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Workzone Safety Billboard Design Contest

Partnering with high schools to improve work zone safety and save lives.

Hey students! Here’s an opportunity to SHINE!! Design a billboard that makes a difference.
  • Are you creative?
  • Do you care about the safety of your friends, family and community members?
  • Do you want to save lives?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then we have a contest just for you! 

And bonus, you could win up to $150, not to mention bragging rights, and a great addition to your resume or college application.
 
The Oregon Department of Transportation along with community partners is recruiting high school students to design a billboard to educate drivers – especially young drivers - about the dangers of work zones and encourage safe driving. Imagine seeing your design on a giant billboard and realizing the impact it could have on people’s lives!

Every year, tens of thousands of people are injured or killed in roadway work zone crashes in the United States. Distracted driving, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and speeding cause the most serious injuries and deadly crashes.  Workers are especially vulnerable since they are often unprotected (e.g., not in a vehicle) and paying attention to their work.

We want everyone to get home safely, and that requires drivers to slow down, drive sober and pay attention when approaching a work zone. Lives -especially the lives of workers- depend on it. Safety is our number one priority! 

We want to harness your creativity and intellect to encourage drivers to be safe when approaching and driving through work zones. 

A panel will choose two winning designs from all submissions. Each winning design will be displayed on at least 1 billboard for 4 weeks in the ODOT region where the winning submission's school is located. Student(s) will win up to $150 per student (up to a maximum $500 award per team) from the Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon's Education Foundation. 

Contest Details

​​Students must live in Oregon and be enrolled in a public, private, or charter school.  

The fall contest is for students who live in the following counties: Clackamas, Hood River, Multnomah, Washington, Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Yamhill, Polk, Marion, Lincoln, Linn, Benton, and Lane. 

The spring contest is for students who live in the following counties: Douglas, Curry, Coos, Josephine, Jackson, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Jefferson, Wheeler, Crook, Deschutes, Lake, Klamath, Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Baker, Grant, Harney, and Malheur. 

Students may work independently or as part of a team. 

  • ​One entry per student or team. Individual students participating on a team may not submit an entry in addition to his or her team’s entry. 
  • Illegal, offensive, or obscene content is prohibited. 
  • Designs must include or incorporate the ODOT logo in the minimum size specified in the Billboard Design Standards on this page. 
  • Teachers/instructors may assist students by providing oral feedback but should avoid directly assisting with design work. 
  • All participating students authorize ODOT to publish, copy, reproduce, disseminate, and otherwise use submitted designs and student names for the purpose of publicly promoting the contest and designs.  
  • Students may enter by filling out the form below and attaching their submissions as either a .JPG or .PDF.
  • Designs may include words and symbols from any of the languages for which the Oregon Class C Knowledge Test (i.e., the Oregon Driver Manual test). The languages are English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese. Although designs may include any such language, more is not necessarily better, and judging will be based on overall creativity, impact, and visual appeal. 
  • Fall contest submission deadline: Nov. 22, 2024, 11:59 p.m. 
  • References to movies, songs, slang, or other popular media are discouraged. 
  • References to religion are discouraged. 
  • Designs may include images from ODOT’s website​ or flickr pages. 
  • Statistics are allowed but not required. Students who include or refer to statistics in the design must provide a reference to the source when the application is submitted (the application form at the bottom of the page includes a field to enter any such references). Trusted sources include: 
  • ODOT may end the contest at any time for its convenience and without cause and regardless of whether students have submitted designs.  
  • Only contest winners will be entitled to compensation. 
  • Designs submitted after the applicable deadline will not be considered. 
  • ODOT reserves the right to select and replace judges. Judges will read all applicable contest information and evaluate the designs solely based upon the expressly stated contest goals and objectives. Judges will recuse themselves from voting on any design submitted by a friend, family member, or personal acquaintance. Judges will not consider the race, color, sex, or national or ethnic origin of any participating student or students. 
  • Judging Rubrick​

D​esign

  • ​Billboards are typically 14 feet high and 48 feet wide and designs should scale to fit the typical billboard dimensions. 
  • Designs need to be 300 DPI.
  • Please include 1" of bleed around the border. 
  • Files need to be either .JPG or .PDF for submissions. Please be prepared to deliver the .EPS, .AI, or Vector files if you win. Winning students may need to work with ODOT to ensure that submissions can be reproduced in the format needed by the company that will create the actual billboard.
  • File size should be no more than 50 MB. 
  • Avoid white backgrounds. 
  • Except for the ODOT logo, font size should be at least 15 inches tall on the billboard.

Logo

Addition​​al Resources

We cannot provide legal advice on copyright law. However, the U.S. Copyright Office has information available online and submissions should be for the purpose of educating the public about roadway work zone safety. Even if a submission does not appear to contain a copyright violation under the Fair Use Doctrine (which exempts many nonprofit and educational uses), designs should avoid recognized brands, logos, and wholesale copying of slogans or writings (e.g., from a book or song). Original designs, photographs, slogans, and graphics never raise copyright issues. ODOT and the Departments of Transportation in many other states have Flickr pages that include images that may be used for free. By submitting a design, students affirm that the design is their own original work and not in violation of any copyright, trademark, or intellectual property rights of any other person or entity. ​​

By submitting a design, students grant ODOT and its partners an unlimited license to use and reproduce the designs for the purposes stated above.  

ODOT and its partners may use photographs, video, or other media of students who participate in the contest to promote the contest or its purpose. By participating in the contest without opting out, students and their parents (for students under the age of 18) consent to the use of student photographs, video, and other media for the purpose of promoting the contest and/or its purpose. If you wish to opt out you may do so on the entry form below at the time of submission. ​


Previous Contest Winners

​​Congratulations to Kylee U. of Henley High School and Lauryn B. from Summit High School for creating winning designs for our Work Zone Safety Billboard Contest this spring. ODOT partnered with Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon and Willamette Education Service District to give Oregon high school students the opportunity to design a billboard to promote safe driving awareness through work zones. 

You can watch our winners talk about work zone safety and their designs in this video!​ 

Contest winner from Henley High School

​​
Billboard designed by Kylee U. from Henley HS​

Contest winner from Summit High School


Billboard designed by Lauryn B. from Summit HS

​​Congratulations to Kristina B. of Silverton High School and Ava P., Poppy Y., and Emiko G. from Grant High School for creating winning designs for our Work Zone Safety Billboard Contest this fall. ODOT partnered with Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon and Willamette Education Service District to give Oregon high school students the opportunity to design a billboard to promote safe driving awareness through work zones. 

You can watch our winners talk about work zone safety and their designs in this video! ​

Contest Winner from Silverton High School, Silverton​​​​

 
Pictured: John Hickey, executive director of Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon; Mike Kimlinger, ODOT chief engineer; Kristina B., Winner; Amy Caulder, senior manager for career connected learning at Willamette Educational Service District.​​

Contest Winners from Grant High School, Portland 

Grant-Board.png Grant-Group.jpg
Pictured: Front Row: Ava P., Poppy Y., Emiko G., Winners; Back Row: James McGee, Grant High School principle; Matt Kabza, teacher; Amy Caulder, senior manager for career connected learning at Willamette Educational Service District; Mike Kimlinger, ODOT chief engineer; John Hickey, executive director of Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon.