THE ORIGINAL AND PREMIER
We invite you to enter Graphic Design USA’s 2026 American Inhouse Design Awards™. The contest is the original and premier celebration of inhouse excellence. We honor and recognize the value that inhouse designers bring to the table — their intimate knowledge of their companies, organizations, institutions, brands, products and services — and the ability to crystallize the message down to its essence and its truth. GDUSA has been publishing to and organizing competitions for the creative community for 63 years.
CATEGORIES
1. Annual + Corporate Reports
2. Announcements + Invitations
3. Advertising + Ad Campaigns
4. Books
5. Branding + Identity Programs
6. Brochures + Collateral
7. Catalogs
8 Data Visualization + Infographics
9. Direct Mail + Direct Response
10. Email Marketing
11. Inhouse Department Capabilities Promotion
12. Integrated Marketing Campaigns
13. Letterhead + Business Cards
14. Logos + Symbols
15. Motion (TV, Film, Video, Animation)
16. Packaging
17. P-O-P + Displays
18. Posters
19. Presentations
20. Publications + Newsletters
21. Sales Promotion + Sales Kits
22. Signs + Environmental Graphics
23. Social Media
24. Surface + Vehicle Graphics
25. UX + UI Design
26. Website + Microsite Design
27. Other
HOW TO ENTER
Entries may be submitted by any company, agency or individual involved in the creation or production or distribution or placement of the work. Entries must have been created or produced or published anytime in JANUARY 1, 2025 – MAY 31, 2026.
SPECIAL NOTE TO ENTRANTS
Now in our 63rd year, GDUSA competitions have grown so large that we have engaged a specialized awards firm respected and renowned — OPENWATER — that greatly simplifies the entry process and makes the flow easier and more intuitive for you. Among the upgrades: you can start an entry, save it in draft, and finish it later; and we have created a CART system that lets you collect all the entries and pay once at the end of the process with all major credit cards. GDUSA will, of course, continue to control all design, content, and review activities.
1. CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT OR LOG IN
If you do not have an Openwater account, you will need to open a new account. This is QUICK and EASY; just a few lines of basic information. If you happen to already have an OpenWater account, you can simply log in.
2. SELECT THE CATEGORY
Select the category that best describes your entry.
3. SUBMIT ENTRY DETAILS
For each entry, note the design firm or creative agency or inhouse department plus client, title of entry, and any individual creative credits you wish.
4. UPLOAD DIGITAL FILES/ELECTRONIC ARTWORK
Specifications are provided for all types of categories. In most cases, you will be asked to upload 1-4 images that display your entry or 1 composite image that includes the highlights. When relevant, such as for websites and videos, we ask for the URL as well as the 1-4 supporting still images. For the images, we much prefer JPGs but will accept other formats.
5. PAYMENT FOR ENTRIES (AND PAST WINNER DISCOUNT)
Each entry automatically appears in a CART and you can pay once for any or all entries at the end. We accept payment by major Credit Cards or via Paypal. There are deep volume discounts built automatically into the entry fee schedule (see below). AND if you are a Past Winner of any GDUSA competition, you are entitled to additional 20% discount; please email us – awards@gdusa.com – for the promo code to use at checkout.
ENTRY FEES
$120 … 1 Entry
$200 … 2 Entries
$260 … 3 Entries
$280 … 4 Entries
$300 … 5 Entries
$320 … 6 Entries
$340 … 7 Entries
$360 … 8 Entries
$380 … 9 Entries
$400 … 10-20 Entries
Over 20 entries add $20 per entry.
