Organizer Information
Communication Arts is one of the most influential and internationally recognized publications dedicated to visual communications, graphic design, advertising, typography, illustration, and photography. Founded in 1959 and based in California, Communication Arts has spent more than six decades documenting and celebrating excellence across creative industries through competitions, editorial features, annual publications, and professional showcases.
The organization is widely respected for its juried competitions, which are considered benchmark recognition programs within the global creative sector. Each year, Communication Arts organizes specialized competitions focused on typography, photography, illustration, advertising, interactive media, and design. Winning projects are published in the magazine’s highly regarded annual editions, which are distributed internationally in both print and digital formats.
The Communication Arts Typography Competition specifically recognizes outstanding typographic achievement across commercial, experimental, editorial, and digital media contexts. The competition is judged by leading professionals from the international design and typography industries, making selection highly competitive and professionally prestigious. Over the years, the program has become a major platform for typographers, graphic designers, creative directors, motion designers, branding studios, and emerging creatives seeking international visibility and industry acknowledgment.
Title & Description
Typography Competition 2027
The Communication Arts 2027 Typography Competition is an international juried competition celebrating excellence in typography, lettering, typeface design, and typographic communication across print, digital, environmental, editorial, motion, and experimental formats.
For its 67th edition, the competition invites professional designers, studios, agencies, typographers, students, and creative practitioners from around the world to submit typographic projects first published or produced between September 2025 and September 2026. The competition recognizes typography as the primary visual element within a project, honoring innovative visual communication, conceptual strength, technical execution, and creative originality.
Selected winners will be featured in the internationally distributed Communication Arts Typography Annual, published in both print and digital editions and showcased on the Communication Arts website. Winning the Communication Arts Award of Excellence is considered one of the most prestigious achievements in the global design and visual communication industries.
The competition welcomes a broad range of entries including advertising campaigns, posters, books, packaging, editorial design, branding systems, motion graphics, digital interfaces, environmental graphics, hand lettering, calligraphy, unpublished experimental projects, and commercially available typefaces.
Communication Arts has also explicitly stated that AI-generated text-to-image submissions will not be accepted in the Typography Competition, emphasizing support for original creative craftsmanship and human-centered design practice.
Winning entrants receive a personalized solid aluminum Award of Excellence along with official certificates for individuals, studios, firms, and clients associated with the selected projects.
Categories
- Typography
- Graphic Design
- Visual Communication
- Typography Design
- Typeface Design
- Calligraphy
- Hand Lettering
- Branding & Identity
- Editorial Design
- Packaging Design
- Poster Design
- Motion Graphics
- Animation
- Digital Media
- Advertising Design
- Environmental Graphics
- Exhibition Graphics
- Web Design
- Experimental Typography
- Publication Design
- Student Design Projects
Eligibility
- Open internationally
- Individual designers, typographers, agencies, studios, creative professionals, and students may apply
- Entries may originate from any country
- Projects must have been first published or produced between September 2025 and September 2026
- Student category entries must be created specifically for school assignments
- AI-generated text-to-image submissions are not accepted
- English translations are required for non-English entries so jurors can review the work properly
- Multiple entries and multi-category submissions are permitted
Program Benefits & Awards
- Publication in the 2027 Communication Arts Typography Annual
- International exposure through print and digital distribution
- Feature publication on Communication Arts’ official website
- A personalized solid aluminum Award of Excellence
- Award certificates for firms, creative contributors, and clients
- International professional recognition from leading typography and design experts
- Long-term visibility within the global graphic design and typography industries
The Communication Arts Award of Excellence is regarded as one of the industry’s most respected recognitions in visual communication and typography.
Application Fee
- Single image categories: starting at $40 USD
- Motion categories: starting at $90 USD
- Student entries: starting at $20 USD
- Series submissions: generally between $80–$180 USD, depending on format
- Late submissions incur an additional $10 USD late fee per entry
Payment methods accepted include:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- American Express
- Discover
- PayPal
- Check
- International money order
- Wire transfer (additional $25 USD processing fee applies)
All entry fees are non-refundable.
Application Requirements
- Contact information
- Project title and credits
- Digital files of submitted work
- English translations where necessary
- JPG/JPEG image files (max 2MB)
- MOV, MP4, MPG, or MPEG video files (max 500MB)
- PDF submissions (max 50MB)
- Typeface submissions showing complete character sets and sample settings
- Student entries must demonstrate original authorship and assignment-based creation
Projects can be submitted as single works or series.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Standard Application Deadline: 4 September 2026
- Final late-entry Deadline: 18 September 2026
- Eligible project production dates: September 2025 – September 2026
- Annual publication release: 2027
Location
California, United States
Additional Details
- Entries are judged independently by a professional jury of leading design experts
- Projects may be entered into multiple categories if appropriate
- Winning projects retain creator copyright ownership
- Accepted entrants must later provide high-resolution reproduction files
- Printed submissions are no longer accepted; all entries must be digital
- Student category projects cannot be simultaneously entered into other categories
- Communication Arts reserves the right to reproduce winning works for promotional and publication purposes
- Series submissions are evaluated collectively based on overall conceptual and visual coherence
- Website entries for typography must be submitted as screenshots within the Digital Media category