GUIDELINES (2025-2026)
Calling all Artists and Creatives: this year, in addition to UofT Bookstore apparel, MUSSA wants to bring you merchandise designed BY THE STUDENTS! We are searching for MMSt students (first-years, second-years, and CDP students alike) with a strong and unique vision for how to represent our program. Submissions for student logo designs will be open until Nov 7th, 2025 (UPDATED submission day on Oct 17) and students will vote for their favourite design in November.
The winning logo will be featured on an array of affordable and fun merchandise! Some options we are considering include: mugs, keychains, stickers, notebooks, bandanas, and tote bags. As a thank you for your artistic contributions to our museum community, the winner of the contest will receive a $30 gift card to their choice of the following: Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Apple Store, Google Play, Indigo, or Uber.
If you would like to participate in the logo contest, please refer to the following design guidelines:
- Each student may submit a maximum of 2 designs.
- Logos should not include more than 4 colours. This will ensure reasonable printing costs and, by extension, affordable merch prices.
- Prioritize visibility! Designs with fine and complex details will not print clearly on smaller items, such as stickers and key chains.
- Submit your design as a scalable vector image (.svg/.eps/.pdf) so that we can accommodate variable merch sizes. Here is a free vector design software you can use: https://inkscape.org/
- Size your design to 4 by 4 inches (± .5 inches). Logos may be circular or rectangular, but versatile logos that can be modified to fit either shape are ideal.
- Be thematically related to museum studies, the cultural sector, and/or the heritage field.
- Include the words “Museum Studies”. Using our program acronym, MMSt, is also acceptable.
- May include your artist’s mark. This is optional, but highly encouraged (we want you to receive credit for your work!).
- Must be a finalized draft. Please do not submit a sketch, proof of concept, or unfinished design as we want student voters to see all logos in their completed forms.
PLEASE NOTE that submissions with inappropriate messaging that may cause harm to members of our community (including but not limited to: racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, religious discrimination, etc.) will immediately be removed from the contest. This should go without saying: be considerate and kind!
Please find the submission form link here: https://forms.gle/U6DqKMjfczNBPpfx8
Get creative! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Please email mussa.ischool@gmail.com if you have any questions about the contest!
PLEASE ALSO NOTE that MUSSA is collaborating with the Bookstore to design custom MMSt 2025/2026 apparel, but this is completely independent from the student logo contest. The winning student logo will not be used to produce Bookstore apparel.
CLARIFICATION ON COPYRIGHT AND MERCH SALES
The winning artist will retain copyright over their own artwork and will sign a contract that stipulates they grant MUSSA permission to use the artwork for the production of program-specific merchandise from November 15th, 2025 to December 31, 2026. This contract will also clarify other aspects of use:
- The winning artist will be given a one-time honorarium as compensation for MUSSA’s use of their logo but they will not receive any additional payment.
- MUSSA will not make any profit from the merchandise produced with the winning logo. The prices of our merch will reflect the cost of production. When it comes to inexpensive items, we may charge slightly more than the cost of production (for example, stickers might be purchased at $0.20 a unit, but we may charge $1). This surplus will ONLY be used to cover the cost of extra merch items, which we can gift to speakers at Museum Studies events.
- MUSSA will not use the winning logo in promotional materials that are unrelated to the student logo contest.