Clarifications for partners
A few terms come up often when studios, schools and in-house teams ask how they fit into the cycle. The notes below settle the wording we use, so nobody reads a partner role as something it is not.
- Partner
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In this program, a partner is any studio, school or in-house team that takes part in the cycle: entering work, joining the rotating jury, or helping circulate the shortlist archive. It is a role in the process, not a title, tier or commercial agreement.
- Jury membership
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The jury rotates each cycle and is made up of practicing designers. Sitting on one panel does not carry over to the next, and no partner holds a standing seat. The panel changes so that scoring reflects current practice.
- Two-stage review
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Every entry passes a technical check first: file specs, category fit and rights clearance. Only then does it reach jury scoring. Clearing the technical stage is not a shortlist, and a jury score is not a placement until the cycle publishes its archive.
- Shortlist archive
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The archive is a searchable record of shortlisted work with jury notes, category rationale and credits. It documents what advanced in a given cycle. It is not a ranking of all entries, and it does not list work that did not clear the technical stage.
- Categories
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Entries are placed in graphic design, packaging, motion, type design or digital craft, with a separate student category. Category fit is checked at the technical stage, so a project that reads as one discipline is not scored under another.
- Cutoff and cycle
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A cycle runs to its published cutoff, after which entries close and review begins. Dates sit on the calendar of deadlines. Work submitted after a cutoff belongs to the next cycle, not the one in progress.