Design the VU appreciation card

12 November – 3 December 2026, 12noon–11.59pm

No physical location

Winners receive $200 gift cards

Your artwork could land in the hands of students and staff across VU’s campuses, on up to 500 postcards.

thrive* is launching an appreciation card for the Victoria University (VU) community. Students and staff will use it to send a thank you, a well done or a “you’re great” to a teacher, a colleague, a mentor or anyone who made their day easier, on any campus. We need designs, and we’d like them to come from our own students.

Prize

Two winning designs will be chosen. Each winner gets a $200 e-gift card that can be claimed at various stores. The winning art pieces will be printed on the appreciation cards with the winner's name credited on the back of their card.

Eligibility

You must be a current VU student.
You must have the right to use everything in your artwork. In your short statement, tell us how you made it, including any tools you used.
You may enter up to three artworks.
By entering, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions.

Your artwork must

capture the theme of appreciation and gratitude (think saying thank you, celebrating someone’s effort, kindness, someone having your back)
be in A6 format (105 x 148 mm), either landscape or portrait
be high resolution (minimum 300 dpi, which is 1240 x 1748 pixels at A6)
include a 3 mm bleed if you can, but we’re happy to help if you’re not sure
not include clip art or stock images from Word, Publisher, PowerPoint or similar
leave out the VU and thrive* logos, because we’ll add what’s needed

Usage rights

By entering, you grant Victoria University a free, permanent, worldwide license to use, reproduce, print, display and share the winning design, in any format and for any purpose. You keep ownership of your artwork, and your name will always be credited on the cards.

Terms & conditions

Read competition terms and conditions by opening the section below.

How to enter

Enter via online form by 3 December 2026, 11:59 PM AEST.

Include a short statement (up to 200 words) about your work, how your design represents appreciation and gratitude, and how you made it.

The winners will be selected by a panel of VU staff and students.

Template

The front will be designed by you, and we'll take care of the back!

: By entering the VU Appreciation Card Design Competition (Competition), you agree to the following conditions:
The promoter is Victoria University (VU) (ABN: 83 776 954 731, CRICOS Provider No. 00124K), PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001.
By entering the Competition you warrant that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these terms and conditions.
The Competition commences on 12 November 2026 at 12 pm AEST and closes on 3 December 2026 at 11.59pm AEST (Competition Period). Any entry that is not received during the Competition Period will be invalid.
Entry is open to all current VU students.
You may enter up to three times. All entries must comply with the instructions in the VU Appreciation Card Design Competition Artwork Guidelines, which can be found on the competition page. Entries that do not comply with the Guidelines are not valid entries.
You must provide VU with an original postcard design (Artwork). The winning Artworks will form the basis of appreciation cards in A6 format that are to be printed and made available to VU students and staff.
VU reserves the right to exclude from the Competition any Artwork which VU determines in its sole and absolute discretion to be inappropriate or offensive.
There will be two winning Artworks selected from the valid entries (each a Winner). Each student can win only one Prize, even if they enter more than one Artwork.
Each Winner will receive a $200 e-gift card (Prize).
This is a game of skill. Chance plays no part in determining the Winner.
A panel consisting of VU staff and students will select some Artworks (Finalists) from the entries. The Winners will be selected on the basis of their Artwork being the Artwork with the most artistic merit, as voted by the panel.
You warrant that you created the Artwork, or that you hold all rights needed to enter it and to grant the license in clause 13, including where AI tools have been used in the creation of the Artwork. You also warrant that the Artwork does not infringe the copyright, moral rights or other rights of any third party. In your entry statement you must tell us how you made the Artwork, including any tools you used. If an Artwork is based on other work, appropriate approval must be sourced and attached to the entry form.
You keep ownership of your Artwork and copyright in it. However, if your Artwork is selected as one of the winning Artworks, you grant to VU, on and from its selection as a winning Artwork, a royalty free, worldwide, perpetual, non exclusive and irrevocable licence to use, reproduce, adapt, print, display and communicate to the public the Artwork, in any format and for any purpose, including the Competition, any purpose connected with the Competition (now and into the future), and VU’s advertising, marketing and VU-related purposes.
If your Artwork is selected as one of the winning Artworks, you consent to VU adapting or altering the Artwork to suit the card format and VU branding requirements or doing anything else with respect to the Artwork to enable VU to enjoy the benefit of the licence granted to it under clause 13 above which, but for this consent, might infringe your moral rights in relation to the Artwork, other than your moral rights regarding attribution, which VU will respect.
The Winners will not be entitled to any further remuneration (including without limitation the payment of royalties) as a result of VU’s subsequent use of the Winner’s Artwork.
VU reserves the right not to use any of the Winner’s Artworks.
VU will contact the Winners after 8 December 2026, and their name will be published and credited on the back of the card.
In all matters relating to the Competition, all decisions of VU and staff will be final and cannot be contested. No correspondence or discussions will be entered into.