Excitement right to the very end: Red Dot Award celebrates the year’s best communication designers

Essen/Germany, 9 October 2018

Out of a total of 8,610 entries, the year’s most creative and best-designed communication design projects emerged victorious. Their makers will be honoured at the award ceremony for the Red Dot Award: Communication Design 2018 on 26 October in Berlin. From Australia to Iceland and from Taiwan to the USA and the United Arab Emirates – the award-winning designers and clients come to Berlin from all over the globe to celebrate their success at the Red Dot Gala and Designers’ Night. The winners of the top individual award, the “Red Dot: Grand Prix”, as well as of the newcomer’s award with prize money of 10,000 Euros is not announced to the international design scene until the evening itself. Other highlights on the evening include the awarding of the brand and the agency of the year.

Red Dot: Best of the Best for high design quality
In 2018, designers, agencies and companies from 45 countries submitted a total of 8,610 works to the Red Dot Award: Communication Design. But only well-designed and creative projects that won over the 24-member jury received one of the sought-after distinctions. As a result, after an adjudication process that lasted several days, the international panel of experts awarded the Red Dot: Best of the Best to just 0.7% of all entries. They thus recognised the very high design quality and creative achievement of 58 works. The creative heads behind the projects will receive their trophies on 26 October 2018 during the Red Dot Gala in the Konzerthaus Berlin.

Who will receive the Red Dot: Grand Prix?
During the award ceremony, seven of the projects that have won a Red Dot: Best of the Best will also be honoured as the best piece of work in their respective category. The jury can decide to award the Red Dot: Grand Prix, but this is not obligatory. As the top individual award in the competition, it recognises communication design featuring outstanding design quality and creativity. The recipients are not announced to the international audience until during the gala. Red Dot CEO Professor Dr. Peter Zec is the host for the evening. Together with jury members Jennifer Tsai from Taiwan, Damon Aval from Germany and Professor Dr. Seung Hun Yoo from South Korea, he hands over the trophies to the laureates.

Newcomer’s award with prize money of EUR 10,000
The air of excitement is guaranteed to the very last minute, not only for the established design professionals, but also for the up-and-coming new designers who subject their abilities to scrutiny in the Red Dot Award: Communication Design. They can hold out hope of winning the Red Dot: Junior Prize. This newcomer’s award recognises the best piece of work by an up-and-coming designer and comes with prize money of 10,000 Euros.

Brand and agency of the year
The Red Dot: Brand of the Year 2018 is also awarded in front of a full house during the award ceremony. This title recognises a brand that has won over the jury in the course of the competition with not one but several innovative pieces of work of above-average quality. The outstanding achievements of a highly successful creative innovator are also recognised each year. The designers at the Red Dot: Agency of the Year 2018 will not find out that they have won the sought-after title of honour until the Red Dot Gala, creating a moment of genuine surprise. As a symbol of their success, they will receive the “Stylus” trophy from thjnk, the agency of the year 2017, thus marking the absolute highlight of the Red Dot Gala.

Designers’ Night with winners exhibition
The evening culminates in the Designers’ Night in the ewerk Berlin, where the Red Dot laureates receive their certificates. This legendary party is where the international creative scene celebrates the competition year and their successes. These successes are showcased impressively in the winners exhibition “Design on Stage 2018”. The exhibition presents all of the works that have won a prize in the Red Dot Award: Communication Design 2018. A selection of these works is on show in the Museum for Communication Berlin from 28 October 2018 to 13 January 2019 in the studio exhibition “Best Communication Design – Red Dot Winners Selection 2018”.