GRAPHICS | BRANDING | PACKAGING | MARKETING
For more than six decades, GDUSA has organized design competitions that spotlight and recognize areas of growth and opportunity for graphic designers. This perfectly describes the legal Cannabis marketplace writ large – marijuana, CBD, Hemp, and the like. This burgeoning industry needs a serious dose of professional graphic design and production to elevate brands, differentiate products, disseminate information, create safe and appealing packaging, and help purveyors build efficient distribution, strong businesses, and a responsible business model. GDUSA’s American Cannabis Graphics Awards™ focuses on the positive role that advertising, design, and marketing can play.
1. Advertising
2. Branding + Logos
3. Packaging + P-O-P
4. Online Design (Websites, Social, Email)
5. Print Design (Brochures, Collateral, Pubs)
6. Video, TV, Animation
7. Integrated Marketing Campaigns
8. Other
ENTRY GUIDELINES | DEADLINE SEPT 12
HOW TO ENTER
HOW TO ENTER
ELIGIBILITY
Entries may be submitted by any company, agency or individual involved in the creation or production or distribution or placement of the work. Entries must have been created or produced or published anytime from January 1, 2024 – August 31, 2025
SPECIAL NOTE TO ENTRANTS
Now in our 62nd year, GDUSA competitions have grown so large that we have engaged a specialized awards firm respected and renowned — OPENWATER — that greatly simplifies the entry process and makes the flow easier and more intuitive for you. Among the upgrades: you can start an entry, save it in draft, and finish it later; and we have created a CART system that lets you collect all the entries and pay once at the end of the process with all major credit cards. GDUSA will, of course, continue to control all design, content, and review activities.
1. CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT OR LOG IN
If you do not have an Openwater account, you will need to open a new account. This is QUICK and EASY; just a few lines of basic information. If you happen to already have an OpenWater account, you can simply log in.
2. SELECT THE CATEGORY
Select the category that best describes your entry.
3. SUBMIT ENTRY DETAILS
For each entry, note the design firm or creative agency or inhouse department plus client, title of entry, and any individual creative credits you wish.
4. UPLOAD DIGITAL FILES/ELECTRONIC ARTWORK
Specifications are provided for all types of categories. In most cases, you will be asked to upload 1-4 images that display your entry or 1 composite image that includes the highlights. When relevant, such as for websites and videos, we ask for the URL as well as the 1-4 supporting still images. For the images, we much prefer JPGs but will accept other formats.
5. PAYMENT FOR ENTRIES (AND PAST WINNER DISCOUNT)
Each entry automatically appears in a CART and you can pay once for any or all entries at the end. We accept payment by major Credit Cards or via Paypal. There are deep volume discounts built automatically into the entry fee schedule (see below). AND if you are a Past Winner of any GDUSA competition, you are entitled to additional 20% discount; please email us – awards@gdusa.com – for the promo code to use at checkout.
ENTRY FEES
$95 … 1 Entry
$180 … 2 Entries
$240 … 3 Entries
$280 … 4 Entries
$300 … 5 Entries
$320 … 6 Entries
$340 … 7 Entries
$360 … 8 Entries
$380 … 9 Entries
$400 … 10-40 Entries
MAXIMUM 40 ENTRIES
