The contest is live! Follow along on our Discord server for updates!
There have been requests for Ham Radio Village merch, and while we have done a small run in the past for DEF CON 33, we would like to expand our offerings so folks can represent the Ham Radio Village... in style!
We are planning on releasing merch in 2026, and while we will have some mainstay designs featuring our "dot logo" or various "shield logos", we want to open a t-shirt design contest to the community to help us develop a more artistic & expressive shirt that represents the Ham Radio Village. In return, the creator of the winning design will receive a prize of $500 for the final design.
Imagine a not-so-distant dystopian future, where mainstream communications on social media, the news, and beyond have devolved into a walled garden, controlled by special interests and once-respected media outlets now publishing filtered content. All the while, the physical world has turned into an all-seeing surveillance network, with cameras watching every move and facial recognition deanonymizing every individual. To the average citizen, the spectrum seems full of nothing but suppression and static.
Through all this noise, however, hackers know how to find the Signal from the Static. Refusing to be oppressed, we must utilize our knowledge and skills to ensure that the truth is not silenced. Capture the gritty resilience of the underground operator cutting through a compromised society. Show us what it looks like to bypass the surveillance state entirely, using off-grid RF to connect, organize, and fight back. Illustrate what it means to tune out the overwhelming noise of a dystopian future to finally hear the Signal from the Static.
This contest is open to anyone, regardless of age, location, or HRV membership status. Board members of the Ham Radio Village and their immediate families are not eligible to win the prize.
All submitted designs must adhere to the following guidelines:
Originality: The design must be your own original, unpublished work. It must not contain any third-party copyrighted material, trademarks, or intellectual property. Plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.
This contest is strictly for human-created artwork. The use of generative AI image tools (such as Nano Bananna, Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, etc.) to generate any part of your submission is expressly prohibited. Our goal is to financially support and reward the actual time, effort, and creative skill of artists within our community. To ensure fairness, the selected winner may be asked to provide proof of human creation—such as original sketches, layered project files (.psd, .ai, .procreate), or work-in-progress screenshots—before the prize is awarded.
Theme: The design must clearly relate to the theme (see Contest Theme).
Color Palette: For printing feasibility, please limit your design to a maximum of five (5) solid colors. Note that this design is intended to be printed on a dark-colored shirt (black or very dark grey), so choose colors with that in mind.
Prohibited Content: Designs must not contain offensive, hateful, obscene, or defamatory content.
To ensure your design can be properly printed, please adhere to the following technical requirements:
Initial Submission File (for judging, can be a mock-up):
Final Production File (required from the winner):
The design should be sized for a maximum print area of approximately 12" wide x 14" high. Intent is for the art to be displayed on the front of a shirt.
Email your submission to board@hamvillage.org.
The subject line of the email must be: HRV T-Shirt Contest Submission - [Your Name/Handle].
In the body of the email, please include:
Attach your initial submission file (JPG, PNG, or PDF mock-up). Do NOT send the high-resolution vector file unless you are selected as the winner.
There is no limit to the number of designs an individual can submit.
All entries will be reviewed by the board of the Ham Radio Village and evaluated according to the design guidelines/requirements.
For Entrants: By submitting a design, you affirm that you are the sole creator and owner of the intellectual property. Submitted designs will remain the intellectual property of the entrant unless selected as the winning design. Ham Radio Village will not use, reproduce, or display any non-winning designs for any purpose.
For the Winner: Upon payment of the $500 prize, the winning entrant agrees to irrevocably assign and transfer all rights, titles, and interests in the winning design to the Ham Radio Village. This includes, but is not limited to, the exclusive right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and display the design in any and all media worldwide for any purpose, including commercial purposes such as merchandise sales and marketing.
Ham Radio Village reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel the contest at its discretion.
By entering the contest, you agree to these Official Rules and Terms.
Entrants agree to allow Ham Radio Village to use their name and likeness for promotional purposes related to this contest (e.g., announcing the winner on social media).
If you have any questions about the contest or these rules, please contact us at board@hamvillage.org.
Multiple Winners: If we receive an overwhelming number of incredible submissions, we are absolutely open to selecting more than one winner (each receiving the full prize amount)!
Other Artwork: Have other ham radio or hacker-themed designs that don't quite fit the "Signal from the Static" theme? We still want to see them! Feel free to reach out and share your portfolio.
Future Projects: If you are simply interested in doing general graphic design work for the Ham Radio Village in the future, shoot us an email to introduce yourself. We are always looking to build a roster of talented folks to call on as new projects, merch runs, and event needs dictate.