Official Rules & Regulations

Every competition has rules. We try to keep ours as simple as possible.

Follow these easy guidelines and you can’t go wrong. If you get stuck, please email the show chair and we'll try to get your questions answered as soon as we can.

  1. Only student work is eligible.
    Any piece entered into the National Student Show must have been produced by a student that is currently attending an accredited college, university or art school. All work must have been produced as part of a school’s curriculum between April 2011-March 2012 with the exception of work entered as a portfolio. Work produced as freelance or at an internship is not eligible.
  2. Enter as many pieces as you see fit.
    You’ll be competing with students from around the country, so we encourage you to enter only your best work. But, there is no limit to the number of entries allowed per student or per school.
  3. Only enter your own work.
    All pieces submitted to the show must have been created by one individual student, or by one student acting as “art director” for a project who has enlisted help from fellow students (for photography, illustration, copywriting, etc.). All work produced as a group project must be entered only once in the “Group Projects” category (no. 20).
  4. Entries must be received in the correct format.
    1. For logos: center work on a vertical 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with short description below. For logo series, put all logos on a single sheet.
    2. For print design, environmental design and print advertising: all entries must be submitted as printed entries. No slides will be accepted.
    3. For interactive design: submit a URL for live work and printouts (these will be used to verify that the URL is correct and will not be presented at judging.)
    4. For iPad and iPhone app design: submit up to six printed screen shots and a short description of the app.
    5. For photography and illustration: all entries must be submitted as printouts. Do not send original photographs or illustrations, as they cannot be returned. No slides will be accepted.
    6. For industrial design: send photos or printouts of your submissions. No slides will be accepted.
    7. For all work to be viewed on screen: Submit a disc or flash drive containing clearly marked .mov files. All uncompressed files, files submitted in other formats and files over 1gb will be disqualified. To avoid lost entries, submit each piece on a separate disc or drive.
    8. Video size and format: All video entries should encoded with an H264 codec (directions for encoding with Quicktime) and be either 720x480 if it is a 4:3(standard definition) video or 1280x720 if it is 16:9 (high definition).
    9. File naming Conventions: File names must be in this format: RegistrationNumber_ShortTitle.mov. The registration number is found on the tracking tag provided for printout. For example, N938O_LondonOlympics.mov
  5. Please remember that due to the volume of submissions, work will not be returned.
  6. There is no requirement to mount your work.
    You may present your work in the best format you see fit, (except slides, see above). Because shipping heavy black boards gets expensive- we would like you to save your money for the conference, and we do not require you to mount each of your pieces. We encourage you to send flat print outs of each piece or photos of dimensional pieces such as packaging or industrial design. Please remember that due to the volume of submissions, work will not be returned.
  7. Entries must be received on time - DEADLINE EXTENDED.
    The deadline for all entries is Friday, March 9 March 16 2012. All entries must be received no later than this date.
  8. Each entry must be accompanied by a completed entry form receipt taped securely to the back of your entry. Any entry received without a receipt attached will be disqualified.
  9. Follow the instructions on the entry form receipt closely. Fill out one entry form for each entry. For campaigns be sure to indicate how many pieces are included, and secure them together in a separate envelope (no paper clips, please).
  10. Legibly print all information. If the entry title does not adequately explain the assignment, feel free to include a brief explanation on the form.
  11. On the outside of the entry package, you must clearly write “National Student Show,” your first and last name, and the name of your school.
    Example:
    National Student Show
    John Smith
    Yale University
  12. Ship your packages to:
    DSVC / Paula Ramirez
    c/o Ussery Printing
    2205 Regency Dr.
    Irving, TX 75062

Announcement of winning entries

Entries that are judged as outstanding among this year’s entries will become the 8th Annual National Student Show. A list of accepted entries will be posted on this website the week following judging. Although you will know if your work has been accepted into the National Student Show, we will not announce Category winners, Best of Show, or Scholarship winners until the Awards Gala at the Conference.

Hanging Requirements for winning entries

All pieces selected for inclusion in the 8th Annual National Student Show will be posted on this website shortly after judging. Students whose work is selected will be able to download hanging instructions on how to prepare accepted pieces for hanging in the Show exhibit April 13-14 2012. Following the conference, students will be responsible for picking up their own work. All unclaimed work will be thrown away.