Beep beep'm, beep beep, yeah

Next undertaking: parking permit design for DOTS at Maryland. There's a contest where you can earn a free permit for next year if they decide to use your design for the permits, which is especially enticing in the midst of $206 spring-only permit registration. Official rules:

Create a design using University of Maryland, College Park images, pictures, or logos and colors using Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.

Designs submitted in Adobe Photoshop format must be:
• In editable layer format and not flattened
• Be at least 300 dpi, and have a 0.125” bleed

Templates should be designed with the following in mind:
• Permit dimensions are 4.75”x 2.75”; please include a 1/8" bleed
• A 1" x 1" lot assignment foil box will be placed on the bottom portion of the permit
• A 0.75” x 2.25” control number box will be placed on the bottom of the permit
• The designs should be versatile to enable color changes for status differentiation

Finalists will be selected by representatives of the Department of Transportation Services from eligible entries received. The judges will select the entries based on the following criteria in their sole discretion:
• 50 percent positive representation of the University of Maryland
• 25 percent appearance of design and 25 percent suitability for use

And the template:


I'm thinking probably Photoshop, not Illustrator, so I can bring in images like Testudo and the M, and because I feel like that's been more my strength anyway.