Deadline/Delivery

If mailed, entries must be postmarked no later than March 13, 2015. Your entries may be dropped off from 9 am – 5:30 pm the week of March 9 – 13, 2015, at, or mailed to:

Planet Central
ATTN: GRADE 8
9 South Fifth Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact: 804.421.2740 (John Hoar)
Entry Categories
  • Advertising (television, print, outdoor, web banners)
  • Collateral Materials (annual reports, brochures, booklets, catalogs, and newsletters)
  • Corporate Identity Programs/Client Image/Integrated Campaigns (larger packages)
  • Logos & Icons (smaller packages: logos by themselves, a business card with logo, etc.)
  • Direct Mail/Postcards
  • Editorial/Publication Design (book covers/jackets, magazine and newspaper covers/spreads)
  • Environmental/Exhibit Design (displays, signs, trade shows, installations)
  • Websites (complete websites, micro sites, landing pages)
  • Mobile & Interactive (games, web apps, social media, viral)
  • Stationery (invitations, announcements, letterhead, etc.)
  • Promotional Items (shirts, hats, buttons, cards, calendars, etc.)
  • Posters
  • Packaging (labels, boxes, consumer goods, etc.)
  • Illustration
  • Photography
  • Student Design
  • Student Illustration
  • Student Photography
  • Student Interactive

* AIGA Richmond reserves the right to re-categorize the entries, to create new categories and to eliminate categories if appropriate.

All award-winning work will be exhibited on April 17, 2015. Awards will be given to Best of Show, Best in Category, Judge’s Choice (each judge will select a single entrant for special recognition) and Awards of Merit. Student work is not eligible for Best in Show.

Eligibility

All work must have been concepted and created in the state of Virginia and either printed, published, aired or broadcasted live online for the first time between January 31, 2013, and February 18, 2015. Student work must have been created during this time frame.

“Publication” denotes any piece presented in a form of mass media exposed to a substantial audience. All entries become the property of AIGA Richmond and will not be returned. Submission of entries acknowledges the right of AIGA Richmond to copy or display the entries for the purposes of judging, exhibition and promotion of GRADE. Please note, entries from previous GRADE competitions are not eligible.
Preparation of Entries

Each submission package must include a completed Master Entry Form and payment together in an envelope clearly labeled “Entry Fees.” An Individual Entry Form must be attached to each single entry or campaign within the submission package. No substitute forms will be accepted (see Entry Forms below). Be certain to credit all persons involved in the creation of the piece. AIGA Richmond will not be responsible for incorrect/incomplete credit information. You will be contacted via email to confirm that we have received your entries.

Each entry is to be left unmounted, unless the project was created in that manner. Photographs of any 3-dimensional entries, such as packaging, exhibit design, etc., are acceptable but must not exceed 16″ x 20″. For interactive work, include a printout of home page with URL. Additionally, a JPEG of each entry is required. Image size should be 72 dpi, with the longest side being 1024 pixels. JPEGS may be place on the same CD and labeled with agency/firm information.

Please note that entries will not be returned.

Award of Excellence trophies and certificates will be awarded at the GRADE exhibition and ceremony on April 17, 2015, at The Depot, 814 West Broad Street. Award winners and honorees will not be notified prior to event.

Entry Forms

Master and Individual Entry Forms can be downloaded here.
Forms can be viewed, completed, saved and printed using the free software, Acrobat Reader. For best results, download forms to desktop and open in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. Interactive fields may not work in your internet browser.

Entry Fees
AIGA MEMBER STUDENT MEMBER STUDENT NON-MEMBER NON-MEMBER
Single Entry $25 $10 $20 $50
Campaign $35 $15 $25 $65
* A campaign consists of three or more pieces in a single project.
SPECIAL: Receive one free ticket to the awards ceremony for each group of 5 entries\you submit! (A campaign counts as one entry.)
Tickets for Award Ceremony
AIGA MEMBER STUDENT MEMBER STUDENT NON-MEMBER NON-MEMBER
$25 $10 $10 $50
Payment Info

Payment may be made by check, cash or credit card. Make checks payable to AIGARichmond. If you would like confirmation of receipt, include your email address.

For questions, concerns, or special accommodations, send an email to:
grade8@richmond.aiga.org