FAQ

Entry is simple. Submission is made fully online and can be completed in 4 simple steps:

1. Register - or login if you are already a registrant.
2. Fill in the simple online submission form – remember, you can select multiple categories for each entry.
3. Upload JPEG, PNG, PDF files or URLs if needed.
4. Add to Cart. Then, add more entries / categories or checkout directly.

Entries may be submitted in more than one category at an additional cost. No additional materials are needed for the same entry. In a few, such as campaigns that include a plan or report, submit the materials you presented to your client. If one is not available, offer a brief summary of objectives, challenges and solutions.

• Entries must be produced within the last FIVE (5) calendar years up through the final deadline.
• All entries must be submitted for judging exactly as published or implemented and may not be modified for the competition. The French Design Awards may request proof of initial production and/or publication date.
• The awards reserve the right to re-categorise incorrectly classified entries.
• Judges reserve the right to withhold an award in a category if submissions do not meet their expectations.

• Advertising Agencies
• Architects
• Builders
• Brand / Business Owners
• Car Designers
• Creative Boutiques
• Design Firms
• Engineers
• Fashion Designers
• Freelance Professionals
• Furniture Designers
• Graphic Designers
• In-house Marketing
• Interactive Agencies
• Interior Designers
• Product Designers
• Students
Anyone aged 18 and above residing anywhere in the world

It is recommended that you keep your synopsis to approximately 350 words. We suggest you utilise this section of your entry to elaborate on the piece as well as the creativity and originality of your idea. The brief should strengthen your entry, as well as providing the jury a better understanding of your project. A written translation or adaptation must accompany non-English entries.

There are no limits on the amount of entries you can submit.

Yes, you can enter the same work into as many categories as you see fit. There will be an additional fee for each category.

Yes, you may submit work that has been previously submitted or has won an award. However, in an effort to promote the creation of new work and maintain a fresh flow of ideas, we encourage you to submit new work.

It is not required that you send actual samples of your product to the competition. Images and a description of the design are sufficient.

If a submission is incomplete at the closing of the competition (e.g. the submission has not been paid, or incorrectly uploaded images), it will not be eligible. Although we make every effort to ensure the completion of submissions, we are not responsible for incomplete entries, thus being unable to offer a refund should an entry be incomplete at the time of the closing of the competition.

Yes, you may edit your entry up until the start of the judging period.

If this is selected, your entry brief and images will not be shown to the public after it has been crowned as a winner. You can only see the entry thumbnail when you browse the Winner's Page. We will not promote any private winning entries on our social media platforms as well.

The submissions should be saved in a flattened JPEG or JPG format. (keep them under 4MB, 1,200px wide is preferable, 300dpi, RGB).

What if I have trouble uploading my images?

Firstly, check if the image does not exceed the maximum size (4MB) or width (1,200 px), and the file name only contains letters or numbers. Once checked, try to upload your images again. If you’re still having trouble after this, contact our team at info@frenchdesignawards.com.

• Upload video/audio to Vimeo/YouTube/Youku.
• Paste the URL link into the URL field.

Entries with audio/videos must be submitted with a direct URL that will take judges directly to the work. If it is password-protected, you must provide a username and password for judging purposes. Web Videos entered are judged solely on the content provided. Upload a PDF brief if explanation is required before evaluation of the work.

Regular Entry is $219 for first entry of work. If a work is submitted in more than one category, an additional entry fee for each category is required. Each entrant is charged a $30 annual administrative fee for their first entry(s) of the year.

Entry fees will not be refundable once submitted. Withdrawn entries (whether withdrawn by entrant or by the Awards for the entrant’s failure to comply with entry rules) will NOT be refunded as well. Please click here to see entry fees.

Online. You may pay for your entry after the submission of your works through Credit Card (VISA / MasterCard) or PayPal (AMEX / PayPal).

Yes, we only accept USD at this moment.

The prestige of the French Design Awards competition relies in large part on the high caliber of the juries that convene each year to review submissions. French Design Awards has made a special effort to find a suitable panel of judges whose works exemplify outstanding qualities. The jury panel comprises experienced professionals in their field and industry, including creative designers and art directors from international agencies, architects, interior designers, product designers, educators, marketers or business owners, and exemplify diversity in professional experience, geography, gender, and ethnicity. All judges are selected based on experience, availability and credibility to their respective industry.

Judges score on a scale of 1-100, based on the below criteria:

• Creativity / Concept / Idea
• Content / Brief / Objective / Planning / Execution
• Visual / Design
• Innovation / Functionality / Effectiveness
• Impact / Memorability

The French Design Awards and International Awards Associate’s decision are final in its sole discretion and binding in relation to all matters relating to Competitions and may not be subject to any discussions or correspondence.

Judging is blind. All entrant information is removed from entries to prevent bias/conflict of interest.

French Design Awards' judging process is designed to be impartial and free from outside influences by withholding both the names of the judges on its panel as well as the contestant's names throughout the entire evaluation process. This anonymity shelters all involved from any vested interest which may attempt to influence the judges' opinions or the judging process.

Entries are judged at random without comparison to other entries in a category. Work is evaluated on criteria determined by the category's requirements. Freelancers are not compared to design firms in the same category.

To ensure high standards of quality, a category may have multiple winners or no winners. Work is critiqued rated by consensus, with the panel of judges determining a rating on a scale of 100 points. Winners with a score between 85 and 100 points are Platinum Winners. Entries with a score between 70 and 84 points are Gold Winners. Entries with a score between 50 and 69 points are Silver Winners.

Entries receiving an average score under 50 do not receive an award.

There are FOUR (4) levels of achievement in the competition:

• Design of the Year (Only ONE highest score point from each category will be recognised as Interior / Architectural / Product / Packaging / Conceptual / Fashion / Landscape Design of the Year.)
• Platinum Winner (85-100 points)
• Gold Winner (70-84 points)
• Silver Winner (50-69 points)

The number of awards presented by French Design Awards is determined by the number of submissions in a given category, the scoring range and the number of tie scores.

All winners for 2025 will be announced on 20 March 2025 via French Design Awards official page. All registered participants can then login to see the winning works.

We will duly notify all award winners by email. Do ensure that your email address is correct, as our notifications may get caught in spam filters or receive a non-deliverable return. You may change your email address by logging into your account and updating your information.

Each year, the French Design Awards honours the best in design from around the globe, while you give us a glimpse into the future of the profession.

• The Design of the Year winners receive a complimentary Maia trophy and professionally designed certificate.
• One professionally designed certificate commemorating the winning entry, which includes entry title, entering company/winners' name and category. Decal will be affixed indicating the level of win.
• Top tier (Platinum and Gold) winners will be featured on French Design Awards site's Gallery, where professionals can view your work.
• A press release template sent to major industry outlets, celebrating your win.
• Professionally designed logos for use on websites, in email signatures, etc.
• In addition to the complimentary certificates, Platinum, Gold, and Silver winners may purchase beautiful French Design Awards statuettes, and/or additional customised certificates.
• Platinum and Gold winners will get featured by the French Design Awards on social media or our media partner on Muse.World’s website.

The French Design Awards mission is to recognise outstanding creativity in firms that otherwise are overshadowed by large firms' budgets, which dominate most other design competitions. We also want to extend and encourage students to enter and compete on their entering the profession of digital media.

The French Design Awards maintains affordable entry fees (the lowest in the design awards industry) to allow start-ups, one-person firms and young people the opportunity to enter, as well as firms from countries where the exchange rate or the economic conditions would otherwise make entering impossible.

If an entrant is recognised as a winner, there is no additional fee. Many other awards programs charge an acceptance fee. Once you've won, you've won; there is no additional fee.

If a winner decides they want a statuette, the French Design Awards makes them available for purchase and orders them from its manufacturer. This offering process allows the Awards to maintain low entry fees and prevent non-winners’ subsidy of winners.

Some winners choose not to receive a physical memento. Their priority is the prestige of recognition and the exposure the comes with it. Others choose to order statuettes for individuals on their creative team as well as their client. It's all up to the winners!

Winner awards are custom-made. Statuettes will ship directly from the manufacturer. Please allow 10-16 weeks for the statuettes to ship. Shipping time may be longer during off-season. Statuettes may be ordered from our online store once winners are announced.

Note: Entrants are liable to pay any inbound duties and taxes, should local customs authority deem appropriate. Most countries charge a custom/duty fee and taxes on products received from outside their country. We have no control over these fees and taxes. Please check with the customs department in your country.

The French Design Awards is conducted by International Awards Associate Inc (IAA). IAA is not tied to any advertiser, magazine, trade association, ad club or other outside influence.

IAA’s goal is to provide affordable, independent competitions on an international stage that are respected as fair and open to all, regardless of company size or bottom line.

IAA is an independent, international organization focused on creating a community of design creativity, effectiveness and excellence. It conducts impartial, 'blind' judged competitions and, once completed, it recognises, celebrates and promotes creative, effective and design excellence in those winning companies and individuals.

French Design Awards assumes all entries are original and the entrant either owns the submission or has permission from a client or other appropriate party to enter the work, with all rights granted therein. In the event that an entrant without such rights submits a site, the entrant will not be eligible for the competition. The French Design Awards are not liable for any copyright infringement on the part of the entrant.

Copyright and all other rights remain that of the entrant. All entrants understand and agree that any work submitted to the competition may be used by the French Design Awards and its media partners for marketing and promotional purposes of the competition only, including in any media such as exhibitions, print and digital media directly related to the French Design Awards competition.

Timely submission of an entry meeting the eligibility requirements and payment of the entry fee as stated herein ensures that an entrant's work will be reviewed and considered for recognition. No other representation or warranty is made by French Design Awards concerning entries and all implied warranties are hereby expressly disclaimed.

If an entrant's submission receives an award, the manner and details of announcing such nomination and award is strictly within the discretion of French Design Awards. Entrants understand that all awards may not be given or publicised in the same manner or form.

Entries
Entry fees will not be refundable once submitted. Withdrawn entries (whether withdrawn by entrant or by the Awards for the entrant’s failure to comply with entry rules) will NOT be refunded as well.

There are many people and groups that attempt to obtain your money or personal information inappropriately through fraudulent means. Often, these people and groups misrepresent who they are in an effort to deceive you about the legitimacy of what they are claiming. Sometimes, although not always, they will claim that you have won a lottery or sweepstakes and ask that you send them money so that they can release your supposed winnings to you. In such a situation, you should be very careful and fully investigate any and all claims before you send any money. Please be aware that there are many scams that use SMS/e-mail in an attempt to defraud people using methods similar to these, and we warn strongly against your responding to this type of SMS/e-mail without rigorous investigation to establish whether it is of a genuine nature. Generally, you should treat unsolicited communication (e-mail, phone and letters) that offer financial gain with extreme suspicion; be aware that legitimate lotteries rarely, if ever, ask for a fee to release your winnings; you should not pay any requested fee in advance without fully investigating the matter; and you should not provide banking details or other sensitive financial information in response to emails, phone inquiries and letters without a thorough investigation. In recent years we have been aware of instances of individuals and fraudulent organizations that have been sending notices to people falsely claiming that the recipients have won a lottery.

These notices falsely claim to be from IAA (MUSE CREATIVE AWARDS, MUSE DESIGN AWARDS, MUSE HOTEL AWARDS, MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NYX AWARDS, NYX GAME AWARDS, TITAN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN PROPERTY AWARDS, TITAN WOMEN IN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN HEALTH AWARDS, TITAN INNOVATION AWARDS, TITAN BRAND AWARDS, NY PRODUCT DESIGN AWARDS, NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NY ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AWARDS, LIT MUSIC AWARDS, LIT ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS, LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, LONDON DESIGN AWARDS, EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, iLUXURY AWARDS, VEGA DIGITAL AWARDS, FRENCH DESIGN AWARDS, NY DIGITAL AWARDS, GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS and THE NOBLE AWARDS) and even have the name and contact information of IAA (MUSE CREATIVE AWARDS, MUSE DESIGN AWARDS, MUSE HOTEL AWARDS, MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NYX AWARDS, NYX GAME AWARDS, TITAN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN PROPERTY AWARDS, TITAN WOMEN IN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN HEALTH AWARDS, TITAN INNOVATION AWARDS, TITAN BRAND AWARDS, NY PRODUCT DESIGN AWARDS, NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NY ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AWARDS, LIT MUSIC AWARDS, LIT ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS, LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, LONDON DESIGN AWARDS, EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, iLUXURY AWARDS, VEGA DIGITAL AWARDS, FRENCH DESIGN AWARDS, NY DIGITAL AWARDS, GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS and THE NOBLE AWARDS) employees along with IAA (MUSE CREATIVE AWARDS, MUSE DESIGN AWARDS, MUSE HOTEL AWARDS, MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NYX AWARDS, NYX GAME AWARDS, TITAN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN PROPERTY AWARDS, TITAN WOMEN IN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN HEALTH AWARDS, TITAN INNOVATION AWARDS, TITAN BRAND AWARDS, NY PRODUCT DESIGN AWARDS, NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NY ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AWARDS, LIT MUSIC AWARDS, LIT ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS, LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, LONDON DESIGN AWARDS, EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, iLUXURY AWARDS, VEGA DIGITAL AWARDS, FRENCH DESIGN AWARDS, NY DIGITAL AWARDS, GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS and THE NOBLE AWARDS) branding.

These notices are completely fraudulent, cleverly designed to trick people into sending money for prizes they will never receive. IAA (MUSE CREATIVE AWARDS, MUSE DESIGN AWARDS, MUSE HOTEL AWARDS, MUSE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NYX AWARDS, NYX GAME AWARDS, TITAN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN PROPERTY AWARDS, TITAN WOMEN IN BUSINESS AWARDS, TITAN HEALTH AWARDS, TITAN INNOVATION AWARDS, TITAN BRAND AWARDS, NY PRODUCT DESIGN AWARDS, NEW YORK PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, NY ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AWARDS, LIT MUSIC AWARDS, LIT ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS, LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, LONDON DESIGN AWARDS, EUROPEAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS, iLUXURY AWARDS, VEGA DIGITAL AWARDS, FRENCH DESIGN AWARDS, NY DIGITAL AWARDS, GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS and THE NOBLE AWARDS) is NOT AND HAS NEVER RUN a sweepstake, a lottery OR ANY FORM OF CONTEST OF THESE KINDS and has never asked anyone to wire money to redeem a prize.

Please do not respond to any SMS, email, or any other means of communication claiming that you have won a prize. If you have any question as to the validity of an offer, please contact us at iaa@iaaawards.org / info@museawards.com / info@museawards.com / info@musehotelawards.com / info@musephotographyawards.com / info@nyxgameawards.com / info@nyxawards.com / info@thetitanawards.com / info@thepropertyawards.com / info@thewomenbusinessawards.com / info@titanhealthawards.com / info@titaninnovationawards.com / info@titanbrandawards.com / info@nydesignawards.com / info@newyorkphotographyawards.com / info@nyarchitectureawards.com / info@litmusicawards.com / info@litentertainmentawards.com / info@londonphotographyawards.com / info@thelondondesignawards.com / info@europeanphotoawards.com / info@iluxuryawards.com / info@vegaawards.com / info@frenchdesignawards.com / info@nydigitalawards.com / info@globalphotographyawards.com / info@nobleawards.com.

Once the shipment or merchandise is received, we generally do not offer refunds under any circumstances. Exceptions might only be made if the item(s) you receive is damaged or if the item(s) you ordered is missing from your shipment.

If your item(s) arrive damaged, or any item(s) ordered is missing from your shipment please contact our support team at info@frenchdesignawards.com immediately.

Any reported issues will be meticulously reviewed by our dedicated awards team before any resolution, such as issuing a refund, is considered. Please be advised that the final decision in such matters rests solely with the French Design Awards team, as we endeavor to protect the interests and uphold the rights of all parties involved.