Sorry, this deadline will not be extended.

What is cause/affect?
We’ve all toiled into the night on projects for good causes with scant hope of any recognition (we’re do-gooders after all!). But we believe one good deed deserves another, so we’re giving out a stack of awards to those whose creative work stacks up.

And just as importantly, we want to get a bunch of good people in a room to see if we can stimulate a few world-changing ideas of our own. We’re hopeless dreamers like that.

Why enter?
Your work will be seen by a jury made up of some of the country’s top creative professionals and socially conscious business minds.

The truly worthy will pick up an award from the AIGA, the professional association for design, and their work will be showcased at our cause/affect awards ceremony on July 9 and displayed at the AIGA SF gallery through the summer. Winning entrants will also be featured on the cause/affect site.

By entering the competition, your work will be considered for the “People’s Choice Award.” Voting on selected work will take place on the cause/affect site once the entry deadline has closed. A proportion of any proceeds from the competition will be donated to a local non-profit organization of the People’s Choice winner’s choosing. It’s a win-win!

Get cracking
New this year: fill out your entry forms and pay online! Scared of new technology? Two ways to enter:

• Online Submission
• Download the entry form and pop it in the mail.

What work is eligible?
All graphic design work entered in the competition must promote or support social good. It can raise awareness about a cause or condition. It can celebrate an arts institution or event. All we ask is that it doesn’t contribute directly to the profit of a commercial organization. Work must have been produced between November 1, 2007 and June 19, 2009. Choose one of the following categories for each entry. Take your best guess if needs be:

• community development
• health and welfare
• arts
• education
• politics
• environment

Entries may include:

• advertising
• animations
• annual reports
• branding campaigns
• book covers/jackets
• brochures
• catalogs
• direct mail
• editorial (magazine and newspaper covers/spreads)
• environmental graphics
• invitations/announcements
• letterhead/logos
• media kits
• motion graphics (flash, after effects etc.)
• newsletters
• packaging
• posters
• self-promotions
• web banners
• web design

Judges Include:

• Valerie Casey, leader of the digital experience practice at IDEO and the founder and executive director of the Designers Accord;
• Brian Dougherty, partner at Celery Design Collaborative and a recognized leader in the field of sustainable design;
• Yvette Irvin, owner of SavvyClick Marketing; and
• Jean-Benoit Levy, international designer, author and educator.

Awards ceremony
Join us on July 9 for our cause/affect awards ceremony and general do-gooder get together.

We’ll be enviously eying the amazing design goodies on show, dishing out a bunch of AIGA awards and scrambling to meet some of the worthiest designers on the planet.

And if you simply can’t wait for all of that, vote for your favorite fabrication in our People’s Choice Award – which offers a taste of the design delights we’ll be showing.

Voting on selected work will take place right here once the entry deadline has closed (June 19). A proportion of any proceeds from the competition will be donated to a local non-profit organization of the winner’s choosing. It’s a win-win!

3 Comments

On 8 Jun 2009 @ 2:39pm, 2:39pm Sandra Kelch wrote:

Should book designs be entered under book covers or editorial?

Thanks, Sandra

On 8 Jun 2009 @ 4:09pm, 4:09pm Don Savoie wrote:

I would say book covers.

On 16 Jun 2009 @ 1:02pm, 1:02pm najlah hicks wrote:

can a project be entered as a group instead of as an individual?