Artist’s Submission Information
Effective: January 30, 2009
Concept Development
The aim of The Kwad is to provide designs that offer aesthetically-appealing art on the canvas of t-shirts
and fleece which celebrates the black collegiate experience. Artists should strive for meaningful, unique,
creative and stylish designs that speak to the soul and heritage of this experience in a manner that
resonates with graduates, alumni, students and fans.
Design Colors
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLO) have
colors that represent their college, fraternity or sorority. All designs for BGLOs should include the colors
of the organization. This can be achieved through the design in combination with the color of the garment
that is recommended by the Artist/Designer. Colors for the BGLOs are:
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity:
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority:
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity:
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity:
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority:
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity:
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority:
Black and Old Gold (PMS #132) or Metallic Gold (PMS #8460)
Salmon Pink and Apple Green
Crimson (PMS #199C) and Cream (PMS #461C)
Old Gold and Royal Purple
Crimson and Cream
Royal Blue and Pure White
Royal Blue and Pure White
Greater flexibility is allowed for HBCUs. While each college and university has its own colors, artistic
license can be used in application of either the school’s colors or other colors in creating your design.
The background color of the design you send for presentation on TheKwad.com (Presentation Design)
should be the garment color of the shirt you would like the design printed on. The background color of
the Master Design (the design that will be for printing) should be on either a white or black background
only depending on the color attributes of the design.
Garment color
The Artist/Designer should identify when submitting their design the garment color(s) of the shirt that fits
with the design. Garment colors available are:
Men
Black
Purple
White
Sand
Mustard
Kelly
Military Green
Athletic Heather
Navy
Cardinal
Royal
Cream
Black
Red
White
Sand
Pink
Dark Chocolate
Navy
Powder Blue
Cream
Athletic Heather
Women
Additional colors will be added periodically.
Type of Garment Printing
Currently, The Kwad is limited to basic digital garment printing. Design placement on a garment should
focus on the front, center chest and rear (if applicable). Exceptions can be made based on the layout of
the design. Designs should be no larger than 15” x 15”.
Licensed Organizations
Submitted designs are limited to universities, fraternities and sororities licensed by The Kwad. The
current listing of these organizations is:
HBCUs
Florida A&M University
Howard University
Tennessee State University
Southern University
North Carolina A&T University
BGLO
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
Additional HBCUs and BGLO will be added in the future. However, any designs outside of these
institutions will be immediately rejected.
All designs for the above organizations are subject to approval from the respective institution.
File Formatting requirements
When submitting a design, two types of files are required. The first is a Presentation Design that will be
used for showcasing your design on TheKwad.com for grading and, if selected, purchase by the
community. This upload file should be 584 x 438 pixels, under 100 kb and in either JPG or GIF format.
Please remember that the background color of your design for Presentation should be the garment color
of the shirt you wish your design to be printed on.
The second file to be sent is the Master Design. This is the file that will be used for printing your design if
selected. The design should be sized according to how you would like it to print on a t-shirt. This sizing
should be no larger than 15” x 15”. This upload file should be at least 300 dpi, under 30 mb and either
EPS, BMP or AI format. Please remember that the background color of your design for the Master
Design should be neutral, either white or black depending on the colors of the design.
Reasons for Rejection
There are several reasons why a design will be immediately rejected. Below is a listing of a few:
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Derogatory or defamatory language, marks or symbols
Design containing copyrighted material
Images used without permission
Incorrect file format, size or image quality (poor resolution)
Improper sizing (Image size larger than 15” x 15”)
Duplicate design or concept