Communication Arts 2026 Design Competition: Entry Guidelines and Details

Communication Arts (CA), one of the most prestigious publications in the graphic design industry, has officially opened the call for entries for its 67th Annual Design Competition. Since 1958, this organization has continued to honor the craft and talent of designers, illustrators, and photographers worldwide.

Important Policy on Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Communication Arts has established a clear boundary for this year’s competition: AI text-to-image generated submissions will not be accepted in the Design competition. The organization stated this decision was made to support the hard work and original creativity of professional artists and designers.

Deadlines and Entry Fees

• Deadline: May 8, 2026 (Midnight, Pacific Time).
• Late Entry Period: Entries registered after May 8 require a late fee of $10 per entry.
• Final Cut-off: No entries can be registered after May 22, 2026.

Eligibility and Project Requirements

Any design project printed, published, or aired for the first time from May 2025 through May 2026 is eligible. While entries may originate from any country, an English translation must be provided for the jurors to ensure proper evaluation.

The 2026 Design Jury

Projects will be judged by a distinguished panel of 9 international design professionals:

• Amber Asay: Founder/Creative Director, Nice People, Los Angeles, CA.
• Emilka Bojańczyk: Co-founder/Creative Director, Podpunkt and Superskrypt, Warsaw, Poland.
• Ezequiel Cafaro: Designer/Author/Professor, Ezequiel Cafaro Studio, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Aki Carpenter: VP/Chief Creative Officer, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, New York, NY.
• Laura Cibilich: Founder/Design Director, Run Aotearoa, Auckland, New Zealand.
• Eduardo del Fraile: Founder/Creative Director, Eduardo del Fraile Studio, Santo Ángel, Spain.
• Francis Desrosiers: Co-founder/Creative Director, Harrison Fun Studio, Montréal, Canada.
• Jaemin Lee: Founder/Graphic Designer, Studio fnt, Seoul, South Korea.
• Alice Wicks: Founder/Creative Director, Form, Seattle, WA.

Categories and Recognition

The competition features over 20 categories, including Packaging, Trademarks, Identity Guides, Integrated Branding, Annual Reports, Editorial, Books, Posters, and Motion Graphics.

Winning entrants will receive the Award of Excellence, one of the industry’s most-coveted trophies, milled from solid aluminum. Furthermore, selected works will be featured in the Communication Arts Design Annual, distributed worldwide in both print and digital editions.

Submission Links and Documents

To register and submit your work through the online competition system, please visit: 🔗 Communication Arts 2026 Design Competition Entry Page

For a detailed list of categories and corresponding fees, you can access the official document here: 📄 Download Category PDF (Available under the “What to Enter” section.)