About DAFES AWARDS
We established the international competition program DAFES AWARDS to encourage creative achievements, share experiences and form guidelines for professional development in design, art, fashion, education and business.
DAFES AWARDS is awarded in five profiles, 20 categories and 80 nominations, as well as various partner nominations that we form together with educational and creative institutions.
About the nomination
This nomination accepts projects in packaging design, including those for real brands and conceptual or student projects.
The concept is evaluated by the following criteria: originality, novelty, and alignment with the project brief. The project’s implementation is also assessed by the quality of the packaging visualisation (which participants may choose to present in any format), compliance of visualization with graphic solutions embedded in the design, and consistency of perception. Rebranding projects should include a before-and-after comparison slide.
Terms of participation
Both concepts and projects that have been implemented or published between November 1, 2023, and October 12, 2025, are accepted for professional nominations.
While confirmation of publication or implementation is not required for a project to participate in the competition, the jury may request verification from the competition organizers in disputed cases.
Requirements to projects
The nomination evaluates the conceptual design: the originality of the solution, its novelty, and its compliance with the stated objectives.
The project’s implementation is also evaluated: the quality of the packaging visualization (which can be done in any manner at the participant’s discretion), the visualization’s compliance with the graphic solutions incorporated into the design, and the consistency of perception. In the case of a rebranding project, a before/after slide must be included.
All projects are submitted to the competition in the format of a longread-format report created on the DAFES platform.
Jury
Nadezhda Parshina is the founder and creative director of the Ohmybrand agency.
Anastasia Tretyakova is the creative director of Depot branding agency.
Viktor Kitaev is the creative director of DDVB in the FMCG segment.
Vladimir Fedoseyev is the founder and creative director of: OTVETDESIGN, a managing partner of illan communications.
Oksana Paley is the art director of the OMSKY studio, a teacher and a member of the ADCR jury.
Katya Mushkina is a teacher at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL, an independent designer, a five-time Pentawards winner.
Maryam Stepanyan is a designer
Grigory Khromov is the program director and lecturer at the Nizhny Novgorod HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL. Head of the Packaging Lab unit at the HSE DESIGN LAB.
Muxing Gao — Associate Dean and Master’s supervisor. Postdoctoral fellow in Art Theory at the Communication University of Zhejiang. Awarded for leadership and teaching excellence. Author of textbooks and research papers; his works have been exhibited internationally.
Chao Yang — Professor and designer at the Communication University of Zhejiang, DAAD scholar, PhD in Visual Communication from the University of Macau. Winner of Red Dot Best of the Best, iF, and A’ Design Awards. Leads national research projects and serves as juror for global competitions.
Guangyu Zhu — Professor and Master’s supervisor at the Communication University of Zhejiang specializing in design and fine arts. His research covers decorative arts, cultural heritage, rural design, and digital spatial innovation. Winner of Italy’s A’ Design Award and multiple national and provincial art prizes, author of eight monographs, and holder of four patents.
Registering and uploading a project
The step-by-step way to create an account and create a project on the platform to participate in the contest is described in the instructions.
Stages of the competition
Project submission deadline — October 12, 2025 Voting proccess — October 13 to 19, 2025 Invitation of participants and preparation for the ceremony — October 20 to November 7, 2025
Awarding ceremony
The award ceremony for the winners will take place on November 21, 2025.
References
Упаковка кофезаменителя «Garden Secret»
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Contacts