Sticker Design Contest

ABOUT THE CONTEST
Art of Pride invites LGBTQ+ artists living in San Diego to submit an original sticker design celebrating queer identity, community, and this year's Pride theme: Pride Shines On. The winning design will be printed and sold at the San Diego Pride Festival and future Art of Pride events as a fundraiser, with proceeds supporting local LGBTQ+ artists in San Diego. The winning artist will be celebrated and promoted by Art of Pride upon the sticker's release.

Entries can be one sticker, or to make it fun, up to a series of up to three stickers.

The Stipend is $300 total awarded to ONE winning artist. 

ELIGIBILITY
The contest is open to individuals only — no group or team submissions.

Entrants must identify as LGBTQ+.

Entrants must be current residents of San Diego, California, USA.

Entrants must be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission. (Minors aged 13–17 may participate with written consent from a parent or legal guardian.)

Employees, board members, volunteers, and committee members of San Diego Pride and Art of Pride, as well as their immediate family members, are not eligible to enter.
Void where prohibited by law.

DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
The text "Art of Pride" must appear clearly and legibly in the design.

Additional text that resonates with queer identity, pride, or this year's theme — Pride Shines On — is welcome and encouraged.

Designs must be original artwork created solely by the entrant. No copyrighted or trademarked imagery, logos, or characters belonging to third parties may be used.
The artist's name, signature, handle, or any personal identifying mark must not appear anywhere on the sticker design. Artist credit will be given by Art of Pride separately through promotion upon the sticker's public release.

No AI-generated content is permitted — this includes any part of the design, including linework, color fills, backgrounds, textures, typography, or compositional elements generated by AI tools (e.g. Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, or similar). Submissions found to include AI-generated content will be immediately disqualified.

Designs must be suitable for all audiences and free of explicit, offensive, or harmful imagery.

File Specs: Submit your design as a high-resolution file (PNG, JPG, or PDF) at a minimum of 300 DPI. Ideal dimensions are 2" x 2" or 3" x 3"

Square, Rectangular, Round or Irregular/Custom Die-Cut(prefered) is all welcomed. Include a version with a transparent background if possible. Please consider bleed area for print. 

HOW TO SUBMIT

Fill in the form here and upload your work

Confirmation that the design is entirely your own original work and contains no AI-generated content

Each entrant may submit up to 3 designs. 

DEADLINE
Saturday, June 20, 2026
11:59 PM Pacific Time — no late submissions accepted

SELECTION & JUDGING
Submissions will be reviewed by the Art of Pride Committee.

Judging criteria include: originality, visual impact, clarity of the "Art of Pride" text, and connection to queer identity and the theme Pride Shines On.

The winner will be notified by email within 2 weeks of the submission deadline.

Art of Pride reserves the right to not select a winner if no submission meets the quality standards of the contest.

PRIZE & ARTIST RECOGNITION
$300 Honoraria stipend awarded to the winning artist for their original work. Payment will be issued via check or electronic transfer within 30 days of winner confirmation.

Artist spotlight: Art of Pride is committed to uplifting our local queer artists. Upon release of the winning sticker design, Art of Pride will publicly promote and credit the winning artist across our social media channels, event materials, and communications — celebrating them as the creative force behind the design.

Prizes are non-transferable and no cash alternative will be offered. The winner is responsible for any applicable federal, state, or local taxes on the prize.

SALE & FUNDRAISING USE
The winning sticker design will be printed and sold at the San Diego Pride Festival and future Art of Pride events as an official fundraiser. All proceeds from sticker sales go directly toward supporting local LGBTQ+ artists and Art of Pride programming in San Diego. By entering, the winning artist acknowledges and consents to this fundraising use of their design under the license described below.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & RIGHTS
The winning entrant retains full copyright and authorship credit of their design.

By submitting, the winning entrant grants Art of Pride / San Diego Pride a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to reproduce, print, distribute, and sell the winning design on physical stickers and promotional materials for the purpose of fundraising for Art of Pride programming.
Art of Pride will credit the artist by name and/or handle in all public-facing promotions of the sticker design.
Non-winning submissions remain the sole property of their creators. Art of Pride will not use non-winning designs without the entrant's separate written permission.
By entering, all participants confirm that their submission is entirely their own original work, does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of any third party, and does not contain AI-generated elements.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

Art of Pride reserves the right to disqualify any entry that does not comply with these rules.
Art of Pride reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel the contest at any time for any reason, including circumstances beyond its control.
By entering, participants agree to these official rules and to the decisions of Art of Pride, which are final and binding in all matters related to this contest.
This contest is sponsored by Art of Pride, a program of San Diego Pride, a nonprofit organization based in San Diego, California.

This contest is governed by the laws of the State of California. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of San Diego County, California.

No purchase necessary. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, any social media platform on which it may be shared. By participating, entrants release all applicable social media platforms from any and all liability. This contest is open to legal residents of San Diego, California, USA only and is void where prohibited. Sponsor: San Diego Pride / Art of Pride, San Diego, CA.