The 4-H Poster Contest invites youth to showcase their creativity and promote the mission of 4-H. Members design digital or physical posters that share what 4-H means to them and encourage others to get involved. By taking part, youth build communication skills, practice visual storytelling, and display their talents in a fun and meaningful way.

4-H Poster Guidelines

There are two types of poster contests that 4-H’ers can participate in: (1) Regular Poster Contest or (2) Digital Marketing Poster Contest.

General Rules for Each Contest

• Your poster must promote 4-H and include the 4-H emblem. When using the 4-H emblem on a poster, follow the criteria specified by the national guidelines regarding use of the 4-H emblem.Do not place text or other images over or on top of the 4-H emblem.
  • No photo, drawing, symbol, word, or other figure or object may be placed on or obscure the 4-H emblem.
  • The official colors should not be altered.
  • The clover stem should turn to the right only.
  • The clover should not be slanted.
• Name, address, county, age, grade, and email address of the 4-H member should be included with the submission.
• Design must be original.
• Well-known cartoon figures cannot be used because they are copyrighted, such as Marvel superheroes, Disney characters, Lego characters, etc.
• The same scorecard will be used for both the Digital and Regular Poster Contest.
• The awards include a rosette and a $25 cash award to the top ten entries in each division.
• A 4-H member may submit one entry to the Digital and one entry to the Regular Poster Contest.

Digital Posters

• Digital posters should be submitted through the link.
• Must be submitted in a PDF or PNG format.
• Entries should be clear (not be blurry, grainy, or pixeled). In most cases, 640 x 480 pixels should provide a clear image. Tip: If using a computer program such as Microsoft Publisher, when you save your image as a PNG in the dialogue box, there is a “resolution” box and you can change it from “standard printing” to “high quality or commercial.”
  • Examples of programs that could be used for designing your digital poster include, but are not limited to Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, or Canva.
  • Tip: If using a computer program such as Microsoft Publisher, when you save your image as a PNG in the dialogue box, there is a “resolution” box and you can change it from “standard printing” to “high quality or commercial.”
• Digital posters should be in landscape or horizontal format like traditional posters.
• Digital posters are not photographs of a regular poster but rather computer graphics / design created on the computer.
• Digital submissions must be entered here: tiny.utk.edu/dpe

Physical Posters

1. Must be 14 tall x 22 wide inches.
2. Letters must be ¾ to 1¾ inches high.
3. Poster must be durable.

Poster deadlines are dependent on your 4-H meeting location. If 4-H comes to your school, to be considered for an award, your poster must be turned in to your school office by the 8:00 AM on December 16th. If submitting straight to our office, entries must be submitted by 4:00 PM December 16th.

County Awards- Ribbons for top 3 entries per category. First place will be showcased at the state fair.

Regional Awards– Certificates for top 15 entries.

State Awards- Rosette & $25 cash award for the top ten entries.