2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair Logo Contest! (by )
Calling all artists to submit logo designs for the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair!
The winning artwork will be used as the basis for the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair logo.
(Not familiar with the Fungus Fair? Check out last year's Fair for more info.)
Please submit your logo design(s) by 10pm PT on Monday, August 18, 2025.
Grand Prize
The winning artist will receive:
- $500 in cash
- Two (2) General Admission1 tickets to the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair (valued at $15 each)
- One (1) 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair T-shirt (valued at $30-35)
- One (1) set of 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair giveaways (poster, postcard, etc.)
- Artist name credited with the artwork on all materials that use the logo2
Finalists Exhibit
Photographs or reprints of the winning artwork and up to 10 of the finalist entries for this logo contest will be displayed at the London Nelson Community Center during the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair, January 9-11, 2026. Each displayed image will be accompanied by the artist's name, URL or contact info, and a brief description.3
Images of the exhibited3 entries will also be posted on the FFSC website, and may appear on social media.
Contest Rules
Eligibility
- Anyone in the United States can submit an entry.
- Each individual can submit up to 5 entries.
- The finalists and winning design will be reviewed and selected by representatives from the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair organizing committee. Members of the selection committee are not eligible for the grand prize.
- The deadline to submit entries is August 18, 2025 at 10pm PT.
Logo Design Guidelines
1) Your original work only. Please don't violate any copyrights.
2) Special consideration will be given to designs that incorporate these concepts:
- Distinctly recognizable, real mushroom species known to occur in California
- The 2026 Fair theme: Underground Wonders: Secrets of the Fungal Kingdom
- Suitability for an all-ages T-shirt
3) Special consideration will also be given to designs which are accompanied by:
- Suggestions for background colors to use for the T-shirt and poster
- Suggestions for where to place "Santa Cruz Fungus Fair" and the year (2026)
- Suggestions for typefaces to use on the T-shirt and poster.
Note: If you choose to include text within the artwork, any fonts used must be free for commercial use.
You can see examples of our past Fungus Fair logos below.
Technical Guidelines
Initially, we only need a PDF or screenshot of your artwork for consideration. If your entry is shortlisted as a finalist, we'll contact you for the original work.
That said, we strongly recommend that you design your contest entry to be print-ready or easily adapted to the following requirements for the final logo:
Colors:
- Max colors within the art file for printing: 7 colors
- You can suggest a specific T-shirt color as an 8th color
Artwork / digital canvas size: Printable with high quality at 9-11"w x 9-11" tall
File type:
- Vector art (Adobe Illustrator (.ai), or a .pdf containing vector art is strongly preferred.
- Adobe Photoshop (.psd) or .png that contains high resolution vectorized art will be considered.
- If you provide rasterized art, please prepare it for printing at 300 dpi.
File name: Include your name and the artwork title in the filename.
Logo Design Usage
The winning entry will be used for the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair logo.
The 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair committee may, at their discretion, alter the graphic elements, font or verbiage from the winning entry while creating the final 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair logo and merchandise.
The winning entry and final logo will become the property of the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz for exclusive commercial use in marketing and merchandising for the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair, and in any other way the organization sees fit in alignment with FFSC's mission. The Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz reserves the right to reproduce the artwork and logo indefinitely.
The 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair logo will be used at the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair, and will appear on the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair T-shirt, as well as on posters, postcards and other materials which will be displayed in the Santa Cruz, California region. The logo may be also used in marketing by Fungus Fair vendors, sponsors and speakers, as well as in social media which could be seen worldwide.
Submit Your Entry
This year we're trying Google Forms to collect entries for this contest.
We look forward to seeing your ideas!
Examples of Past Fungus Fair Logos on Posters
1 General Admission tickets do not include tickets to reserved talks or the After Hours Dinner.
2 The 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair will be promoted by the Fungus Federation of Santa Cruz (FFSC), the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, and/or other sponsors of the 2026 Santa Cruz Fungus Fair.
3 Artists can opt in or out of the exhibit. There is no financial compensation associated with this exhibit.