60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act Bus Design Contest
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of our agency and operations. The RTD Civil Rights Division ensures that the agency upholds the civil rights of its employees and customers. Working across agency departments and with diverse community partners, together we proactively pursue fairness, inclusion, and equal opportunities in employment and small business development while also striving to provide historically underrepresented communities with equal access to public transit services and programs.
In collaboration with Denver NAACP, ACLU Colorado, One Colorado, Colorado Asian Pacific United, Servicios de La Raza, Atlantis Community, Inc., and other valuable community partners, RTD will celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act in Summer 2024. Event details coming soon.
Submit Your Best Bus Design
RTD is seeking proposals for a bus wrap design to highlight the past, present, and future legacies of the civil rights and social justice movements in Colorado and nationally. A primary focus shall be placed on the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 along with notable and historic achievements to bring about justice, fairness, equity and equal opportunity for all. The bus wrap design shall interweave the intersectionality of diverse communities, lived experiences and personal identities to foster an appreciation and celebration of our social and cultural similarities and differences. Inspiration may be drawn from RTD’s Civil Rights Mixtape sponsored by Warm Cookies of the Revolution and Community Organizing for Radical Empathy.
If you are an artist with a vision, idea, or work that you believe would be ideal for this project, we would love to hear from you. Read on for application details.
Artist Application
Selected design will be compensated at a flat rate of $3,500.
Submission details, including art specifications:
- Narrative of the bus wrap design (300 words max) including:
- How the design connects to the project
- What you hope to evoke with the imagery
- How you hope the design will engage the public
Using the design templates provided below, complete the design as follows:
- Rendering showing the bus wrap for the SS Full Side, CS Full Side, and BK Full Back.
- Provide vector art or high-resolution (300dpi or higher) files to be scaled up to the full-size design. Please note the templates are not full size but are to scale so that any art placed over the templates will be accurately sized-up to cover the bus properly
- The design must cover the entire area indicated in the template by the light green block, but up to 50% window coverage is allowed per side of the bus
- No more than 50% of windows can be covered on any given side of revenue (in service) vehicles, so long as no more than this percentage is covered in total; for example: this rule could be applied as 50% across all 6 windows, or 100% on 3 windows, etc.
- Not knowing what bus will be wrapped, RTD assumes that the bus may be used in revenue service and needs to accommodate the 50% rule
- No coverage on doors and driver windows
- The driver side and street side front windows and main front doors need to be left clear of design
- The template itself should not appear in the final art print file but can be used to demonstrate the intended design in a mock-up file
- Resume
- Imagery of any relevant previous work or portfolio
Eligibility
Individuals living in RTD’s service district (including Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Jefferson, Western Adams, Western Arapahoe, Northern Douglas and Weld counties) are eligible to apply, including but not limited to visual artists, graphic designers and illustrators. People who live outside of the Denver metro area may request an exception.
Design Goals
CELEBRATE the history of Civil Rights Act of 1964, in addition to other countless federal and state laws that protect our civil, political, and legal rights.
RECOGNIZE the myriad of individuals, groups or major events in Colorado and nationally that championed equity, equality, and accessibility.
CREATE a vibrant and lively design, celebrating our diverse community.
INSPIRE action by increasing visibility and engaging the community.
Selection Criteria
A panel comprised of a diverse group of RTD employees, including representatives from the Civil Rights, Marketing and Communications divisions as well as community partners will evaluate the entries and select the artist to design the 60th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act Celebration Bus. The panel will review submissions and evaluate artists based on the following qualifications:
| Criteria | Score |
|---|---|
| Does the artwork achieve the design goals? Does the design tell a story or message? Is the design eye catching? Is the overall composition of the design balanced and unified? If included, is the slogan short and memorable, and is the text legible? Does the design meet the required technical specifications? | 40% |
| Overall, is there a clear, demonstrable connection to the theme and how will that be meaningfully reflected in the artwork? Does the bus wrap design narrative answer these three questions: 1) How the design connects to the project; 2) What you hope to evoke with the imagery; and 3) How you hope the design will engage the public | 35% |
| Aesthetic integrity of submitted past work; large format experience is preferred | 15% |
| Demonstrated ability to complete the work on time and on budget | 10% |
Additional Considerations
- Artwork design to show a depiction or interpretation of the legacy of civil rights and social justice movements and/or the vibrancy of the intersectionality of diverse communities, lived experiences and personal identities.
- Artists will retain all rights of their artwork. Once bus design has been selected and final artwork has been transferred in digital format per the specifications outlined, RTD will compensate the artist of the selected artwork a one-time payment of $3,500. The artist will grant RTD exclusive rights for unlimited usage of artwork on the vehicle, as well as any other usage RTD may see fit to promote this program, RTD, or its services in perpetuity. The selected artist will maintain all rights of his/her/their artwork under the Copyright Act of 1976, and may use the artwork for promotional purposes on his/her/their website, social media and through other channels. The selected artist may not resell or relicense this artwork to any other entity as RTD is purchasing exclusive usage rights without time limitations.
Timeline and Decision Process
April 26, 2024 - Application Opens May 24, 2024 - Submission deadline June 2, 2024 - Submission reviews by evaluation panel June 3, 2024 - Selection of artist and wrap design June 14, 2024 - Finalization of wrap design June 17, 2024 - Design imagery sent to vendor for installation Summer 2024 - Bus wrap reveal
The evaluation panel will review artist applications and bus wrap design imagery starting May 25 – June 2 and finalist(s) will be notified on June 3. If necessary, additional communication with the finalist(s) will take place between June 3 - June 14. Selected artist will be announced June 14, and the bus wrap will be revealed in Summer 2024.