2019 Fall Semester (August 26th - December 16th)

What is the Branching Out Challenge?

The Branching Out Challenge is your opportunity to have your work displayed in the Idea Garden, across our website, and our social media pages. You will also get the chance to win an amazing prize from the space!

Who Can Enter and How do I Win?

All current IUPUI students can enter to win in the Branching Out Challenge!

The Challenge is broken down into multiple categories according to the format of the finished work. The categories are: Animation and Film, 2D Art and Illustration, Graphic Design, 3D Printing and Design, and Wildcard. We want all students to feel comfortable creating with the medium that they are skilled with.

Under each category, up to three winners will be selected. From these winners in each category, three final winners will be selected and eligible for choosing from our available prizes. 

Timeline 

We want to make sure that your academics are always your first priority. Because of this, the Branching Out Challenge is available throughout the entire semester. The Challenge starts on the first official day of classes and all final submissions must be sent to our email by the last official day of classes for the semester. Over the next week, entries will be sorted and judged by both the staff of the Idea Garden and our selected panel of guest judges. When the winners are chosen they will be announced across our social media pages, on our website and each student who wins will be notified upon completion of the judging period of their ranking.

Rules and Limitations

All work created for the Branching Out Challenge must be completed within the Idea Garden. During the semester, the Idea Garden is open from 10 AM - 8 PM, Monday - Friday. Equipment can be reserved as needed but is otherwise first come first serve. There may be days where the space is reserved and additional students are not allowed to use the space, availability of the space can be checked both on our website and on the calendar that we post every week by the front door.

In order to keep the space open and welcoming to all students, staff, and faculty who wish to use the space, we do have certain limitations on the contents of the work created for the Branching Out Challenge. As such, no material including violence, gore, NSFW, lewd material, hate speech, offensive language and gestures, will be allowed as an entry into the challenge. If you have questions about this and whether it applies to your work, please ask an Idea Garden Staff member for assistance and clarification. 

At any point during the creation of an entry for the Branching Out Challenge you are able to and are encouraged to ask for assistance from the staff located in the Idea Garden. We are happy to provide you with any assistance we can to assist you in your entries to the best of our abilities. 

We ask that all entrants send the Idea Garden an email when they have decided to take part in the Branching Out Challenge so that we can reasonably keep track of how many entries we should be expecting. You will promptly (within 1 to 2 business days) receive an email response providing you with additional materials to complete the challenge. When you are ready to submit your finished entry, please either attach the entry via email, or provide us with a link to either Box or Google Drive with the appropriate permissions allowed for viewing so that we can download the finished submission. With this final submission, feel free to add a social media handle where others might be able to find more of your work to be used as credit, otherwise your name will be listed or an appropriate pseudonym if given.  

Prizes 

All entries that are submitted will be posted to our website. All entries that are classified as a winning entry within their category will be featured on our website and social media pages during the semester following the Branching Out Challenge, and will also be eligible to be selected as one of the three overall prize winners of the Branching Out Challenge. If you are selected as one of the overall winners, you will be able to choose from the following prizes:

• Private Weekend Event:
  • This would be a private event for the winner and a small group of friends and/or family (no more than 10) to be able to use the space for 2-4 hours on either a Saturday or a Sunday of their choice during the following semester. Students would be allowed to watch a movie that they own, bring in their own game consoles, and be allowed to use the space as desired (within reason). 
• Additional 100 Gram Print Allotment
  • Here in the Idea Garden, our typical print allotment per student is 100 grams for educational purposes. If this prize is chosen, that student would gain an additional 100 grams of print allotment for their personal use in the space. 
• Mystery 3D Print
  • If this prize is selected, the student will receive a print from the Idea Garden that has been carefully chosen by the staff that will have no impact on the 100 gram allotment typically assigned to students in the Idea Garden. 

The first place winner will be allowed to choose any of the three options listed above, the second place winner gets to choose from the two remaining options, and the third place winner will receive the remaining prize.

Themes and Extra Consideration

Every semester, three themes will be given to those who wish to compete in the Branching Out Challenge. These themes will include 1 theme from pop culture, 1 theme centered around gardens and greenery, and 1 theme that focuses on technology. We ask that at least one of these themes be clearly represented in your finished submission, however, extra consideration during judging may be given to those who include more than one theme within their final submission. 

These themes will be announced at the beginning of the Branching Out Challenge.

Extra Consideration during judging may also be applied to entries that have gone out of their way to follow the branding guidelines and existing imagery of the Idea Garden.

Judging

Judging will be handled in two stages. First, up to three entries from each category will be chosen as finalists. Then from among those finalists, three prize winners will be chosen. The judging process is expected to take no longer than a week. The Judges for the contest will consist of the Idea Garden staff as well as volunteers from the community, professionals, and teachers on IUPUI’s campus. The judges outside of the Idea Garden Staff will not be given the names of any participants until after the judging is over to ensure that all proceedings are unbiased and fair.