2019 was the first year that brands could be entered into the design competition. Through the initiative, the Red Dot Award has aimed to position the significance of well-designed brand communication — which is seen as a key factor in market success — as a new focal point of the competition.

There are 36 industries to choose from in the Brands section, ranging from Automotive, Furniture, Tools and Watches. The awards report that individual creative achievements are also still a big part of the competition.

Participants can enter their communication design works in any of 17 categories in the Communication Design section, which include:
  • Advertising
  • Posters 
  • Packaging Design
  • Annual Reports 
  • Fair Stands, and 
  • Retail Design.
Entries can also be submitted in digital media categories such as Film & Animation, Online and Interface & User Experience Design.

According to the awards, young designers who enter their work in the Communication Design section will get a 10% discount on entry fees and a 20% discount on the Winner Package as part of the Red Dot: Junior Award.

This aims to help trainees, students and young professionals who have graduated within the last two years to have a successful start to their career. The best work submitted by an emerging designer will win the Red Dot: Junior Prize, along with prize money of €10 000.

The Red Dot Award aims to give each participant the chance to have the quality of his or her entry assessed and verified individually by the expert international jury. The expert panel comprises 24 jurors, who inspect all of the brands and creative works entered in the design competition on their own merits over a period of several days.

According to the panel, different assessment criteria relating to the form, idea and impact are considered. These vary within the Brands and Communication Design sections.

Thanks to the jury's international nature, the jurors are in a position to assess the projects and brands from all over the globe in consideration of their country-specific differences.

The awards say that participants who win an award can be confident that they are "leaders in the creative and brand sectors". The laureates will be celebrated at the Red Dot gala in Berlin on Friday, 23 October.

The winners will benefit from multiple advantages in communicating news of their success. This includes the internationally recognised and Red Dot Winner Label, which can only be used by competition winners.

The label can be used in a targeted way in internal and external communication to garner a position with customers and stand out from competitors. Furthermore, the award-winning brands and creative works are presented in exhibitions in the yearbook as well as online.

Entry phases for the 2020 Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design include:
  • Early bird — Monday, 24 February to Wednesday, 18 March
  • Regular — Thursday, 19 March to Wednesday, 13 May
  • Latecomer — Thursday, 14 May to Friday, 5 June
For further information and to register, visit www.red-dot.de/cd. You can also follow the Red Dot Awards on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.