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 evaluates creativity and visual impact in advertising across the following sub-categories:
- TV and Internet video ads
- outdoor and indoor ads, print ads
- Internet banners and posts
- brand communication experiences and promotional activities
- special projects or collaborations and branded content
- integrated campaigns
- experimental projects, and innovations.
Submitted works are assessed by concept (the creative problem-solving idea) and presentation (a unique, original embodiment of the solution that reflects contemporary communication trends).
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 specifics of the criteria for the selection, design and submission of the project for the competition are described in each nomination. It is desirable to follow the structure of the project presentation: problem/situation > idea > solution > implementation > results.
It is recommended to pay special attention to the project title, cover and main images. They will be used by the jury members for the first familiarization with the project and for reminding about it in the next stages of jurying, and if your work is successful — for publications and press releases of the winners of DAFES Awards. Please note that the competition is open to both published/implemented projects and conceptual designs.
All projects are submitted to the competition in the format of a longread-format report created on the DAFES platform.
Jury
Alexander Alekseev is a teacher of the Digital Product and Artificial Intelligence program at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Stas Zhitsky is a teacher of Art Practice in the Communication Design Bachelor’s program in Yerevan, teacher of the Birth of a Brand elective at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Nikolay Oblapokhin is a teacher of Art Practice in Creative Methods at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Dmitry Andryashkin is a teacher of the Digital Product and Artificial Intelligence program at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Inna Dudnikova is the head of the online and offline profiles of Design and Promotion of a Digital Product in the Digital Product and Artificial Intelligence program at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Oleg Tumanov is a creative director at the GG ex VMLY& R agency
Maryam Akhunova is the managing creative director at GRAPE
Anton Melnikov is the partner and creative director at emg.
Roman Firayner is a creative director at Instinct
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
Contacts