Graphex

Founded in 1977 by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, Graphex is the Canadian national design competition that celebrates the best of visual communication design.

Every two years Graphex invites professional communication designers, web designers, typographers, photographers, illustrators, art directors, ad agencies, printers, writers and clients from across Canada to submit their very best published cultural, social and business communications in all mediums.

Awards are given to creative professionals from various design disciplines in following categories:
** Advertising (print, billboards, newspaper, transit shelters, etc.)
** Annual Reports
** Editorial/Magazine (editorial magazine and book spreads or total format)
** Books (cover designs for magazines, books, etc.)
** Brochures
** Calendars
** Catalogues
** Logos
** Corporate Identity
** Stationery
** Invitations
** Manuals
** Multimedia
** Websites (online interactive sites and applications)
** Packaging (includes consumer goods, boxes, labels, CDs, etc.)
** Posters
** Self Promotion
** Signage (branding, vehicle graphics, wayfinding, etc. for retail and civic purposes)
** Environmental - (interiors, trade show booths, banners, kiosks, POS, POP, etc.)
** Type Design (any original typeface design)
** Other (style guides, menus, complex promos, gifts, wearables, calendars, 3D promos, etc.)

Graphex 2008 (see: [http://www.gdc.net/graphex Homepage] ) is coordinated by the BC Chapter of GDC in Vancouver, BC, and Chaired by Canadian Graphic Designers Mark Busse and Cory Ripley. Graphex is also endorsed by Icograda (International Congress of Graphic Design Associations), the world body for professional graphic design and visual communication. Founded in London in 1963, it now bases its secretariat in Montréal, Canada. It is also supported by its sister design associations SDGQ and RGD Ontario.

Goals

As part of the GDC’s mandate to create an ongoing archive of Canadian design, Graphex 2008 is a national event, open to all Canadians, with discounts given to professional members of design associations such as GDC, RGD Ontario and SGDQ. All submissions are accompanied by an explanation of the design criteria stating the challenges and requirements of the project and the rationale for the design solution.

The primary goals of Graphex are to promote the value of design to the Canadian public and business community—Good Design Is Good Business—and to create an archive of Canadian design for future generations to study and reflect upon.

Theme

The theme for Graphex 2008 is built around the theory, structure and visual language of the tournament ladder and the concept of zeitgeist. The graphic language is very much about info-graphics with many items on the left side representing the “input”, or distillation process down to one final selection (the winner or the solution), while the right side represents the winner or solution’s impact on society. The purpose of this theme is to carry the idea throughout all the promotional pieces as a way to not only express aspects of the competition itself (like a tournament), but to educate, inform and inspire that great creative can have a larger impact on society than we often realize.

Judges

For each annual competition, Graphex hosts a jury of international judges hand selected from a mix of experienced designers, writers, marketers and clients. As professional communicators themselves, this international panel thoughtfully considers the challenges, limitations and creativity expressed in the submissions provided. This ensures that Graphex is far more than a mere beauty contest, but rather a measure of the effectiveness of design that is relevant to business as well as the general public. We’re honoured once again to have seven of the finest design professionals in the world join us in Vancouver for Graphex 2008.

Judges for Graphex 2008 include:
* Ronald Kapaz, Head Designer, Partner, Oz Design, São Paulo, Brazil
* Jamie Koval, Partner, Creative Director, VSA Partners, Chicago, USA
* Sam Carter - Design Historian, Educator, Emily Carr Institute, Vancouver, Canada
* Peter Steiner - Graphic Designer and Interaction Designer, formerly of Gottschalk + Ash Int’l, Montréal, Canada
* Stanley Hainsworth - VP, Global Brand Director, Starbucks, Seattle, USA
* Michael Jager - Creative Director, JDK Design, Burlington, USA
* Marian Bantjes - Designer, Typographer, Writer, Bantjes.com, Bowen Island, Canada

Judges for Graphex 2006 included:
* Rick Poynor, Founder of Eye magazine, from London, UK
* Min Wang, Standing Expert on Image and Identity for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, from Beijing, China
* Debbie Millman, President of Design at Sterling Brands, from New York, USA
* Tan Le, Creative Director of Design at WongDoody, from Seattle, USA
* Robert Sarner, of Roots Canada, from Toronto

Exhibits

At the conclusion of the competition phase, a traveling exhibit of the winners tours Canada showcasing the work to the public. Graphex thrives on learning from and rewarding those designers who are addressing increasingly complex and diverse creative challenges through smart partnerships.

Rules

Who can enter?Graphex 2008 is a national awards program open to all Canadian professional graphic designers, typographers, photographers, illustrators, art directors, ad agencies, printers, writers or clients.

What to enter?As part of the GDC’s mandate to create an ongoing archive of Canadian design, submit your best work published in or for use in Canada between October 2005 and October 2007. Student work is not permitted.

Eligibility?To be eligible, all entries must be accompanied by the design criteria stating the challenges or requirements of the project and the rationale for the design solution. Please do not describe the entry (our judges are not blind and can tell if something is green or blue). Entries must be accompanied by Form A, fees, design criteria and rationale.

External links

* [http://www.gdc.net/ GDC] Society of Graphic Designers of Canada
* [http://www.gdc.net/graphex/ Graphex 2008] Graphex 2008 Canadian National Design Awards
* [http://www.gdc.net/graphex/graphex2006 Graphex 2006] Graphex 2006 Canadian National Design Awards
* [http://www.gdc.net/graphex/graphex2003 Graphex 2003] Graphex 2003 Canadian National Design Awards
* [http://www.gdc.net/graphex/graphex2000 Graphex 2000] Graphex 2000 Canadian National Design Awards
* [http://www.rgdontario.com/ RGD Ontario] Registered Graphic Designers of Ontario
* [http://www.sdgq.qc.ca/ SDGQ] Société des designers graphiques du Québec