If one of the members of our team is an AIAS member, do we need to pay the registration fee?
No, if one or more members of a team is a member of the AIAS, the team does not need to pay the $10 registration fee.

I don't know my AIAS member number, how can I get this?
You can contact the AIAS office at 202.626.7472 or membership@aias.org to get your member number.

I just became an AIAS member and have not received my confirmation email, what should I put for my member number?
Please type "New Member" in the provided space on your registration. The AIAS office will look up your member number and place it in your registration record.

If I'm graduating soon, can I still participate in the competition?
If you are in school at the time the competition is announced, you are eligible to compete in the competition, even if the competition deadline is after you have graduated. For this competition, if you were in school during the spring 2009 semester, you are eligible to compete.

Do I need to have a faculty advisor for the competition?
No, the registration form asks for faculty advisor information that you can fill out if you have a facutly advisor for the project. This is not a requirement to enter the competition.

What are the final file requirements again?
Your final Submission upload must contain the following files in a single (ZIP) folder not exceeding 20 MB:

• Completed submission information cover page including all team members and faculty sponsors
• Each of the four 20"X 20" boards as a high resolution Portable Document Format (PDF) file, or individually as 150 DPI Image (JPEG, TIFF or GIF) files
• A copy of the design essay as a high resolution Portable Document Format (PDF) file or Document (DOC) file

the final submission file should be titled with your registration number (i.e., "000000.zip")

I have misplaced my registration confirmation, how do I find my registration number?
You can contact the AIAS office at 202.626.7472 or competitions@aias.org to get your registration number.

I don't know how to make a zip folder?
Creating a zip folder is a default function on most windows based computers. However if you can not find the zip fuction on your computer or you are using a MAC, please click the corrisponding icon below.

                 

My file is larger than 20MB, what should I do?
While 20 MB is a lot of space, some design files get extremely large. The best way to ensure your files do not get too large is by following these simple steps:

• If you are developing your boards in photoshop, remember to flatten the document before exporting to a PDF
• Your designs only need to be 150 DPI. There is no need to design anything higher than 300 DPI as your the file size will be extremely large.
• If taking pictures of your model, details, site, etc, remember to size them appropriately before placing them into your final design. Images take up a large portion of a files size.
• Try saving your designs in a different format. JPEG files tend to be about half the size of a TIFF file due to image compression.

I don't have any of the Adobe Suite products. How can I make my design boards?
There are many different programs that are similar to the Adobe Suite and completely free. Here are just a few programs that would work great:

• Gimp is a program similar to Adobe Photoshop
  
  
• Sribus is a program, similar to Adobe InDesign
  
  
• Microsoft Publisher is part of the Office Suite (not free but you may already own it)