Contest Brief

*IMPORTANT NOTICE*

Dear Members,
This a new message from api – anonima petroli italiana in order to focus participants efforts on some very relevant points of CartaMaxima new layout.
We are sure that you will pay attention to the following suggestions in order to succeed with your design proposals.

Thanks,
Shicon Team

Dear Designers,
As you could have noticed, we decided to extend CartaMaxima contest and to postpone its deadline to March the 30th.
That’s because we want you to have more time at your disposal to think through effective ideas and to develop them into successful layout proposals.

We’ve had the chance to take a first look to many proposal submitted so far, but we are not quite sure yet. They are all high-quality and yet very valid, but somehow none of them seems to be able to fully fulfill our needs.

We would like to remind you our main goals, the ones that the new layout must achieve:

1. Internationality: the new European positioning of CartaMaxima.
2. New value-in-use: not only discounts on fuel purchase, but also benefits related to car maintenance services.
3. Contemporary look
4. Distinctiveness
5. Immediacy

In order to fully express these concepts, we would like to give you some tips on what we are expecting:

1) As for internationality, aside from the picture of Europe, we would like you to find other significant elements trough which express the concept. You could try with monuments, flags, or some other visual metaphor

2) As for the new value-in-use, we would like you to think about icons or graphic elements able to enlighten it.

3) Contemporary look could be achieved through colours and images treatment. Just to make a quick example, the European stars are all but modern.

4) We would like the card to be unique, with an elegant style.

5) Graphic layout should be simple and clean. Few significant elements able to express the function of CartaMaxima at very first glance.

We decided to run this competition within Shicon community, because we know that there are high-leveled designers and professionals within. Our is not an empty promise: we will produce the best proposal, that will become the official layout of CartaMaxima card.
That’s why we are stressing you out, in order to get the very best of your creativity and talent. And we’re sure that you will succeed in developing the next CartaMaxima card.

We’re really looking forward to awarding the winning proposal and to working together with its designer.
Thank you so much for answering our call. Keep up the good work!
api – anonima petroli italiana

_______________________________

CONTEST EXTENDED

Dear members,

api – anonima petroli italiana has started to screen all the layout proposals submitted. The level of the competition is very high, however they are not quite convinced yet.

Since they deeply want to find the ultimate layout of CartaMaxima card trough this contest, they decided to postpone the deadline until the 30th of March 2012.

This way you have more time to focus your creativity into this contest and to find the perfect solution to the Client’s needs.

Thank you and go on keeping up the good work!
api Group and Shicon

_______________________________

NEW CARTAMAXIMA LAYOUT CONTEST

Create the new layout of IP’s CartaMaxima Fuel Card.
First Prize €1.500

After the success of “Copywriter, Where Art Thou?” copywriting contest, api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. decided to turn to Shicon Community once again for its new important creative project.
This time api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. is looking for graphics designers to be involved in the creation of the new layout of IP’s CartaMaxima, a fuel card devoted to Companies and Business fleets.

CartaMaxima is not just a simple fuel card, but a world of services and benefits devoted to commercial vehicles users and company fleet drivers. A new value-in-use, that the card must tell through a brand new design, the one you are asked to develop.
The card will be also accepted abroad, opening a new perspective in the fuel cards market. CartaMaxima will position itself as Service Card, able to provide its users with benefits on international basis.

Create the new layout of CartaMaxima, a layout able to express to its target market its new value-in-use and international positioning.

api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. asks you to develop n° 2 layout proposals:

1. One of your free invention in colours, mood and lettering.
2. One that have to recall the current visual, using the same color coding and lettering.

Remember that the target market of the card are the companies, that choose to provide their agents and employees with CartaMaxima.
Each proposal must maintain some mandatory elements. Please refer to the official brief and attachments provided by API and available in the download kit.

PRIZES AND VISIBILITY

1° Prize: €1.500

As well as the cash prize, the winning proposal could become the OFFICIAL LAYOUT of IP’s CartaMaxima.
If deemed appropriate by api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A., the winning layout will be printed on the card and distributed to all CartaMaxima’s clients. So, be ready to manage the production and print process together with api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. and their suppliers.

HOW TO SUBMIT AND WHAT

All the proposals have to be developed following Brand’s guidelines, available in the official brief provided by api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. and downloadable (Download Kit).

Each participant must submit n° 2 layout proposal, as it’s asked by api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A., as it follows:

1) FIRST PROPOSAL: the one of your free invention

• One large image devoted to the front of the card: here you can fully develop your idea, the graphics, the mood you want to express, harmonizing all the mandatory elements with it.
• One large image devoted to the back of the card: here you must follow official guidelines and display all the mandatory elements. Your graphics must be un-invasive and give space to them.
• One thumbnail, that best shows your concept. The thumbnail must measure 112x157 pixels (width x height) and be in jpg (RBG, no CMYK), gif or png formats.

2) SECOND PROPOSAL: with the same colour coding and lettering of the current layout

• One large image devoted to the front of the card: the idea you have to develop must recall the current layout in mood and colours (red and silver).
• One large image devoted to the back of the card: as above, here you must follow official guidelines and display all the mandatory elements.
• One thumbnail, that best shows your concept. The thumbnail must measure 112x157 pixels (width x height) and be in jpg (RBG, no CMYK), gif or png formats.

All the large images submitted must measure 650x500 pixels (width x height) and must be jpg (RGB, no CMYK), gif or png.

The participant that will submit one proposal only, will not enter the competition.

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IMPORTANT NOTES

Which proposals will be considered as valid and accepted into the competition?
Each participant must submit all the 2 layout proposals, developed as said above. The participant that will submit only one proposal will not enter the competition.
The proposals that don’t follow the brief rules and the Brand’s guidelines available in the download kit will not be accepted.

Are there visual boundaries to which refer to?
Yes, they are. Please refer to api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. official guidelines document available in the download kit and to materials attached.

Is there a limit to the number of proposals I can submit?
Not at all, feel free to submit all the proposals you want. Remember that they have to be at least 2 (the free one and the corporate one).
The important thing is that they must be complete, the must respect Brand’s guidelines and they must stringently fulfill the brief.

How will api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. select the winning proposal and which use will be made of it?
After contest closure, the management of api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. will make its assessment internally.
Winning brand proposal will become the exclusive property of api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. Please refer to the Submission Terms section for further details.

If deemed appropriate by api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A., the winning proposal will become the OFFICIAL LAYOUT of CartaMaxima.
In this case, Shicon will put the Author in contact with api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. management. The Author must provide the tools and the expertise necessary to manage all the operation required for the print and production of the card, together with the Supplier in charge of the print.

What else we may say…

This is a high-level competition, guys. Winning layout will be probably chosen as the official one of IP’s CartaMaxima. It will be printed on thousands cards, be seen by hundreds companies, be stored in million wallets.
Unleash your creativity, you professionalism and talent. We want next CartaMaxima to display your graphics!

Keep up the good work!
api – anonima petroli italiana S.p.A. & Shicon

*EXTENDED* ENDS on March the 30th, 2012 at 23:59 Italian time

Thanks