There are only two days left to cast a vote for which 2012-2013 decal you think should grace Arlington’s car windshields later this year.
Every year, high school students enter original artwork or photos into the Vehicle Decal Design Competition. A panel whittles down the entries to four finalists.
(Updated on 12/13/11) The four finalists for Arlington’s 2012-13 vehicle decal design contest have been revealed.
The annual contest challenges Arlington high school students to submit an original photograph or artwork to appear on the county’s vehicle decals. More than 150,000 decals are mailed to vehicle owners in Arlington each year. Those decals must be displayed on the windshield as a sign that vehicle’s personal property tax has been paid.
“The competition will give you the opportunity to practice your design skills as well as participate in the workings of local government,” the Treasurer’s Office said in a letter to high school students. “The winning decal design will be displayed on the windshields of over 155,000 vehicles in Arlington, and will become part of the Arlington decal exhibit located at the county administrative building.”
Students are asked to submit their design as a JPEG file, either via email or via CD. The design must be in a resolution no less than 300 DPI. The final decal measures 1.5 inches by 2.25 inches. More detailed instructions are available on the county’s web site.
Both tax bills are due next week on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
In addition, the Arlington County Treasurer’s office is reminding residents that the 2011-2012 vehicle decals must be displayed on windshields by Nov. 15.
In neighborhoods like Colonial Village, tax enforcement officers seek out vehicles with out-of-state tags and/or without Arlington registration stickers. They take notes, snap photos and then send letters to the owners, if need be.
The Personal Property Enforcement Program has collected more than $6 million in lost revenue in seven years, according to Ingrid Morroy, the county’s Commissioner of Revenue.
Out of the four design finalists, Wakefield High School student Maya Giacobbe was named the winner for her design, “Hume, Sweet Hume.”
Giacobbe said she chose to design a decal featuring Arlington’s Hume School — the present-day home of the Arlington Historical Society — because “it was one of the first schools in Arlington.”
The winner, with just over a 33 percent of the vote, is the “Parking Ticket Instructions” decal by “Planet Moron.” The “Brown Flip Flops” design is our runner-up, with 28 percent of the vote.
More than 750 people voted in the contest, which pitted five user-submitted parking decal designs against one another. The winner will now receive the high honor and distinction of being known as Arlington’s finest alternative parking decal designer.
Last week we announced our first annual Alternative Vehicle Decal contest, to compete with the actual Arlington County vehicle decal contest. We’ve completed the difficult task of narrowing the excellent submissions down to five finalists, and now it’s time to vote.
We’ll keep voting open for a week, and will announce the winner shortly thereafter. The grand prize is the satisfaction of knowing that Arlington picked you as its best alternative vehicle decal designer.
But what it you’re not a high school student? Why can’t you be in the running for the contest?
Well, that’s where we come in. Today we’re launching our first annual Alternative Vehicle Decal Contest.
Voting has just begun for the county’s 2011-2012 vehicle decal design competition.
Arlington residents will be able to vote for one of four designs selected for the competition. Each design was created by an Arlington high school student.
After Monday, county police will be able to ticket any county resident with an expired sticker.
There was a delay in mailing out the decals this year, but officials told us that would not affect the Nov. 15 display deadline.
