The deadline for this year’s YCN Student Awards is tonight at midnight. If you’re thinking about making a last-minute entry, you’ll need to get moving – here are six pro tips to help you on your way…
Read the rules
Take the time to read the entry requirements of the award scheme or competition before submitting your work. You’re going to be up against hundreds of entrants, so give yourself the best chance of success by knowing the rules.
Presentation is key
This is often overlooked, but presenting your entries clearly and correctly really matters. Invest time in showing your design work in its best light. Don’t leave presentation as an afterthought: make it easy for the judges to engage with your work.
What did past winners do?
It’s worth looking back and analysing the work of past winners. What kind of themes and characteristics might have scored them the prize? Was the work commercially brilliant, or unique in some way? What boundaries did the winners push and how? Doing this is a great way to discover the type of work that wins.
Knowledge is power
Knowing who’s going to be judging a particular award scheme can be helpful in deciding whether or not a competition is right for you. If you know that the panel members have a taste for a very different style of design to yours, then you may reconsider your entry.
Know the dates
There’s nothing worse than giving a competition entry your absolute all – only to discover that the scheme closed an hour ago. Don’t be that person. Know exactly how long you have, when judging will take place and even whether you’ll be able to make the awards night. (PS: The YCN Student Awards close at midnight tonight.)
Pick up The Design Student Handbook
We’ve put together an essential guide for design students, packed full of expert advice on everything from how to get the most out of your course to hitting the ground running when you graduate. Winning awards, turning internships into full-time employment, raising your profile as a student – it’s all in there.
Pick up your copy of The Design Student Handbook at WHSmith in the UK, Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million in the USA, Chapters in Canada and other retailers worldwide – or online.
