Standard Criteria

1. Design quality: Design excellence including use of images, typography etc.
2. Creativity: Originality and artistic quality.
3. Relevance: To what extent the design serves the specific purpose it was designed for.
   
   

Criteria for Websites

1. Usability.
2. Technical quality.
3. Design quality: Design excellence, including use of images, typography etc.
4. Creativity: Originality and artistic quality.
5. Relevance: To what extent the design serves the specific purpose it was designed for.
   
   

Criteria for Typefaces

1. Creativity: Originality and artistic quality.
2. Readability: How easily or comfortably a typeset text reads.
3. Legibility: The ease and speed with which the reader can decipher each letterform and word.

Register / Login

If you are already registered, login to your account. If not, create a user account by clicking on “Register” above this text and enter contact data for the person or company entering the submission.

Create New Submission

1. Click on a submit entry button on the top right corner while in desktop mode, and bottom right corner while on mobile phone.
2. Enter submission data like category, title, client, designers and project description in English.
   
   

Upload Images

1. Upload image files for the web gallery and for the printed catalogue.
2. For some categories, we also require files for the jury meeting and award ceremony (e.g. motion graphics). You may use wetransfer.com or dropbox.com to send us all the necessary files. Alternatively, you may send them on a usb stick.
3. The format for the files are specified under each category description, but normally it is JPG format. When in need of sending over a video, this has to be already uploaded in youtube.com or vimeo.com. In the submission forms, there are fields where you can provide the necessary links to the videos.
4. If you have problems uploading files, please use a usb stick and include it with the samples you will send to our Athens office, or simply send files over using wetransfer.com.
   
   

Preview

1. This is your chance to proofread the text about your submission for the ED-Awards.
2. Click Account > Submissions >View / Modify to view or edit your submissions.
3. Please note your submission codes.
   
   

Submit More

Start over from “Create New Submission”.

Pay Checkout

1. When you have entered your submissions, you have three available options in order to complete your payment: Bank Transfer, Paypal or Credit Card (via Nets).
2. All payments must be completed before the deadline of February 21st, 2025.
   
   

Confirm Payment

Payments via credit card or PayPal accounts are confirmed automatically. If you use the Bank Transfer payment solutions, an e-mail of the receipt is required.

Send Samples

1. Go to “Categories” in the main menu to see exactly what files to prepare and what to send by post.
2. Each submission must be marked with a code that identifies the category and the studio. This code is automatically generated during the registration process.
3. Log in your account and choose “Submissions” from the User Dashboard. Click on any of your submissions and then click on the “Instructions” tab. You will be able to download three pdf sheets. The first one provides you with a checklist of things to do in order to complete your submission. The second sheet contains files you should print out and include with each of your submissions, while the third file is the label you should print out and attach on your parcel.
4. Your package must arrive to our Athens office (Graphopress, a/o Demetrios Fakinos, Sokratous 157, 176 73 Kallithea, Athens, Greece, Tel. +309523617) no later than February 28th 2025.
   
   

Arrival Confirmation

When your post arrives to the European Design office in Athens, Greece it will be checked and cleared. It is then marked as arrived in your account.

Jury Meeting

The jury will judge all cleared submissions that have arrived and been paid in time. If the jury finds that your submission should have been entered in a different category, it will be moved there. No submission is disqualified for having been submitted under the wrong category. It is simply moved to the correct one, by the decision of the jury. This is also the case if categories are combined.

Announcement of Winners

The winners will be officially announced during the ED-Awards ceremony. All winners will be notified no later than April 25th, 2025.

ED-Awards Ceremony

Gold, silver and bronze award winners will be invited to receive a trophy and/or a diploma on stage during the ED-Awards ceremony.

ED-Catalogue

If you are among the winners, your work will be featured in the ED-Awards catalogue 2025. 

Marking

1. Please mark the packages or envelopes with your submission codes. If a submission is split in several packages add “parcel x of n” after the submission code. E.g.
   1234-03-22003, parcel 1 of 3
   1234-03-22003, parcel 2 of 3
   1234-03-22003, parcel 3 of 3
2. If a package contains more than one submission please list all codes on the package. It is useful if each submission has a separate envelope or similar inside the package (each marked with the submission code).
   
   

Customs

1. A customs invoice should be included with the shipment when applicable, marked “Contest material – no commercial value”. If the courier company requires a specific value for the goods, please use nominal values (e.g. 1 €/item).
2. It is the participant’s responsibility to ensure that the shipment is delivered to the European Design office in Greece and to cover all courier, mailing and insurance cost as well as any import duties.
   
   

Send by Post or Courier Service

1. Please print out the label you will find on the “Instructions” tab of your submissions and use to send your package preferably via courier service to:
   Graphopress / Sokratous 157 / 176 73 Kallithea / Greece
2. If required state Demetrios Fakinos as a contact person (phone no: +30 210 9523617).

Deadline

When is the deadline for submission of work?
The submission period starts on December 15th, 2024 and closes on February 21st, 2025.
Please note that physical samples of your work may arrive to our office as late as February 28th, 2025.

Submission Fee

What is the cost of the entry fees?
The cost per submission is €169. There is also a volume discount for 5 or more submissions (€135.2 per submission). The submission fee for the Student Project Category is €40.

Project Publication Date

1. Can I submit work that was published in December two year ago?
   No. All submitted work must have been published during the previous calendar year (and up to the day of the current deadline).
2. How about work I have created a long time ago but only got published during last year?
   You can submit that, since the submitted work has been published during the previous calendar year.
3. What happens with a project, the publication of which spans through more than one year?
   If you started working on a project that begun on a previous year but was completed during last year, the decision on when it should be submitted is entirely yours. It could be that you submit it in the first year of its publication, or wait until it is completed so that you submit the whole work. The only limitation is that you may only submit this project once.
4. Last year I completed a project that was never realised. Can I submit that?
   Yes, but keep in mind that it may only be submitted under the “Unrealised Project” category.
   
   

Based in Europe

1. We are based in Europe and we would like to submit work we did for an Asian client. Can we do that?
   Yes. All European based design studios are eligible to participate in the ED-Awards.
2. I’m an African national, based in Europe. Can I still participate in the ED-Awards?
   Yes. All European based design studios are eligible to participate in the ED-Awards.
3. We are based in the USA and we would like to submit work we did for a European client. Can we do that?
   Yes. Design studios and creative agencies that are based outside of the European continent can still submit projects, provided that they have been created for clients that are based within Europe.
   
   

Self Promotion Categories

I have created a CD cover to use for our CD-ROM portfolio. Can I submit that to the CD/DVD cover category?
No. All projects that are created in order to promote the creative services of your studio must be submitted to the Self-promotion categories (digital or printed).

Student Work

I have done a student assignment and also got it published by a customer. Which category do I choose?
Published student work is eligible under the normal categories (e.g. Book layout or Information site) for the normal fee. Unpublished student work is only eligible in category “Student projects” provided that it were a school assignment. The fee is 40 euros.

In-House Design Department

I am working as an in-house designer for a car manufacturer. If I were to send in a brochure I have created for this firm, should I submit it under the “Printed self-promotion” category?
No. You should submit your work in the main “Brochure & Product Catalogue” category. In-house design departments that do not offer creative services as their primary function are allowed to compete in the other categories and are therefore excluded from the self-promotional categories.

Selecting Category

What is the best category for my work? What happens if I submit work in the wrong category? Does my submission get disqualified?
No. Select the category that you feel best describes the work. Upon receiving your work and during the jury meeting it will be assigned to a more appropriate category, if necessary.

One Entry to Several Categories

May I submit the same entry in different categories?
Yes, a book, for example, may appear in both the Book Cover and the Book Layout categories. Keep in mind that these are regarded as separate entries and you will, therefore, need to submit two copies and pay two submission fees.

File Format

What files are acceptable?
Check specifications under each Category.

Physical Samples

Why do I have to send my submission by post as well?
In most cases, the judges need to examine the physical samples in order to make a fair comparison. There are few exceptions (e.g. websites). We also offer a local printing service for some categories.

Modify Entries

Can I edit or change my submission?
Yes, you can edit and change both contact data and submission data until the end of the submission period by logging in to your account. If you wish to change the physical sample, this too has to be done before the deadline. There is no extra charge for changing submissions.

In case you do not wish to (or for technical reasons cannot) make online credit card payments, there are back-up solutions available.

If anything is unclear, please don’t hesitate to contact the organizers at info@europeandesign.org or call us at +37 260 270 70.

Bank Transfer

Pay via bank transfer to our account in Swedbank in Estonia.
Bank: Swedbank AS
Branch address: 8 Liivalaia Street, 15040 Tallinn, Estonia
Account holder: Design Federation OÜ
Account no.: EE112200221063351135
Swift code: HABAEE2X

Please also send an e-mail to info@europeandesign.org informing us on the date of the transaction and the total amount deposited. Attach a receipt of your payment.

The bank transfer may take up to a week to arrive and without your mail we might not be able to verify your bank transfer.

Paypal Account

If you have a PayPal account you don’t need to be logged in to our site to transfer your payment.

1. Go to PayPal and log-in to your PayPal account (or create a new account)
2. Click on “Send Money” and enter the data:
   To: credit@europeandesign.org
   Amount: XXX (according to your order)
   Currency: EUR – Euros
   For: Service/Other
   and click on “Continue”
3. In the Message field, please fill in your company name and let us know if you require an invoice in case that the automatically generated receipt is not enough for your bookkeeping. Click on “Send Money”
4. PayPal will send you a receipt immediately to confirm the payment.

If you need further assistance, please contact the organizers.

The submission code is a 13-digit number to help us identify your work. You can find your codes under “My submissions”. Each physical sample of your submission should be discreetly marked with this code, either written by hand or on a small printed label.

The code is 13 or 14 digits in the format CCCC-ΧXX-SSSSSS (e.g. 0234-011-220011).

To see your submission code, all you need to do is click on your “Checkout Submissions” button. There, each code is noted in red, on the right of your submission title.

Many of the categories require a physical sample and/or a printout for the jury to be able to judge it fairly. For the following categories a printout is sometimes enough (see category descriptions for details):

20. Book & Editorial illustration*

* with some exceptions, see below.

If you think it is convenient and worth the service fee, we have made a deal with a print shop just next to our Greek office. If you create and upload a pdf for print and name it exactly “file_for_print.pdf”, this print shop will print it according to the category specifications and deliver it to our office.

Service Fee

The service fee is of 3 euro/A4 page and 6 euro/A3 page. When you upload a file called exactly “file_for_print.pdf” and add Printing Service when you check-out, the page will automatically calculate the extra cost (the uploader script counts the pages and checks if it’s A4 or A3).

Instructions

Prepare one print optimized PDF file per submission. The size should be 29,7cm x 21cm (A4). Name the file “file_for_print.pdf”. When you check-out your submission you will need to click both “Add to Checkout” and “Add Printing Services” for this fee to be added.

1. For the logo categories there should be 2 pages per submission, one page with the logo in colour and a second page with a black-and-white version and a negative version of the logo.
2. The illustration categories should also be in PDF-format. The number of pages depends on your design, but keep it A4. The local printing service is possible for corporate and editorial illustrations. For book illustrations you still need to send us a physical sample by post.
3. For the Original typeface category, it might be enough with one page if you use our template. If you use your own promotional material you still need to send us a physical sample by post.
4. For the Signs & Display category we need photos mounted in an PDF-file. The number of pages depends on your design but keep it A4.

Note that the pdf file needs to be uploaded via our site. If you are submitting more than one entry for local printing, please create one pdf per submission and upload it under correct submission.

1. Naming the files something else than exactly “file_for_print.pdf”. Several clients tried to add the title into the file name, please don’t. Our automatic uploader only counts the pages and adds a printing fee if the file is named exactly “file_for_print.pdf”.
2. Creating more than 1 pdf file per submission. Please create 1 pdf-file per submission, not one per page.
3. Creating PDF-files of other sizes than A4 or A3. All other sizes will be automatically cropped/modified by the print shop which might not be in favor of your design.

Depending on the value of your sent samples, you might need to have them back.
If this is the case, we need to know in advance and you have to be aware of the fact that fees are applicable.
The way to do it is during check out, at which point you will have to tick the “ADD RETURN SERVICES” box.
This means that you will be charged an additional fee of €50 for administrative purposes.
As soon as we receive your sample it will be tagged and kept separately at all stages of the judgement procedure.
There are two things to keep in mind and accept:
– If your project wins a distinction it cannot be returned to you as it will have to stay in our winners’ archive. The €50 is non-refundable.
– If your project has not won a distinction we will contact you in order to make all necessary arrangements for the return of your samples. At this point and depending on the weight/dimensions/country of origin you will have to pay extra for the p&p of your sample.

Our website allows you to edit most text errors in the winners’ gallery yourself. You are able to see the result of your changes immediately, as the web gallery is updated in real time. This way we avoid the possible errors and delays by having an editor making the corrections for you. It is also a necessity due to the large amount of data.

Gold = Awards, Silver = Merits

The winners gallery contains gold, silver and bronze winners from 2007-2024. Since there has been a change in the terminology, the equivalent of a “Merit” awarded before 2009 is a “Silver” prize, whereas the equivalent of an “Award” for the same period is a “Gold” prize.

Log-In

To edit your winning submissions you need to log into your account on our site. If you have forgotten your username or password and can’t reset it via recovery form, please mail us.

1. In the main menu to the left, please go to Account -> Submissions -> View/Modify (if the sub-menu under Submissions do not open please refresh the page and try again)
2. Click on the header of the submission you need to correct.
3. When you are done, click on the pen button to save.
4. Go to the web gallery and make sure your changes appear the way you want them to.
   
   

Text Changes

It is easy to modify the project description text yourself. The same goes for any corrections of credits (name of Client, AD, Creative Director etc.). But there are two exceptions where you need to contact us to correct errors:

1. Special characters: In the past we have faced some issues with special characters (=country specific letters, like in Czech, Polish, German, etc.) that did not appear correctly in the browsers (often replaced by a “?”). If there are still such issues in your submission please let us know.
2. Error in title: The title of your submission is locked, therefore, you cannot edit it yourselves. Please mail us the correct title and we’ll do it for you.
   
   

Image Changes

Below the text fields you will see thumbnails of all your images for this submission. On each thumbnail there is a trash basket so that you can remove it easily. Just above the images there is a link named Upload Files to allow you to add more images. For the web gallery the ideal format is JPEG (RGB, W:3600px, H:1536px)

Other Errors

If the error you want to correct does not fall under any of the types listed above, please contact us.