JAGDA Student Grand Prix 2016

The JAGDA Student Grand Prix is a poster design competition held by the Japan Graphic Designers Association Inc. (JAGDA) for students who are at high-school level or above. The competition was newly established in 2015 with the goal of discovering and producing outstanding new talent in the field of graphic design in Japan. Seven of JAGDA’s member designers active on the front lines in the industry undertook the selection.

In the first year the competition called for works dealing with the theme of “Japan,” and 758 works were submitted from 645 participants nationwide. An exhibition showcasing the selected and awarded works was held at Tokyo Midtown Design Hub and also toured Kyoto.

This year, the competition’s second year, the theme is “social networking services (SNS).” Half of all Japanese people now use SNS, and the scale of these services only continues to grow. Generationally, SNS usage rates are higher among younger people, and SNS are also being described as modern communication infrastructure. In the JAGDA Student Grand Prix 2016, students consider SNS from various standpoints and angles, and express those views on posters.

The exhibition presents a total of 111 pieces selected and awarded from over 800 submitted works. By all means enjoy the exhibited works not only on the basis of their expressive techniques, but in combination with their individuality of interpretation, creativity and other elements also.