Contest Guidelines

The 2020 NOW Foundation “Love Your Body” poster contest is now closed!

The winning posters are featured on the website and used to promote Love Your Body events.



Before submitting posters to the contest, please look at past winners and familiarize yourself with the campaign. Winning posters will be chosen based on how well they counteract the media’s use of narrow, unrealistic, negative images of women and/or challenge advertisers that profit from women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies.

Posters should be graphically attractive and use dynamic messaging. We especially look for images that demonstrate beauty is not limited by body size, body type, ethnicity, age or physical appearance. The winning posters will be displayed in schools and other public settings, so please consider this when designing your poster.

Details for 2021 LYBC are below and dates for submissions will be out after October, 2020.

IMPORTANT: Each entry must include the artist’s full name, address, phone number, valid e-mail address and category number on the back of each poster. See the prizes section below to determine what category you are in.

Digital Artwork: Digital submissions are accepted in PNG or PDF formats. The poster must include the words 2021 Love Your Body Campaign and the NOW Foundation web site address, www.nowfoundation.org.

Physical Artwork: Poster should be no larger than 9″ x 12″. The poster must include the words 2021 Love Your Body Campaign and the NOW Foundation web site address, www.nowfoundation.org. If you are a category winner, you will be asked for an electronic file of your poster at that time.

Artists may submit multiple posters in the same category, but may not submit posters in different categories. Categories are determined by the age of the designer/artist. If submitting multiple entries, please send them all in one envelope or package.

Entries are accepted from all countries and are open to all gender identities.

Only original artwork will be considered.

Copyrighted Images/Subjects: Original signed release forms are required for copyrighted images or materials. Release forms are also needed for “subjects,” whether public or private citizens. Release forms are not provided by NOW Foundation.

Don’t submit collages or posters that mimic ad campaigns (e.g. MasterCard “priceless” commercial) or use images of celebrities, models or others who have not granted you permission to use their image. Don’t include three-dimensional elements that cannot be reproduced on paper. Don’t mount, frame or laminate your entry. Don’t send copy larger than 9″ x 12″. Do include requested information on the back of the poster and/or electronically. Do put the year (2021) on your entry, not the full date (e.g. October 18, 2021).

All submissions must be mailed to:

NOW Foundation LYB Poster Contest

1100 H Street, NW, Suite 300

Washington, D.C. 20005

Deadline: TBD

Category I: $250 prize for open competition (non-student)

Category II: $200 prize for college (undergraduate or graduate student)

Category III: $150 prize for high school student

Category IV: $100 prize for elementary or middle school student

Categories apply to the age of the designer/artist. This contest is open to all gender identities.

One poster will be selected as the grand prize winner* to serve as the official 2021 Love Your Body Campaign poster and will be featured on the NOW Foundation web site. The grand prize winner will be chosen from among the four category winners and will receive an additional prize of $100.

*The NOW Foundation reserves the right to alter the final poster design or to reject all submissions for the final poster design. All category prizes will be awarded even if no design is accepted for the official poster.

All submissions become the property of the NOW Foundation and may be used for commercial purposes. No entries will be returned, so please keep all your files and/or scan your work.



Can I include photos of celebrities or models in my poster? No. The NOW Foundation will not be able to consider these posters for awards or post them on our website because we cannot guarantee the celebrity/model granted you and us permission for their likeness to be used.

Can I include photos of or references to name-brand products (like Nike)? No.

Can I cut out and include photos from print magazines? No. NOW Foundation does not have the right to reproduce these photos and therefore cannot consider your poster for an award.

Can I use photos or graphics I found on the web? If you are using images from the Internet, please make sure you have permission to use them. Some websites offer free stock photos that anyone can use. If the website does not say that its photos are free to use, then you should not use them — someone else probably owns the rights to them.

Can I use images available through my computer software or in a clip art collection? Yes. Images available through your computer software, like Microsoft Word, or in a clip art collection that you own ARE acceptable.

What about photos of myself or my friends and family? If you are using photographs taken by you or someone you know AND you or someone you know is pictured in the photographs, you must get each person pictured to sign a release form. Just Google “photo subject release form” and you will find samples. You should create a form of your own and get your subjects to sign it. This form serves as proof that the person(s) photographed understand that their image is being used in an entry in a poster contest and if your poster wins, their image will appear on the NOW Foundation website and in other public places. NEVER use photos of people who did not know they were being photographed or who were not informed how their image would be used. You don’t need to send us these release forms when you mail in your poster entry. Just hang on to them, and if you win, we will ask to see your release forms then. If you do not have them, your poster will be disqualified.

Do I have to create my poster on a computer? No. Handmade artwork is acceptable. If you plan to send us an original piece of art, please be advised that we cannot return your work to you. You may want to photograph or scan your work so you have a record of it for yourself.

Can my poster include three-dimensional objects, like a piece of fabric, or a reflective surface, like a mirror? Yes. However, these type of posters are difficult, if not impossible, for NOW Foundation to reproduce, so it reduces your chances of winning the contest. A few posters like this have won their category but not the grand prize.