Eligibility & Rules

Review the below eligibility dates, rules, and restrictions for the ADC 104th Annual Awards to ensure that your work meets our requirements for entry.

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Eligibility Dates Rules & Regulations Tiered Pricing Eligibility International Entries Terms & Conditions

Eligibility Dates

All entries must have been released, printed, published or aired for the first time between the dates listed below in any country. Work submitted into Personal or Unpublished categories must have been created within the dates listed below.

Eligibility Dates:
January 1, 2024 – February 28, 2025

Architecture / Interior / Environmental Design -
Completion Eligibility Dates:
January 1, 2023 – February 28, 2025

Rules & Regulations

Entries must be submitted by industry professionals only, including freelancers. School work or spec work is not accepted in any category. Students may enter school work into the Young Ones ADC competition.
Personal Projects may only be entered into Personal Project categories within the following disciplines: Illustration, Interactive, Motion / Film Craft, Photography and Typography / Lettering. School work is not accepted in the Personal Project categories.
Projects utilizing Artificial Intelligence are not eligible for the Illustration or Photography disciplines. Illustration and Photography entries utilizing Artificial Intelligence should be entered into the Artificial Intelligence discipline.

Work produced on behalf of The One Club for Creativity and its programming, including The One Show, ADC Awards, Young Guns, Type Directors Club, ADC*E, Young Ones, etc. is not eligible.
The exact same work may be entered into The ADC Annual Awards two consecutive years ONLY IF:

– The work falls within the eligibility requirements for both seasons.

AND

– The work did NOT win an award (Cube or Merit) in any category in the previous season.

All physical entries become the property of The One Club for Creativity, Inc. and will NOT be returned. If your work is one of a kind we encourage you to submit it as a digital entry.
ALL ENTRY FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE AND NON-TRANSFERABLE.
By submitting entries into the competition, entrants are committing to pay for all entry fees in full.
Payment must be submitted within 15 days after closing an entry. If payment is not submitted within 15 days of entering, the entry may be held from judging. By submitting entries into the competition, you are committing to pay for the entries in full. ADC reserves the right to withhold your entry from being processed for review by the jury until payment is received in full.

Tiered Pricing Eligibility

The ADC Annual Awards are pleased to offer a tiered fee system specifically for freelancers, individuals and small companies. We believe that impeccable craft and design comes from all corners of the industry, from the gleaming agencies working their magic on global clients; to the design boutiques developing a new logo for an up and coming brand; to the lone illustrator or photographer breathing life into a magazine editorial. It is our hope that this pricing will encourage entries from across the creative spectrum.

Small Design Studio
Refers to companies that have between 2 and 20 employees (full-time, part-time and regular freelancers). The company or studio is responsible for the bulk of a project’s creative duties. Approval is required before Small Company tiered pricing applies to your entries. Do note approval may take up to one business day.

Small Agency
Refers to companies that have between 2 and 50 employees (full-time, part-time and regular freelancers). The company or agency is responsible for the bulk of a project’s creative duties. Approval is required before Small Company tiered pricing applies to your entries. Do note approval may take up to one business day.

Freelancer
Refers to self-employed individuals who are responsible for the bulk of a project’s creative duties.
Note
School work not eligible for the ADC 104th Annual Awards. Students should enter school work into Young Ones ADC. Please visit https://youngones.org/categories/adc/ for information.

International Entries

The ADC Annual Awards accepts and celebrates entries from around the world. All work should be submitted in its original language. English translations are required for all work in another language.

Image and Audio Media:
For entries in a language other than English, provide an English translation in the "Judging Description / Translation" field with the individual media.

Video Media:
For video entries in a language other than English, provide English subtitles in the video or a translation in the "Judging Description / Translation" field with the individual media.

URL Media:
For URL entries in a language other than English, use the "Judging Description / Translation" field with the individual media to provide any necessary instructions in English.

PDF Media:
All PDF entries must be submitted in English.
Physical Materials:
For all Physical entries in a language other than English, use the "English Translation" field in the Information section on the entry.

Terms & Conditions

All entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable. By submitting entries into the competition, the entrant is committing to pay for all entry fees in full. ADC reserves the right to withhold your entry from being processed for review by the jury until payment is received in full. Physical entries cannot be returned to entrants.

The entrant grants permission to The One Club for Creativity to show, copy or play the entries at such times as The One Club for Creativity deems appropriate. The One Club for Creativity reserves the right to make available for educational and reference purposes, including electronic publishing, any material entered into the ADC Annual Awards or The One Club for Creativity. The entrant or person submitting the work is responsible for ensuring that any copyrighted material has been approved or released and does not hold The One Club for Creativity legally responsible for any matters pertaining to the creation of the work. If any network or local television or radio station shall agree to telecast a news or other program relating to the ADC Annual Awards, the entrant further agrees to obtain any permissions and to absorb talent or other residual charges incurred by inclusion of his or her entry in the program, if required. The One Club for Creativity will require proof of publication for all entries. The One Club has the right to request additional proof of initial publication and/or air date, to be submitted within 15 days of the request.

Submission media cannot be edited through the entry system after an entry has been submitted. Once an entry has been submitted, the ADC Team must be contacted to request any media edits. Please note that such edits may incur additional fees and cannot be guaranteed, especially if requested after the final deadline.

All entries are subject to the rules of the ADC Annual Awards as stated on the entry site. Decisions of judges on all matters during judging, including qualifications and categories, are final. Any disputes that may arise will be decided by The One Club Board of Directors. The One Club reserves the right to disqualify work that it finds to be fatally compromised as to originality or veracity after review and final decision by The One Club for Creativity Board of Directors.