JAGDA International Student Poster Award 2026

From 01.05.2026 to 08.10.2026 Call for submissions Competition

ICoD is pleased to announce the Member Event 2026 JAGDA International Student Poster Award 2026 organised by Japan Graphic Design Association (JAGDA). Established to discover outstanding young talents worldwide and advance graphic design, the award celebrates the power of posters to communicate beyond borders. The award ceremony will be held on 29 November 2026, with finalists announced on 8 October 2026. The entry submission opening date is 1 May 2026.

JAGDA International Student Poster Award was established with the mission to discover and acknowledge outstanding young talents from across the world and to promote the further advancement of graphic design. Posters allow ideas to be freely expressed through the rich mixture of graphics and texts, giving them the instantaneous power to move the hearts of people and create visual communications beyond borders and boundaries. Our hope is to cultivate a better understanding of each other and share international issues through the medium of posters.

Call for Works
1 May – 31 July 2026

Accepted Works
Works must be a poster in B1 size (width 728mm x height 1,030mm, portrait orientation only) produced between August 2025 and July 2026. The work must include the word Theme “Harmony”. In addition to works produced for this award, school assignments, graduation projects and works submitted to other awards are also accepted.

Theme
Harmony

Eligibility
Applicants must be current students enrolled in high school, technical college, specialized training college, university or graduate school as of 1 January 2026. Applicants of all nationalities and all ages are welcome to apply. Applications from teams are not accepted (individuals only).

Number of Applications
The number of submissions per applicant is unlimited. When submitting a series, it should consist of 3 or less posters.

Application Fee
1,000 Japanese Yen per poster.

Timeline
1. Registration (Fri 1 May–Fri 31 July)
Register your entry, upload the poster image, and complete the payment on the Award website.
2. Payment (Fri 1 May–Sat 1 Aug)
Any payment past the deadline will not be accepted.
3. First and Second screenings
August (online)
4. Announcement of selected works (Thu 27 Aug)
The result will be announced on the Award website and email (to the selected applicants only).
5. Submission of selected actual posters (Thu 10–Fri 11 Sep)
Selected applicants will send actual posters and hi-res images (for catalogue) to the Secretariat.
6. Third screening
Late September (actual posters)
7. Announcement of Awards (Thu 8 Oct)
The result will be announced on the Award website and email (to the winners only).
8. Exhibition (Wed 25 Nov–Mon 7 Dec)
The National Art Center, Tokyo
9. Catalogue (Wed 25 Nov)
A catalogue of awarded and selected works will be published.

Assessment Process
The first and second screenings will be conducted online, where Selected Works will be determined. The third screening will be held in person in front of printed posters, where the Grand Prix and other award-winning works will be determined. 

The jury is comprised of the following members:
- The first screening (JAGDA Student Grand Prix Committee)
Koji Iyama (Japan) [Chairperson]
Koichi Kosugi (Japan)
Takeo Nakano (Japan)
Chiharu Shimizu (Japan)
Seri Tanaka (Japan)
Agata Yamaguchi (Japan

- The second and third screenings
Kazufumi Nagai (Japan) [Jury president]
Alexis Jamet (France)
Tai-keung Kan (China)
Akira Minagawa (Japan)
Yukimasa Okumura (Japan)

Awards
The following awards will be presented upon agreement among the jury members.
Grand Prix: 1 work (certificate, commemorative gift)
Gold: 2 works (certificate, commemorative gift)
Silver: 5 works (certificate, commemorative gift)
Bronze: 10 works (certificate, commemorative gift)
Jury Award: 5 works (certificate)
Committee Member Award: 6 works (certificate)
Special Sponsor Award: Approximately 25 works (certificate)
Special Supporter Award: Approximately 1 works (certificate)
Selected: Approximately 200 works
The Grand Prix and Gold recipients will be invited to attend the Awards Ceremony to be held in November 2026 (round-trip transportation and accommodation fees will be provided to winners residing in distant locations). The Grand Prix, Gold, Silver and Bronze winning works will be published in the annual book “Graphic Design in Japan 2026”. All Winning and Selected Works will be exhibited at the National Art Center, Tokyo and published in the official catalog.

Exhibition
Date: 25 November – 7 December 2026
Venue: The National Art Center, Tokyo, Gallery 1C (Roppongi, Tokyo)
Exhibits: Award-winning and Selected works