Competition FAQs

Got a question? Here are some answers:

Thanks for considering entering our competition. To help, we are regularly adding the most relevant responses to this page to assist others too so feel free to check it often. If you are not seeing what you need, feel free to email [email protected] with your specific question. Good luck in your submission!

Q: Did I miss the deadline for submissions?

A: The professional competition closes August 8th @ midnight EST.

Q: Can I submit client projects?

A: Yes! You are welcome submit to recently completed (and built) workplace projects.

Q: If only one member of a team is working on a submission, can you explain the difference between an individual professional entry and a team professional entry? 

A: It’s individual if it was one person’s idea/project. If several people worked on it and should get credit, you’ll want to include their names and enter as a team even though it’s one person pulling together the entire submission.

Q: Could you clarify what ‘All submissions become the property of Work Design Magazine’ means?

A: With regard to the ownership, depending on the number of entries, we intend to publish as many of the truly innovative submissions as possible. We will credit all submissions for individuals and teams with proper attribution. We will not limit anyone’s right to use their work.  These proprietary rights are required for us to publish and share the material without any restrictions both online and possibly in print.

Q: What counts as ‘descriptive images’ exactly? Would additional images of furniture and material selections count towards the 10 images? Would ‘before and after’ images be counted as 1 or 2 images?

A: The images should serve to communicate your idea or to help clarify your concepts. They can be anything that you feel graphically conveys an understanding of your submission. It can be a diagram, sketch, photograph, rendering. You should think of it as a way of communicating, supporting or reinforcing your central idea. Just be careful that it does not distract or cause the jury to ask additional questions. And most importantly – all images must be logo free and JPEG format.

Q: Our firm is considering a submission. Will a juror from a competing firm judge our submission?

A: The judging process consists of several rounds of judging and resembles a sports tournament bracket so we can avoid any potential complications and yet get submissions viewed as many times as possible. All submissions will advance through the judging bracket anonymously.

Q: What if my submission can fit into more than one category?

A: You can submit the same idea into up to two categories of your choice for slightly more.

Q: Can I get a receipt?

A: Yes, check your inbox! Upon successful processing of your payment, Stripe will autogenerate a receipt coming from Work Design Magazine with the subject line: “Your Work Design Magazine Receipt” will be emailed to the payment processor’s email address.

Q: Do I need to enter separately for the People’s Choice Award consideration?

No. After preliminary rounds of judging are complete, top submissions in the Workplace category only will be automatically selected for our People’s Choice competition which is conducted via Instagram starting on August 22nd.