It's Official

American Outfitters was once again named one of the Top 50 Screen Printers by Volume in the United States.  With nearly 575,000 imprints in the 2008, we achieved over 10% growth in our printing dept.

Thank you to all our loyal customers and employees for helping us to make this list once again.

Did you know?

Did you know that you can search nearly 1,000,000 promotional products on our website?

http://americanoutfitters.logomall.com/

Did you know?

Did you know, in 2008 American Outfitters was ranked in the top 50 screen printers by volume in the United States by Impressions Magazine?

Enter the CHIPUBLIB.ORG Design Contest

notwhatyouthink:

How It Works:

Step One:
Showcase your creativity by designing an innovative and unique poster that’s inspired by the library and uses the URL “chipublib.org”.

Step Two:
Design your poster.

Step Three:
Submit your poster design to us at notwhatyouthink@allterrain.net

Step Four:
Become a member of the “CHIPUBLIB.ORG Design Competition” Flickr Group

Step Five:
For other great library updates and to track the progress of the design competition, follow us at www.notwhatyouthink.tumblr.com. Have a tumblr account? Let us know, and we’ll follow you too!

For contest details including eligibility, terms and conditions, please read the Official Rules.

If you have any additional questions, check out the FAQ or email us at notwhatyouthink@allterrain.net

What Happens Next?

- An internal team of the Chicago Public Library will conduct the first round judging to select the top 30 Finalists.
- The Finalists will be judged by Jay Ryan, Mary Dempsey, and Brian Willette to determine the Grand Prize winner.
- From April 12 – 18, 2009 The Finalists will also be posted online as a set at www.flickr.com/photos/notwhatyouthink/ for People’s Choice Award voting. Voting is worldwide and open to everyone.
- The Grand Prize Winner and People’s Choice Award Winner will be announced at a special Judging Night Event held in the Winter Garden of the Harold Washington Library Center. Event is open to the public.
- The Finalists and Winners will be displayed in a gallery in the Harold Washington Library Center. Gallery will be open to the public.

Creative Guidelines:

We’re looking for a unique, creative design that embodies the essence of the Chicago Public Library. The only requirement is that you incorporate the URL “chipublib.org” somewhere in your design. We know this is a challenging task, so here are some thoughts to help guide you:

General Concepts:

• We like to think that the Chicago Public Library makes learning better and more enjoyable, and fosters knowledge and creativity for its users. So, you could focus on themes that reflect the positive aspects of libraries (and perhaps specifically the Chicago Public Library) as a whole and how it relates to you and your lifestyle.

Specific Concepts:

• You could also focus on any of the specific Chicago Public Library benefits as the basis for your concept – things like books, music, movies, downloadable media, free Wi-Fi, performances, workshops, knowledge, etc. and how they relate to you and your lifestyle. For more examples, visit www.chipublib.org/notwhatyouthink/.

We’d like to stress that your interpretation of the above themes (or any others) does not have to be literal. The only parameter is the incorporation of the URL “chipublib.org”. The beauty of the contest is that it’s open to everyone, regardless of experience. Don’t hold back and don’t worry about not being a professional artist. This competition is about releasing your creativity and expressing your artistic point-of-view. We look forward to seeing a variety of work.
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Design Guidelines:

Option 1: Design your poster in a vector art program such as Adobe Illustrator® or in a raster program such as Adobe Photoshop®. If you are designing in a raster program, make sure you design actual size at at least 300dpi.

Option 2: If you are designing in another medium (i.e. pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.) all submissions must be scanned at no less than 100dpi, RGB.

The image should be designed to be printed on the front of poster and fitted within a max area of 18” x 24” (45.72 cm x 60.96 cm). Save off a copy of your design as a JPEG, PNG, or PDF. If you are using flash, publish your file so that you have a swf of your design. Keep in mind, the file you submit is for presentation purposes for judging. If your design is selected we will ask you for high resolution artwork.

IMPORTANT: Please be aware that the winning design will be translated to both an 18” x 24” (45.72 cm x 60.96 cm) poster AND t-shirts. Please keep this in mind as you are designing and act accordingly.

Need some tools to work with or, for some inspiration, to see a few design entry examples? Check out our Submission Kit located here.
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Submission Criteria:

You can submit more than one unique design, no more than two, but only one submission can qualify to the second round.
What to include in your email:

• Low resolution JPEG, PNG, or PDF of your poster no greater than 8MB (Be sure to keep your high resolution version of the design somewhere in case your design is picked!)
• Name of your poster
• Full Name
• Email
• Mailing Address
• Phone Number
• Flickr Username (You’ll need this to vote for the People’s Choice Award. Don’t have one? It’s free to sign up.)
• Date of Birth
• How you heard about the contest

Submissions must include all the requested information. Entries missing information will be deemed incomplete and ineligible until all requested information is submitted. Make sure your contact information submitted along with your Entry is active and valid as this is the only means of contacting the finalists. Don’t forget, the submission deadline is 11:59 PM Central Standard Time (CST) on Thursday April 09, 2009.

IMPORTANT: By submitting, you acknowledge that you have read and understand the Official Rules.
You also acknowledge that you will be able to provide a 300 dpi version of your entry upon request.
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