…and make your favorite cause $20,000 richer!

My job at Yahoo! includes making designs for some of the pages you use. When it comes to making a greener environment, however, whether or not you choose to reduce your impact on the planet is all that matters. So who better to design Yahoo!'s new Green icon than you?

Starting today, we’re kicking off a call for designs for an icon that best symbolizes “green.” We're looking for a graphic that will be used to flag simple, eco-friendly things you can do all over our network, so that everyone knows the many green choices and options available on Yahoo!. That could include everything from making green purchases to finding the most fuel-efficient cars. Why make this a communal project? It seemed only fitting since creating a greener environment is a group effort (not to mention that we have the most creative audience on the planet).

You don't have to be a professional to design an icon. You just have to make a clear, strong visual sign for "green" and send it in. The chosen design will be seen possibly billions of times on Yahoo!'s product pages, by a global audience of more than 500 million people.

And even if you don't submit an icon you can still participate, because the online community will vote to pick the final design. Submission and voting happens at the same time because we’re doing this on Bix. You'll see two icons face off and can vote for which is best.

If your design is chosen, not only do you get to brag about it — the environmental nonprofit of your choice will receive a $20,000 grant from Yahoo!. If your design is a runner-up (two will be chosen), your designated nonprofit will receive $5,000.

Get your idea in by September 18 at the latest. Once you submit a design, tell everyone you know to vote for yours. We’ll announce which icon the community chooses by Sept. 26.

So be a Green icon! Or at least create one. Click here to enter or vote.

Ben Clemens
Director, Design Innovation Group