The Association of Registered Graphic Designers is Canada’s largest professional Association for graphic design professionals, with 4,000 Members, including firm owners, freelancers, managers, in-house designers, educators and students.

RGD set up a splash site at RGDStudentAwards.design to promote this year’s call for entries. Over CAD$20,000 in prize money will be awarded across 21 categories:

• .design Award for .design Website (Ed: Yes, that’s us!) – any website that is submitted on a .design URL (available free for RGD Student Members ) that promotes the individual entrant and/or a personal project, cause or initiative. Switch out your current .com or .ca domain to .design to qualify for this category! Just tell your hosting provider to ‘point’ to your new domain or contact  [email protected] for more information.

• Context Creative Award for Storytelling Design – any project that communicates and engages with a strong sense of narrative and purpose, combining words, images, graphics and your choice of media. Examples include editorially-inspired design projects, such as long-form articles, reports, or feature articles that may include the integration of infographics, illustrations, videography and more.

• Design de Plume Award for Indigenous Design – any project influences or inspired by indigenous design, art and culture.

• Domtar Award for Print Design – any project designed to be presented in the print medium. 

• Entro Award for Placemaking Design – any project that helps build community through design interventions. This might be a poster for an event, a website for a tourist destination, a wayfinding system for a university or the design of a retail space.

• 52 Pick-up Award for Typography – any project that demonstrates the strategic and effective use of typography.

• Forge Media + Design Award for Logo Design – any project that is intended to represent and identify a company, product, service or organization and its essence graphically to be applied consistently across all visual materials representing that company, product, service or organization.

• Frontier Award for Editorial Design – any project designed as an article, magazine, newspaper or publication in print and/or digital formats.

• Gravity Inc Award for Social Good Design – any project that demonstrates value to the community and how it solves local or global challenges.

• Greenmelon Award for Packaging Design (Single) – any project designed to enclose, protect and promote a single product for sale. 

• Haft2 Award for Colour – any project that demonstrates the strategic and effective use of colour in the development of the design solution.

• Intent Award for Accessible Design – any project that explores design that is accessible to the greatest number of people, to the largest extent possible, regardless of their age or ability, across all design disciplines. All projects will be judged based on the application of accessible design principles in the development of the design solution.

• Nurun Award for User Experience Design – any project that offers an exceptional user experience through innovative design, personalized data experiences and useful functionality.

• Pivot Award for Information Design – any project that involves the design of clear, concise and visually attractive materials that enhance how people read, understand and use complex and/or detailed information. 

• Polyester Studio Award for Motion – any project designed to communicate complex data and content in a visually appealing way that is easier to understand and use.

• Premise Award for Strategic Design – any project that clearly articulate goals and how these were achieved.

• q30 Award for Brand Design – any project that involves a visual set of associations representing a company, product, service or organization.

• Quake Award for Creative Innovation – any project that applies unique and visionary solutions to the design process, products or interactions. 

• SLD  Award for Packaging Design (Series) – any project designed to enclose, protect and promote a series of products for sale. 

• works design Award for Web Design – any website that communicates a company or organization’s mission, objectives, products and services.

• Zulu Alpha Kilo Award for Advertising Design – any project created to promote a specific business, program, event or special offer. 

Any full- or part-time undergraduate student enrolled in (or a 2021 graduate of) either a College or University design or design-related program in Canada, or a Canadian student studying abroad may enter. Post-graduate students can enter the Accessibility, UX and Motion Awards only.