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 any types and genres of printed publications that do not fall under the definition of a book. The subject matter of the publications is not limited — these can be calendars, zines, series of postcards, annual reports and other similar projects.
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.
— The main requirement is the possibility of printing the project.
— Works are submitted to the competition in the format of a presentation, designed on the platform. The presentation must be uploaded to the competition page for the convenience of the jury.
— The number of submitted projects from one participant is not limited.
Requirements to projects
Requirements for the presentation of the project:
— Disclosure of the concept of the publication — the presentation must clearly convey the idea and concept of the printed publication, its unique features and intent.
— Description of the target audience — the project must contain an explanation of the audience for which it is intended.
— Structure and composition — it is important to present the logical structure of the publication, to show how it is organized, including the layout of materials and the distribution of elements across the pages.
— Graphic solution — the presentation should contain visual examples that give a complete idea of the style and visual design, be it typography, color schemes or illustrations.
— Correspondence of materials and solutions to the content — it is important that the choice of compositional, graphic, typographic and design elements, as well as printing materials, correspond to the content and functional tasks of the publication. This includes a thought-out combination of format, structure, style and aesthetics with the theme and semantic content of the project.
Evaluation criteria
— Novelty and uniqueness of the concept — how original the idea of the project is and how different it is from traditional approaches.
— Compliance with the given topic and task — the accordance to the concept and goals of the nomination.
— Relevance in the global context — the project must take current trends and tendencies in the field of graphic design and printed publications, which gives it relevance and modernity into account. SCHOOL.
Jury
Evgeny Grigoriev is a Workshop tutor at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL in St. Petersburg
Alexander Lartsev is the head of the educational direction «Visual Communications» and teaches at groups of the following profiles: «Media design», «Modern design in teaching»
Mila Ershova is the head of the Typography and Book Design program at the HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Svetlana Danilyuk is a teacher of Typography at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Yuri Surkov leads the optional course in the direction of Typography and Book Design at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
Yihong Liu is a curator, designer, and Vice Dean of the School of Communication & Design at China Academy of Art. Research areas include contemporary art curating, content-genealogy studies, network-society research, and visual culture. Selected curatorial projects: 2022 Zhejiang Youth Scientists Festival, 2022 Hangzhou International Fiber Art Triennial, 2023 TIANWEN: Mutual Learning of Civilizations, 2024 World Tree — CAA Graduation Season, 2025 Liangzhu Twelve Tones — Venice Architecture Biennale.
Yu Qiongjie — Graphic designer and professor at the School of Design, China Academy of Art. Founder and Art Director of Transwhite Studio, she specializes in poster design, typography, and exhibition graphics. As curator of the China International Poster Biennial, she fosters cross-cultural dialogue in contemporary graphic design.
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