our merchandise.  And, by the way, separate and apart from the publicity rights issue, converting a photo into a drawing would still be the equivalent of using the photo.  The drawing would be considered a "derivative work" under the copyright laws, and the use of such a drawing would be an infringement of the underlying photo if you didn't have permission to use it.

Can we use a team or league logo?  What if we modify it?

We cannot use a team or league logo, either in its original form or modified.  The logos are trademarks that belong to the teams and leagues, and inclusion on our merchandise could suggest that the merchandise comes from the team/league or is officially sponsored.

Can we use a slogan or fan chant?

We cannot use a slogan that is the registered trademark of a team or league.  However, we can use a slogan or fan chant that is not a registered trademark (such as "Who Dat?"), as long as we're not using any logos or other signals that the merchandise is affiliated with or sponsored by the team/league.

Can we try to make the t-shirt look like a uniform?

Your t-shirt cannot look like it is a standard-issue uniform or standard-issue gear.  If it might confuse people or make people think that it came from the team or sport, then it's too close.

How to submit:

Simply send an image file to email address:

celticsblogtshirt@gmail.com

Note: A .jpeg or .jpg is fine for submitting your idea, but if we pick yours, please save your work in whatever program you are using (photoshop, etc.) in a pretty large size.  We can make an image smaller but trying to make it bigger distorts the image.  Also, the T-shirt company said that pdf and eps files are best.

Please include your Front Page name and Forum name if different.

How does a submission turn into a winner?

We pick it. Don't worry, we know quality work when we see it. Well except Master Po. He thinks everything is terrible, unless it is somehow a reference to the Mary Tyler Moore show. He thinks those are just bully.

Please note: CelticsBlog reserves the right to alter or tweak your image to meet copyright guidelines (or just because we want to).  In fact, we'll have to add the SBNation logo to the shirt somewhere as well.  See example here.