Design Awards & Competitions
Design awards and competitions are a great way to have your work recognized by the creative community while establishing trust with potential clients. They create a heightened awareness over your studio’s quality of work and give clients a sense of the projects you’re good at, and enjoy taking on. By its very nature, the application process is a great learning experience on how to present and speak about your work thoughtfully, how to follow guidelines, and meet application deadlines. We’ve compiled a short list of competitions below, followed by a few tips and tricks when applying.
Communication Arts’ 2022 Design Competition
Communication Arts hosts broad-reaching competitions for creativity in Design, Illustration, Advertising, Photography, and more. Information on the 2022 Design Competition (including how and what to enter) can be found here. See their full competitions list and deadlines here; submission deadlines are typically held in early December.
Fees: they aren’t transparent with fees online, but we’ve seen prices starting at $45/submission. Instead, you must first complete the registration process online, upload artwork, and then an invoice is generated based on how many projects you submit.
The 2023 GDUSA Design Annual
Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) hosts annual competitions showcasing the best in Graphic Design, Inhouse Design, Web Design, Package Design, Healthcare Design, and Digital Design. They also have Student Design Awards and other rotating competitions, such as their 2022 Health and Wellness Awards that were open through August 2022. Overview of evolving competitions on this page.
Fees: fees vary per design competition, but typically begin at $80 per entry, with reduced rates for multiple submissions ($140 for 2, $180 for 3, etc.)
LogoLounge Book Publication
LogoLounge is a global competition that gives designers the opportunity to have their logos featured and printed in the next LogoLounge book—sent to tens of thousands of designers and companies all over the world. In August 2021, they published their 13th edition. Publications are released every year or so. Keep an eye on their website for Calls for Entry. (May 1, 2020 was the deadline to apply for the August 2021 release.)
Fees: you must be a member of the LogoLounge community to submit work, which costs $100/year. Additionally, the annual fee gives you access to a community of designers, a library of inspiration, and a digital copy of the most recent LogoLounge book.
Maine Ad + Design Broderson Awards
A biennial award show recognizing Maine's best advertising and design. Typically they announce the winners at an in-person event with hundreds of Maine creatives, but the previous show (May 13th, 2021) was virtual due to COVID. Last years’ winners can be found here. Information for the 2023 awards has not been released yet, but they typically offer a wide range of award categories—such as student work, creative elements: illustration, pitched but ditched, corporate or brand identity + logos, audio/podcast design, and many more.
Fees: fees are tiered based on when you apply. Last year, they offered an early bird fee of $25 per submission from March 15 - March 12. Fees then increase to $30-50, depending on how late you apply. Student submissions are free! You create a Judgify profile online in order to upload submissions, writeups, and payment.
Type Directors Club Typeface Design Competition
The TDC hosts competitions in Typeface Design, Communication Design, and Ascenders, which honors type-based portfolios of designers who are 35 years of age and under. Their Typeface Design Competition is exactly what it sounds like! It’s required that the typeface submission was created in the same year of the competition open call, which typically takes place at the end of January. See last year’s winners here.
Fees: entry fees typically start at $65, with 50% discounts applied to a list of 135 countries. Student entry fees are $45.
Tips & Tricks
〰️
Tips & Tricks 〰️
Take well-lit, high quality photos of your work, or use mockups that accurately reflect the work you’ve created. For product packaging, can you request high quality photography from the client, who may have already invested in a photo shoot. Don’t forget to credit the photographer and company!
Is your work showcased online? There’s a good chance the judges will want to see your website, even if that work isn’t part of the submission process. No web presence just yet? Now might be a good time to set up a portfolio, Dribbble account, or some other online portfolio to show people you’re serious.
Follow the application instructions meticulously. What file sizes and formats do they accept? Are they requesting high resolution photos, video content, or something else? Is there an in-person event once winners are selected?
If fees are a barrier to applying, be on the lookout for mentions of reduced (or free) student rates, and keep your eye on AIGA Maine’s website. In May, AIGA was seeking submissions for a free show called Maine Perspectives—they asked designers to create a poster that shows their unique point of view about Maine—whether that’s a place, culture, food, style, community, or anything else. The posters are on display at the Portland Public Library until October 8th, 2022, (and they’ll be sharing each poster on Instagram.)