Common Greens is reaching out to all creatives around the community to participate in our second annual T-shirt Design Contest.  All season long we celebrate local producers at our market. What better way to reflect this celebration than by combining local food with local art?

The winning design will be printed on our T-shirts and sold throughout the season to raise money for our non-profit organization. Your design will help us in aiding the ongoing work of supporting local farms, food and community! The winning artist will also receive a reward of $500. The Second-place winner’s design will be printed on a tote bag and will receive a $250 reward. Our third-place winner’s design will be printed on stickers and will receive a $150 reward. All three of the finalist’s designs will be announced publicly and featured on our social media pages. 

Eligibility/Entry

There is no entry fee to submit a design. All entrants must reside in Ohio. Only one (1) design per person is allowed. If you are under the age of 18, your design must be submitted by a parent or guardian on your behalf.  

Rules and Guidelines

1. This contest is open to all Ohio residing artists
2. The 2026 theme is “local food strengthens communities” 
3. All designs must be original creations of the contestant and incorporate all the required design components outlined below. Submissions must not have been previously published and must not contain profanity, trademarks, other organization's logos, or any copyrighted works of any other person or business.
4. Design(s) must be submitted via email to liv@commongreensohio.org in JPEG or PNG form by 11:59 pm (ET) on Monday, March 16th, 2026. Winners will be contacted and announced publicly by Friday, March 27th. 
5. The winning designer agrees to sign a waiver to allow Common Greens to use their design, free of charge after the $500 reward is given, for all printing and promotional purposes.
6. The contest winner must agree to submit a high-resolution art file within 7 days of notification and agree to work with Common Greens printer if slight changes/modifications are necessary for production. If not, an alternate winner may be chosen in order to meet Common Greens production deadlines.
7. By submitting an entry, you agree to all contest rules. If you have any questions, please email liv@commongreensohio.org

Required Design Components

The winning design will be placed on the front of the official Common Greens Farmers Market T-shirt. (Please note: all T-shirts will be one color and/or tone on tone not subject to change.) 

1. Theme: Design must include “Clintonville Farmers Market” and “2026”. Think food and community!
2. Colors: The winning design will be printed on a solid color t-shirt. Please submit your design in either black, white or both.
3. Design Software: Designs must be digital.
   *Your design must be entirely original- no clip art, copyrighted, or AI generated material allowed. Keep it simple: one color designs only, and make sure it’s print-ready.

How Winner is Selected

1. Entries will be evaluated by an internal panel of judges and will be reviewed for:
   • Concept and originality of design
   • Visibility from a reasonable distance
   • Adherence to design and submission rules and guidelines
   • Adherence to Common Greens branding guidelines, including logo usage, colors, and typefaces
   • Successfully capturing the spirit of the Common Greens Farmers Markets and the overall mission of Common Greens
   • Totality of design and production readiness
2. Upon final review, the top three designs will be selected and awarded in the following way:
   • The top three designs will be announced across all Common Greens online platforms
   • The winner will receive $500 and their design will be featured on this year’s official market t-shirt
   • Second place will receive $250 and their design will be featured on this year’s tote bag
   • Third place will receive $150 and their design will be printed on stickers

Fine Print

Publicity and Agreement: Contest entry constitutes an agreement by the submitting designers to grant free license of all copyrights of the submitted works to Common Greens in perpetuity, for publicity and promotional purposes. The top 3 finalists will be subject to approval by Common Greens staff and board.

Media Release: By submitting artwork, you agree that if your design wins, Common Greens retains first printing rights and a free license, in perpetuity, to utilize the design on t-shirts and other promotional items, and marketing, fundraising, and public relations materials. You are guaranteeing that your design does not contain any copyrighted material, including images/copy found on the internet, unless clearly marked as published under a Creative Commons (cc) license. Contest entrants who are not selected as the winning designer(s) retain all rights to their artwork.

All designs should be submitted via email to liv@commongreensohio.org by 11:59 PM (ET) on Monday, March 16th, 2026.