CALL FOR ARTISTS
Event: 2023 Community Arts Council Street Banner Project
Project: Create four Street Banner Designs to be displayed in pairs.
Theme: “Our Agricultural Heritage”.
Size: Each Banner image is designed for a 32” x 60” finished banner including 3.5” sleeve top and bottom.
Design: Images should be very bold and simple with a minimum of 1 – 3 items of subject matter and no more than 3 – 4 colour screens.
Timeline: Call for Artist Submission is February 3, 2023, to March 3, 2023.
Entries Due: Friday, March 31, 2023. Artwork can be saved as a printable pdf file, at 300dpi at ¼ size of the finished banner size. Submit to FSJ Community Arts Council info@fsjarts.org .
Selection Process: In keeping with the theme of “Our Agricultural Heritage”, preference will be given to artists with present and past ties to the North Peace area.
The Final Selection will be decided at a Review Committee selected by the Fort St John Community Arts Council and submitted to the FSJ Community Arts Council no Later than Friday, March 10, 2023.
Notification to Artists: Artists will be notified by the FSJ Community Arts Council once the Selection Process is completed on or before Friday, March 10, 2023.
Accepted Artwork: Successful artists will work with the Community Arts Council and the Banner Company to finalize the images in a Technical Review and Critique by Friday, March 31, 2023. The artists have the option of including their name on the design. The artist of each of the four final designs selected will receive a fee of $125.00 per image. The images will then become the property of the Community Arts Council.
For further information, please contact the FSJ Community Arts Council at info@fsjarts.org or by calling 250 787-2781.
Tips for Creating the Fort St John Banners.
1: Street banners are designed to be read not only by pedestrians but also by passengers in moving vehicles. Images should therefore be very bold and simple with a minimum of 1 to 3 items of subject matter.
2: If text is used it should be large and bold in a simple typeface with no drop shadows and a minimum amount of text will be more visible. Fine line work will be lost and blurred.
3: For banner longevity, use bright bold primary colours or at the least strong secondary colours. Some colours will blend into one from a distance e.g. green and blue together.
Do not use outlines but allow some white to delineate colours. This really helps make the image read from a distance. White and yellow together will eventually fade out into a blur. Dark colours work well against light and vice versa . Pastel colours do not work on street lamp post banners.
4: Do not use half tones and graduated colours as they also fade out quickly.
5: Design as if for screen printing, allowing no more than 3 to 4 screens. Even though the banners are digitally printed, bold simple screen printed type images will still read best no matter how they are printed. Any item vertically hoisted will diminish in size by at least half. Therefore think in terms of designing a postage stamp which has to be read traveling at 50 kph minimum.
6: Artwork can be saved as a printable pdf file, at 300dpi at ¼ size of the finished banner size.
7: The banner size currently for fort St. John is 32” x 60” including 3.5” sleeves top and bottom included in the 80” length.
The two 3.5” sleeve/rod pocket areas should be left as blank space. Stitching lines will distort any image near them. Design to the finished size and the manufacturer will look after all bleeds.
8: When working on computer design and /or paper e.g. letter size 8.5” x 11”, it is advisable to view the finished creative from 4 feet approx. If the image is still readable then this is a banner design that will work in both a pedestrian and traffic flow area.
9: We are frequently asked by designers to view the draft of a design before it goes for final approval. We can offer advice from a production and technical aspect and this can be corrected. Once a design has been approved by the end user it is often difficult at this stage to make any necessary changes. Better to check in earlier to ensure “readable” and uv colourfast images.
If you have any questions please contact Luci Newby at phone: 1 800 667-0308 or email: lucibigbold@gmail.com .