2026 GDUSA Package Design Awards™
We invite you to enter Graphic Design USA’s 2026 American Package Design Awards™. This 63rd anniversary edition comes at a time when package design and its related disciplines are alive with growth and change. Why? Because creative and marketing professionals — and their clients — are challenged as never before to convey the message, tell the story, advance the brand, amplify the experience, make the sale. Amid the cacophony, clutter and confusion, effective package design is the difference maker — tangible, immediate, interactive, emotive. Our annual competition celebrates beauty and clarity of communication, of course, but importantly, the power of effective and strategic design to forge a connection at the moment of truth before, during and after the sale.
— The Editors
Categories
1. Food + Beverages
2. Wines, Beer + Liquor
3. Beauty + Cosmetics + Personal Care
4. Fashion + Apparel + Accessories
5. Health + Pharmaceuticals
6. Home + Garden
7. Baby + Kids
8. Pets + Petcare
9. Toys + Games
10. Sports + Sporting Goods
11. Music + Media + Entertainment
12. Consumer Electronics + Tech
13. Industrial Goods
14. CBD + Cannabis
15. Fundraising + Philanthropy
16. Other
Special Featured Themes
17. Luxury Packaging
18. Sustainable Packaging
19. Private Label Packaging
20. Ecommerce + Shipping
21. POP + Displays + Signs
22. Store Design
23. Student Work
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 distributed anytime from January 1, 2025 – Present
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
In most cases 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 each entry or entries.
3. SUBMIT ENTRY DETAILS
For each entry, provide the design firm or creative agency or inhouse department plus client, title of entry, creative credits as 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 by CHECKING OUT through the CART. We accept payment by major Credit Cards or via Paypal. There are deep volume discounts built automatically into the entry fee schedule. 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.
6. 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.
Mailing + Questions
Graphic Design USA/GDUSA
re: Awards Department
594 Dean Street, Ste. 22
Brooklyn NY 11238
ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED DISCOUNT CODE? Email: awards@gdusa.com
Rights + Permissions
Winning entrants grant Graphic Design USA (GDUSA) the right to reproduce the winning pieces in the GDUSA Graphic Design Awards Annual in print, digital, web and mobile editions, and in any and all materials and media produced for promotional purposes by Graphic Design USA and Fedrigoni Special Papers and Mohawk.
