This contest is open to all full-time and part-time IU East students currently enrolled in the Spring 2026 classes. The contest is for individual participation, not for group participation.

The design should include, on the front cover, the report’s official title, “2025 IU East Regional Business Confidence Index And East-Central Indiana Business Survey”, a place for the release month and year, and another place for the BERC logo. 

Besides, it must also convey to the potential audience that the report is on the following seven east-central Indiana counties: Fayette, Franklin, Henry, Randolph, Rush, Union, and Wayne. The potential audience of the report includes the business operators, residents, visitors, and economic development efforts in the seven-county region and beyond. 

Moreover, the design must emphasize that the report is about the actual local business and economic conditions in 2025 and the expected conditions in 2026, summarized and analyzed from the related business survey conducted in 2025.

The design may or may not be used beyond the reporting year 2025 at the discretion of the BERC. The 2025 report will be released in 2026.

Each cover measures 8.5” × 11”, portrait

Both front and back covers in a single PDF file

The same color theme and font type (Times New Roman) will be used as the covers for the 2021 report; photos, illustrations, or other design elements are acceptable as long as they agree with the specified color theme.

• Oi Lin (Irene) Cheung, Director, Business and Economic Research Center, IU East
• Brad Colter, CEO/ President, Fayette County, Indiana, Economic Development Group
• John Dalton, Director of Communication and Marketing, Office of Public Relations, IU East
• Natalia Rybas, Professor of Communication Studies, IU East
• Kelly Wilkinson, Dean, School of Business and Economics, IU East

• Must include all key elements (See Section 2)
• Creativity
  The design must be developed based on original ideas.
• Visual Appeal
  Design elements must be clear, uncluttered, and culturally appropriate for the potential audience of the report. The covers must also reflect the subject matter of the report contents.
• Professionalism
  The covers must be appropriate for use in the real business world.

• A cash prize will be given to the winner (1 @ $200) and finalists (2 @ $100 each). All cash prizes are paid into students’ bursar accounts.
• Winner (1) and finalists (2) will each receive an award certificate from the BERC.
• The winner’s design, with/without minor adjustments, will be used for and acknowledged in the report(s) mentioned in Section 2.

• Sunday, March 22, 2026 (the last day of IU East’s Spring Break)
• Complete the submission form
• Email your design and your completed submission form to berc@iu.edu. Each participant is limited to one design only. Please use your last name-design (e.g., Cheung-design) as the name of your design file and your last name-submission form (e.g., Cheung-submission form) as your completed submission form file.