3 Reasons to Enter the Adobe Wear Your Heart on Your T Contest

So I’m officially announcing the awesome news about an opportunity that fell on my lap a few weeks ago: Adobe asked me to help out by judging one of their biggest contests ever, the Adobe Wear Your Heart on Your T design contest! I guess this means I am officially internet famous. Well, not Youtube Viral famous (I’m not pulling off the moves of Gangnam Style), but I’m going to gloat about this anyways

What is the Adobe Wear Your Heart on Your T Contest?

From September 10 – October 7, Adobe is encouraging students of all design levels and disciplines to participate in this cool contest using an app Adobe designed to simulate the basics of Photoshop and Illustrator. You get to showcase your personal brand — what makes you so special — in the most attention grabbing medium possible: a t-shirt that you can buy after designing it on the Adobe app. You literally get to wear your heart on your t-shirt!

Pretty cool, no?

I got to test out the app myself a couple weeks ago. Here’s what my t-shirt looks like:

If it looks familiar, it’s because I was inspired by an Angry Girl Comics illustration… You can read more about my inspiration and design process here!

Anyways, I know it may seem pretty intimidating to participate in a design contest when it’s not necessarily your forte. But read my 3 reasons why you should give it a shot and submit something anyways, despite your concerns:

1. You Have a Chance to Develop Your Personal Brand

Have you ever taken some time to figure out what really makes you, you — what qualities make you different from everyone else? Or what combinations of your interests you’d like to focus on career-wise? There are only a few people I know who were truly introspective coming into college; they actually know what they want to do and why they want to pursue that dream. There are few opportunities in which you are actually sit down and think about what differentiates you as an individual and a job candidate, and Adobe is giving you an opportunity to do that! With some motivation, too!

By submitting a t-shirt representing your personal brand, you have a chance to personally cultivate that special quality in you.

2. There are Skills to Be Learned!

I am far from a proclaimed design genius. I only know a little about how to use programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. But what little knowledge I know has helped me go a long way in college and getting a job! Why? Because I took the time to get familiar with the most basic tools in these programs. Having a basic understanding of how Photoshop worked helped me land a job at Scholastic while I was in school and be named a Creative Director for my business school’s online news journal.

Since Adobe lets you try their products for free for 30 days, you get a no-strings-attached opportunity to play around with these design tools. That, in addition to the plethora of Adobe tutorials on their site and around the web, means you can gain some basic technical skills merely by entering this contest.

But beyond that, you’re getting some core marketing skills that is channeled directly to you! Branding is a subset of marketing anyways, and if you could learn how to visually represent yourself to your friends, colleagues, and potential employers, then you’ve already got a leg up on the job market.

3. The Prizes are Pretty Enticing

If you win, you will receive a cash prize of $5,000, three dozen t-shirts with your design, and a FREE one-year subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, plus an opportunity to have your t-shirt featured and sold on a t-shirt partner’s site! How sweet of a deal is that?

Well, I don’t know what you’re still doing on this page. You should be checking out Adobe’s rules and submitting your own design right now!

Leave a comment below if you’re entering Adobe’s design contest!