Closed For 2016 Entries
Sponsored by Verso Corporation
The editors of Graphic Design USA invite you to join the thousands of creative professionals who have been recognized by this national design competition for five decades. The competition is open to everyone in the community: advertising agencies, design firms, corporate, institutional and publishing inhouse departments, and more. It honors outstanding new work of all kinds: print, packaging, p-o-p, internet, interactive and motion graphics. Winners receive an embossed Certificate of Excellence for each piece selected and are eligible for reproduction in the 53rd Anniversary GDUSA Awards Annual in print, online, digital and mobile – seen by over 100,000 colleagues and clients each year. A new featured category: Creative Use of Color!
ENTRY GUIDELINES
Who is Eligible?
Entries may be submitted by any company or individual involved in the creation or production of the work.
What is Eligible?
Entries must have been created between January 1, 2015 and July 15, 2016.
How to Enter
PLEASE CHOOSE ONLY ONE DELIVERY OPTION
OPTION 1 : Enter online
Download the 2016 American Graphic Design Awards Entry Form
Fill out one entry form for each entry your are submitting. Create a folder which includes all completed entry forms and one digital image per entry. Please zip the file and name it with your company name. Upload the zipped file at the bottom of this page where it says Upload File Here.
OPTION 2: Mail in your entry
Please send the actual printed piece, unmounted but well protected. We cannot return entry materials. Do not send original artwork or any work in low supply. Fill in one entry form for each of your submissions. Attach the entry form to the back of the actual piece. If you are submitting the same piece in more than one category, please include a separate entry form for each category. Please fill out each entry form as clearly as possible. Payment information for all entries can be placed on a single form.
Digital File Preparation
All entries should be accompanied by a high resolution digital file. Please provide ONE image to represent each submission. It is not necessary to provide digital files of entire publications. A cover and a spread are sufficient. Multiple entries from one company can all be submitted on the same CD or flash drive.
ACCEPTABLE DIGITAL FILE FORMATS:
300 dpi Photoshop tiff or jpeg, minimum 5″ wide x 5″ high
Adobe Illustrator file with outlines created around the type
High Resolution PDF
We do not accept Quark or indesign files. Please convert these file types to photoshop jpegs or tiffs.
For entries in the categories of Television + Video Design and Internet Design, please supply a screen capture (10 maximum) on a CD and a high-quality laser printout of the entry. Oversized entries, larger than 11″ x 14″ or three-dimensional entries, should be submitted as a high resolution digital file on a CD or flash drive accompanied by a high quality laser printout.
Categories
1. Annual Reports
2. Announcements, Invites + Greeting Cards
3. Advertising and Advertising Campaigns
4. Books
5. Branding Programs and Campaigns
6. Brochures + Collateral
7. Calendars
8. Catalogs
9. Direct Mail + Direct Response
10. Environmental Graphics
11. Infographics
12. Internet Design (Websites, Apps, Social Media, etc.)
13. Letterhead + Stationery
14. Logos and Identities
15. Newsletters + eNewsletters
16. Packaging
17. P-O-P, Displays, Signs + Exhibits
18. Posters
19. Presentations
20. Publication Design
21. Public Service + Pro Bono Projects
22. Sales + Self Promotion
23. Students
24. Surface Graphics
25. TV + Video + Motion Graphics + Animation, etc.
Featured Category! Creative Use Of Color Sponsored By Pantone
26. Creative Use of Color
Entry Fees
1 Entry . . . . . . . . $75
2 Entries. . . . . . . $120
3 Entries . . . . . . $150
4-6 Entries . . . . $180
7-10 Entries . . . $210
11-15 Entries . . . $240
16-20 Entries . . $275
20+ Entries . . . $300
Multiple entries considered to be part of a series or campaign may be submitted as one entry. You may include up to 5 pieces in a series. Please place the entire series in a single envelope and attach the entry form to the envelope.
Rights + Permissions
Winning entrants grant Graphic Design USA the right to reproduce the winning pieces in the GDUSA Awards Annual. Select winning entries may also appear on gdusa.com and in any and all materials and media produced for promotional purposes.
Mail entries to:
Graphic Design USA
89 Fifth Avenue, Suite 901
New York, NY 10003
Attention: Awards Department
Questions
Tel: 212.696.4380
Fax: 212.696.4564
Email: awards@gdusa.com
SPONSORED BY VERSO CORPORATION
Verso Corporation is a leading North American producer of Printing Papers, Specialty Papers and Pulp. Verso offers high quality printing papers with a broad selection of certified and recycled options for all types of printing applications. For specialty papers, paper performance and shelf appeal go hand-in-hand, and Verso’s wide range of specialty products are designed for high performance in demanding flexible packaging, technical and label and converting applications. With paper mills strategically located near top printers and converters across North America, products are available when customers need them, and customer support, on-press technical service and innovative product and service solutions are strong. Distinguished sheetfed, digital and web brands include Sterling®, Productolith® Pts., Anthem Plus®, Futura®, Blazer Digital®, Influence®, Liberty®, Balance™, Focus™, Voyager® and Superior Gloss®. Contact: www.versoco.com
COLOR CATEGORY SPONSORED BY PANTONE
For more than 50 years Pantone has been the world leader in color selection and matching, providing designers and color professionals across all major industries with products and services for the colorful exploration and expression of creativity, and for accurate color communication from inspiration through realization. One of the many vital products is Pantone’s Extended Color Gamut, which adds Orange, Green and Violet base inks to traditional CMYK. The PANTONE® EXTENDED GAMUT Guide prints 7C process Spot Color simulations and enables printers to more accurately match and reproduce a wider range of colors that look truer, cleaner and more vibrant than before. www.pantone.com (Learn more and get a special GDUSA promotional code for a 25% discount on the Guide.)
