You get all of the design magazines, you’re tuned into the design world and you think you have a competitive edge. But when it comes to competitions you feel left behind and held back by big entry fees.
Are large entry fees really necessary for design competitions? What purpose do they serve? Are they doing more harm than good?
The Benefit of Fees
They contribute to the winnings
It stands to reason that contests with larger entry fees will then have more to give away. Hopefully this is the case so you can feel confident in the fact that if you win you’ll be getting your money back and then some. The hefty entry fee might just pay off in a big way. Of course odds are it won’t but that’s the nature of competition.
Makes the competition more well respected
A big old fee might give the competition more design cred and this should help it look even better on your resume when you win. It signifies a higher level of design to some so the winners of competitions with big entry fees are all the more respected.
Keeps out the riff-raff
If it’s a quality competition the hope is that the jurors are going to look at each entry individually. The entry fee is partially to cut down on the raw number of entries they have to look through. Theoretically it prevents any idiot with a spare 10 minutes to throw together a portfolio of bad work and send it off to the AIGA. It helps insure that all pieces entered are well considered and legitimate entries.
The Downsite of Fees
The better design doesn’t always come through
Just because a designer doesn’t have the $150 for a competition it doesn’t mean that their work is not as good as that of the big design firm that does have the cash. The entry fee is not a mechanism of filtering good design in and bad design out. It filters out design in a method independent of the quality of design.
Limits the pool of entrants
When you limit the people who can enter to those who can afford a certain price you are bound to exclude a certain section of the design community. Very often those who cannot pay have a very different design aesthetic than those who can resulting in a prevalence of a certain look and feel in entrants and therefore winners.
Creates an elite of entrants
By limiting the pool, entry fees also create an elite class of entrants who can pay it. This contributes to a trend of repeated winners across competitions and a select group of firms or individuals constantly competing with each other in many different competitions. The titans bash heads over and over while the new and innovative small guy is not accepted into the fray.
The Data
Entry Fee: $135
Winnings: $1500
Entry Fee: (Single Design Entry) $150
Winnings: $0 (other winnings)
Print Magazine (Regional Design Annual 2009) My analysis of the 2008 competition here and here.
Entry Fee: (Single Entry) $50
Winnings: $0 (Other Winnings)
Print Magazine (Creativity and Commerce)
Entry Fee: $75
Winnings: $3000
Communication Arts Magazine (Design Annual)
Entry Fee: $35 (Single Entry)
Winnings: $0 (Other Winnings)
HOW (International Design Award)
Entry Fee: $50
Winnings: $100 (Other Winnings)
2009 Adobe Design Achievement Awards Competition
Entry Fee: $0
Winnings: $3000 (Other Winnings)
Entry Fee: $190
Winnings: $0 (Other Winnings)
Entry Fee: $235
Winnings: $0 (Other Winnings)
What Can you Do?
You want to enter all of those competitions but you might not have the spare change to do it this year. If that’s the case think about taking some of the money you make this year, $20 or $50 from each project, and setting it aside in a fund specifically to pay for those competitions next year. It’s a guilt free way of getting yourself out there in the competitive design world.
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Sounds like a hefty lottery ticket! Surely there are other ways to win awards and develop credibility?
There’s also the Student Society for News Design competition. I believe entry fees were under $15.00 bucs and it’s a very good way to get some recognition.
Hey Jeremy, thanks for the heads up about the Student Society for News Design competition. The link to the competition is here at snd.org and there’s a bit more info about last years winners here. These kind of contests are a good way to get some recognition.
Thanks for reading