Let’s create our
2026 T-shirt together!

Back Home Again is proud to announce that we are opening the design process for our 2026 T-Shirt to the public! Your design could be featured on this year’s T-shirt and in our marketing for the event!

Running a t-shirt design contest for annual dance events isn’t something we’ve seen many places, and we would like to get creative with our Midwest Lindy Hop dance scenes! We are super excited to see what amazing and fun designs our community has to offer!

We are looking for a simple 2-3 color design that incorporates our logo, our brand fonts/colors, and this year’s theme “Connect. Collaborate. Belong.”  We would love it if the year (2026) could be included somewhere in the design.

Our Fonts-  Costa Std ExtraBold Regular, Costa Std Bold, Costa Std Italic, Costa Std Regular, Costa Std Light Regular, Atocha Regular, & Atocha Caps Regular (font download link provided at bottom of page)

Our Colors: FFFEF5 (beige), DDFF00 (yellow), 00C8FF (blue), 55AB4E (green), and 9A0265 (magenta). You will be able to choose this year’s shirt color (from these listed) as a part of your design!

Be sure to also consider design size and placement when creating your design! Finished print size can range up to 10-12 inches width and 10-14 inches in height.

Back Home Again reserves the right to adjust any element of the design.

Anyone can participate in this contest! You can enter as a group or as an individual. We ask that group submissions only be groups of up to 3 (as we can offer up to 3 prize packs total for this contest)

We will have a small panel of recruited local judges assess each design for the following criteria:

• Creativity & Originality: Is the idea fresh, unique, and not copied? Does it offer a new take on the theme while adhering to BHAII organization values?

• Theme Relevance: How well does the design capture the spirit or message of the event/theme?

• Visual Appeal & Impact: Is the design eye-catching, well-balanced, and does it use color effectively?

• Clarity & Readability: Is the text legible and the design discernible from a reasonable distance (e.g., 6 feet)?

• Technical Quality: Is the artwork production-ready, following file specs, and suitable for printing on various shirt sizes without looking crowded or lost?

Create a high-resolution PDF: images 300dpi, 4/color process (CMYK):

• Prominently display the Back Home Again name and/or logo as part of your design and the year, 2026.

• Use brand fonts and colors (see the “What kind of design do you want to see?” point above for more information).

• Have a message related to this year’s theme “Connect. Collaborate. Belong.”

• The winner of the contest must submit all files required for reproduction. Files become the property of Back Home Again in Indiana.

Note on the Use of AI: Contestants are highly encouraged to generate original concepts, artwork and editing using the digital and analog tools available to them. We appreciate the use of AI as a resource in the creative process but expect submissions to be created by individuals tapping into their own artistic skills.

Once you have your file(s) ready to go and correctly named-

“Firstname_lastname_BackHomeAgain_tshirt_2026

Grouporscenename_BackHomeAgain_tshirt_2026”

Please email all the associated files to Marketing@backhomeagain.dance

Designs are due by February 28, 2026.

Once the winner is announced (on the 15th of March), they will be receiving a free t-shirt with their design and a complimentary full weekend pass to the 2026 BHAII event! Their design will also feature in this year’s marketing for the Back Home Again event.

For group entries, up to 3 shirts and 3 passes will be awarded. For individual entries, only 1 of each will be awarded. 

Pass(es) awarded to winner(s) will be non-transferable.

On January 29th, we will be announcing this contest with an official announcement on social media. Designers have from Jan 29th until the 28th of February to turn in their ideas for this contest. The designs will then be judged by a panel of local judges and a winner identified. Winner(s) will be contacted via email between March 8th and 15th. On March 15th, we will announce our winner(s) on our social media channels!

Any question not covered above can be directed to our Marketing Coordinator, Cheyenne, at their BHAII email- Marketing@backhomeagain.dance