What a Coder Looks Like
Code/Art’s CodeYourSelf™ competition combines creativity, art, and coding to inspire more girls to pursue computer science while also helping change society’s view of what a coder looks like.
This competition is for female-identifying or gender non-binary persons living within the U.S. It’s easy enough for first time coders, while still being engaging enough to challenge more experienced coders. As an added challenge, each year’s competition has a unique theme.
See terms & conditions and rubric.
Deadline: February 17, 2023 @ 11:59 PM EST.
Guidelines
Eligibility
Participants must be female-identifying or gender non-binary students in 3-12th grade who reside in the United States or the District of Columbia.
Theme
MY SUPER SELF! We all have a superpower that makes us who we are. Whether it’s a special talent, personality trait or something you love about yourself, code a self-portrait that shows off your awesomeness!
Guidelines
- Participants must write a computer program to generate their self-portrait using, but not limited to, Processing.js or p5.js, and provide a working link to view both the artwork and the code (e.g. Khan Academy, CodeHS, p5.js, Code.org).
- Entry MUST include a self-portrait to qualify (i.e. a depiction of the artist/coder that includes the face, head, and shoulders).
- All design elements MUST be coded. No gifs, jpgs, pngs, images from an image library (e.g. Sprites from Scratch’s sprite library), or other graphic files can be part of your portrait. The inclusion of any of these non-coded elements in your entry will lead to disqualification.
- Portrait must pull inspiration from this year’s theme (students can explain connection to theme in write up).
- Each entry must include a clear photograph of the participant.
- Only one CodeYourSelf™ submission is allowed per entrant.
- Each entry must provide parent/guardian or teacher consent and contact information (if under 18 years old).
What to Submit
- All participants must first register at hub.code-art.com
- After registering, the submission form can be accessed on the dashboard (only accessible when logged into your Code/Art Hub account).
- A complete entry must include: The URL to your project (make sure it’s viewable by anyone with the link), a clear photo of yourself & your written response to the following questions:(1) What was the inspiration behind your entry? (2) How did you incorporate the theme? (3) What was most challenging from a coding perspective in creating your project? (4) What did you find most rewarding?

Winning
CodeYourSelf™ 2023 will consist of two separate competitions: a national U.S. competition for students across the country (will also include South Florida entries) and a regional competition that will ONLY be for South Florida residents (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties).
National Competition
- All submissions will be viewed by a panel of judges who will identify the top 10 finalists per Grade Division (Elementary, Middle, and High) using a judging rubric.
- There will be a 1st-3rd place winner per grade division (9 winners). The remaining 7 finalists, per grade division, will be recognized at Code/Art Fest and have their project printed in the CodeYourSelf™ book.
South Florida Regional Competition: “People’s Choice” voting
- For each grade division, the top 10 entries (determined by judging panel) will be exhibited at Code/Art Fest for the final in-person voting round.
- This final round will determine the 1st place regional winner per grade division.
Teacher Resources
- Teachers, Code/Art’s Competition can help you teach coding in your classroom!
- Access our easy-to-teach lesson plans by registering to our Hub.
- Use our Excel template for easy submission of multiple student projects.
- Submit 20+ student projects (made by female students) and receive a FREE t-shirt
- The top elementary, middle school and high school teacher – those with the most student submissions – will each win a $100 cash prize and be recognized during the Code/Art Fest awards ceremony.
Celebrate Winners at Code/Art Fest!
Each spring, Code/Art hosts an Awards Ceremony & Tech Conference in Miami, FL. known as Code/Art Fest where the competition winners and finalists are recognized and awarded their prizes.
For participants who cannot attend in person, we will be broadcasting the awards ceremony on Facebook and Youtube and their prizes will be mailed to their shipping address.
Winner
- (1) First place winner per grade division
- $150 Cash Prize
- Project published in CodeYourSelf™ book
- ImagiLabs Charm NEW!
- Superblue field trip (South Florida locals)
- Code/Art Fest T-shirt
- Certificate
Finalist
- (1) Second place winner per grade division
- $100 Cash Prize
- Project published in CodeYourSelf™ book
- ImagiLabs Charm NEW!
- Superblue field trip (South Florida locals)
- Code/Art Fest T-shirt
- Certificate
Finalist
- (1) Third place winner per grade division
- $50 Cash Prize
- Project published in CodeYourSelf™ book
- ImagiLabs Charm NEW!
- Superblue field trip (South Florida locals)
- Code/Art Fest T-shirt
- Certificate