Our juried competition celebrates the best use of typography as the primary visual element in design and advertising, plus new typeface designs, calligraphy and hand lettering. Any typographic project first published or produced from September 2021 through September 2022 is eligible. Chosen by a jury of leading design professionals, the selected entries will be distributed worldwide in the Communication Arts Typography Annual, in print and digital editions, and on commarts.com, assuring important exposure to the creators of this outstanding work.
Each winning entrant will receive a personalized Award of Excellence, milled from solid aluminum, and award certificates issued for firms, individuals and clients.
CA’s Award of Excellence is one of the most-coveted awards in the industry. If chosen, winning places you in the highest ranks of your profession.
What to Enter: Information on eligibility, categories and fees.
How to Enter: Information on preparation of entries and forms.
Typography Competition FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about applications and file formats.
Student Category FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about submitting student entries.
What to Enter
Any project published or produced for the first time from September 2022 through September 2023 is eligible. Entries may originate from any country, but we need an English translation for the jurors. Submission of entries acknowledges the right of Communication Arts to use them for publication and exhibition.
Typography Competition Categories
These categories are judged by the Typography jury and will appear in the Typography Annual. For a list of fees, please download the category PDF:
Advertising: print/out-of-home advertising, advertising posters, direct mail, etc.
Brochures: annual reports, brochures, catalogs, corporate literature, etc.
Posters: concert, performance, exhibition, theater, gallery, etc.
Ephemera: invitations, announcements, greeting cards, etc.
Packaging: labels, shopping bags, audio/video/software packaging, etc.
Books: covers and complete books.
Periodicals: magazines, newspapers, newsletters, etc.
Digital Media: websites, blogs, mobile applications, etc.
Environmental: signage, environmental graphics, museum/tradeshow graphics, etc.
Identity: logos/trademarks, business papers, collateral, etc.
Motion: movie/network/program titles, television commercials, web videos, animations, etc.
Typeface Design: commercially available typefaces and type families.
Calligraphy/Hand Lettering: hand-drawn type for commercial purposes.
Miscellaneous: apparel, products for sale, etc.
Unpublished: experimental/personal work not published.
Student Work: work created for school assignments.
Late Fees
Entries must be registered no later than Midnight (Pacific Standard Time), September 8, 2023. Entries registered after that date require a late fee of $10 per entry. No entries can be registered after September 22, 2023.
How to Enter
All competition entries are processed through our online competition system.
Before you begin the process of entering a competition, please have the following information and materials ready. This will make the process go quickly.
- Your contact information for registration and notification.
- Title and basic credits for each project.
- Digital files of work you want to submit. See below for file specs.
Entries can be submitted in the following formats:
Digital Images: Must be RGB in JPG or JPEG format with a maximum file size of 2MB.
Video Entries: Must be in MOV, MP4, MPG or MPEG format, with a maximum file size of 500MB.
PDF Entries: Must have a maximum file size of 50MB.
Typeface designs must show a complete character set and a sample setting. Type families must show a complete character set and a sample setting for each variant. Each variant must fit on a single image or page of a PDF.
All entrants grant Communication Arts the right to reproduce work selected in the Typography Competition on the Communication Arts website and in materials used to promote the magazine, the competition and/or future related promotions.
Forms and Entry Fees
Once you have completed the registration process, a PDF with a receipt or invoice will be generated.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and PayPal through our online competition system. Charges for your entry fees will appear on your statement as (“Commarts”). We also accept checks, international money orders and wire transfers. Make checks payable to Communication Arts. Non-United States contestants wishing to pay by check must send a check in U.S. funds drafted on a U.S. bank. Please include a copy of your invoice with the check or money order. Please note on wire transfers: We require an additional fee of $25 (U.S.) to cover fees charged by the banks to process the transfer. If you would like to pay via Wire Transfer, please contact us at competition@commarts.com for bank information.
Refund Policy
All entry submissions are final and entry fees are nonrefundable.
Mail checks to:
Communication Arts Typography Competition
PO Box 889
Belmont, CA 94002
USA
(Via United States Mail, FedEx, UPS, etc. Entrants submitting from outside the U.S. please use an international courier.)
Notification of Acceptance
Only accepted entrants will be notified within two months after the final deadline date due to the number of entries we receive. Complete credits and any necessary material for the best possible reproduction in the Annual will be requested at that time.
Questions
If you have any other questions you can reach us by:
Email: competition@commarts.com
Phone: (650) 326-6040
