The UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) Earth Futures Institute needs a logo. We would love to see your ideas.
The first prize is $750, the second prize is $500, and the third prize is $250.
Up to three Honorable mentions at $50 each.
The graphic design needs to evoke the mission/vision/history of EFI
Mission
Inspire humanity to address the perils and potential for intelligent life on Earth on timescales of decades to millennia and beyond.
Vision
That Earth’s astonishing capacity to create complexity and beauty will be preserved, flourish, and procreate as long as the cosmos permits.
History of the Earth Futures Institute
The Earth Futures Institute at UCSC took shape in 2018 under the impetus of a strategic planning exercise at UCSC Santa Cruz. Inspired by her lifelong research, faculty member Sandra Faber had been thinking about the prospects for intelligent life on Earth in cosmic time. Like many, she feels that humanity is at a tipping point — our population and economy are exceeding the carrying capacity of Spaceship Earth, and there will be a major reckoning soon in which we will be forced to come back into equilibrium with our planet.
This is, therefore a time of peril but also one of great opportunity. It is time to prepare now to gracefully and safely negotiate the coming transformation. It is also a time to think about where we want to land on the other side. What will Earth look like? What will our descendants be doing? How many of them can the planet hold on cosmic time? What parts of the stupendous edifice of knowledge and technology that we have built in the last two centuries can be preserved and put to the service of these future generations? Above all, why is Earth important? What will be lost to the Universe if Earth no longer functions as the cradle of creativity, complexity, and beauty that it has for the past five billion years?
These questions find their natural home in the University. The challenges are not only economic, scientific, and technical but also social, ethical, and moral — all facets of academia must be engaged. The answers, we predict, will amount to re-writing the story of what it means to be human.
The greatest drama in the history of our species is about to unfold, and yet very few people apprehend that it is near. Our goal at the Earth Futures Institute is to educate in the near term, advise in the mid-term, and inspire in the long term with visions for what humanity can become on the other side.
See the About tab at our Earth Futures Institute website to learn about EFI and its activities.
Here are the specifications
Vector graphics
– Needs to have both a graphic element and the name, either “Earth Futures Institute” or the initials “EFI”
Three versions of the logo are needed
– Color
– Black and white
– Light on a black background
A desirable fourth version would use a rectangular aspect ratio with the words
“Earth Futures Institute” fully spelled out.
– Feel free to submit yet other versions.
– The design will be used in a variety of applications and varying magnifications. It needs to look sharp and legible when reduced to 1-inch x 1-inch on letterhead but also bold and arresting when shown full-size on a PowerPoint slide or a banner.
– Sample logos illustrating some styles we like are below. A circular format evokes Earth. A square or rectangular version would also be useful in some applications.
– Entries will be judged on originality, memorableness, artistic merit, and how well they convey the mission and spirit of EFI.
The first prize is $750, the second prize is $500, and the third prize is $250.
Up to three Honorable mentions at $50 each.
– Anyone is eligible to submit. The number of entries per person is unlimited.
– In addition to your design(s), please also provide your name, contact email, and affiliation.
– All submissions are the property of EFI.
– Deadline for submission is May 10, 2023.
– Submit your entry with this link to a Google questionnaire. Fill in your name affiliation, and contact information and upload up to 10 design files.
– Send any questions you may have to: earthfut.ucsc.edu
Good luck! We look forward to seeing your great ideas! Below are some sample logos that illustrate the bold, uncluttered style we are looking for.
