Yes! Each artist may apply once for each of the three categories: photography, writing and graphic design.

Yes. The total amount of files you may submit per application is limited to 10. Each file should represent only one indivisible entry (i.e. one photograph, one text, one pair of text and photograph that cannot be disassociated, or one portfolio entry for graphic designers).

You can apply as either an abstract photographer, a creative writer, or a graphic designer. 

There are 10 themes to choose from. The themes are Intersection, Force, Union, Countability, Archway, Duality, Emergence, Transition, Overpass and Sharpness. You may select as many theme as you want. Make sure to indicate what theme correspond to your submitted files by following our filename convention.

1. The first step is to apply as a graphic designer. To do so, you must attach at least one sample of your previous design work – the more, the better. This will help us determine your eligibility for this project and the nature of the work we will assign to you. You must also specify how many pages you’re willing to produce for this issue.
2. If your candidature is selected, we will immediately send you a number of texts and photographs and an assigned number of pages. You’ll have two months from that moment to complete those pages.
3. You must not use copyrighted content (fonts, graphic elements, etc.) for which you cannot authorize the usage of by Hintology, but you may otherwise use any copyright-free fonts, graphics, media, etc., though we encourage you to create your own if you are able to! You will be provided with our basic font set as well.
4. There will likely be back-and-forths between you and the editor-in-chief to make sure the designs are on-schedule and aligned with our mission, especially during the second month. 
5. Once all designs are received, we will make minor tweaks and adjustments, and connect them to produce the final layout. We will also add credits for the designers involved for each section.

This is something new we are trying this year, so we will do our best to accommodate and adapt to the needs and requirements of participating designers. Depending on your level of proficiency, you should expect to put around 1 or 2 hours per individual page.

All filenames should ideally contain the title, location and production year of any given entry. If the location or year is unknown or unavailable, you may exclude them. Unnamed works should be titled “Untitled”. Please refer to the following format:

“ArtistName_Theme_Title_Location_Year.xyz” (e.g. JohnDoh_Incognito_Untitled_NewYork_2022.jpg)

If you are sending multiple separate themes, please make sure this is reflected in the filenames.

For graphic designers, send your references using the following format:

“ArtistName_ProjectTitle_Organisation_Year.xyz” (e.g. JohnDoh_Issue3_Hintology_2025.pdf)

For pictures, we accept downsized image files in the JPG formats. The total weight of your files may not exceed 10MB. Make sure you also own a full-resolution version of the submitted pictures with a minimum of 2000 pixels on each side.

For texts, send files in either the DOC, TXT or PDF format and limit them to a maximum of 1000 words. Use only one file per separate text.

For graphic design references, your files should be in either JPG or PDF and must also weigh less than 10MB in total.

Absolutely. All copyrights remain in the hands of their author.
We only reserve the rights for your work(s) to be used for the publication and its promotion.

We ask that you consent to four clauses:

1. Confirm that you are the author of the works;

2. That you agree with the limited use that will be made of your work for promotion purposes;

3. If selected, you agree for your work to be included in Issue #3 of the Hintology Magazine;

4. That your work may be used in creative ways for the design and that you will be allowed to review the final versions of the pages where it is featured.

For pictures, you must also confirm that you own and agree to provide high-resolution, watermark-free versions of submitted entries.

No, you may name your entries however you see fit. Do however consider that our audience is expecting to read English texts and that translated titles might help them understand your work better.

Unfortunately, given the current scale of our publication, we have chosen to focus on the world’s most common second language to increase accessibility to a wider audience. However, as our audience and team both grow, we will strive to represent voices from more languages.

Ideally not. This excludes personal publications on social media, but if your work has been included in official printed or digital publications, then we might not accept it. That being said, we will treat this situation case by case, so please inform us of the specific publication where the work has been featured. If refused, you will be invited to submit a replacement.

Hintology is a nonprofit project instigated and run by artist Vincent Marsolais with the generous voluntary involvement of other contributors. All upfront costs are covered by preorders and donations, and all earnings go towards advancing our mission to support and spread awareness of the medium of abstract photography. We put innumerable hours into this project, and your support means everything. 

Ultimately, the best way to encourage us is to purchase our printed issues, to contribute to our growing community on either Instagram or Facebook, or simply to share what we do. Interested in collaborating with us and to get involved creating content? Submit your candidature here and let us know how you’d like to contribute.