Dear GRANSHAN community,
In April, I wrote to you about a fully loaded oil tanker that travels at about the speed of a bicycle – an image for a global crisis that arrives slowly. And I wrote that we would respond elastically. Six months later, this crisis is not over – in energy, in the economy, in our societies. And we are keeping our word.
We are not responding by waiting. We are responding with a decision: we are opening the submission period as far as a competition that carries the year 2026 in its name allows.
The GRANSHAN Bloom Award – first edition 2026 – accepts submissions until Tuesday, 22 December 2026. This is the final date; there will be no further extension. And we are lowering the entry fees for all new submissions, in every category.
The GRANSHAN Bloom Award is a true innovation. In many regions of the world, high-quality design in one's own script is only just beginning – in studios, in agencies, at universities. There is no single global story of communication design beyond Latin; there are many, and some of them are only now being written. Bloom grew out of the community, for the community. We are early – and that is exactly where we want to be: at the beginning, where something new is taking shape.
Good work needs time to come forward. We know from many conversations that some still consider their work not “good enough” for an international stage, and that for others the cost is a hurdle. Our answer has three parts: more time, lower fees and an invitation that is not only about the newest work. Projects created or first published between January 2023 and December 2026 are eligible. The poster from two years ago, the identity that has been in use since last spring, the book on your shelf – all of this belongs in Bloom.
What this means for you
If you would like to submit: you have until 22 December. For new submissions from today, an entry costs 15 €, 45 € or 125 €, depending on the size and resources of the entrant: low-income entrants, students and freelancers; small and medium companies; large companies. Across the different media categories, we have simplified the fee structure: Campaigns and Visual Identity & Branding now have a single higher fee structure, at double the regular rates (€30, €90 or €250, respectively). You will find the full overview on our website.
You choose your tier yourself – we trust you. The 15 € tier is a clear signal to everyone for whom an international fee is a real hurdle. Those who can give more are warmly welcome to choose a higher tier; it helps us keep the lowest one low. And this will stay as it is: the entry fee is the only required cost. No winner fees, no hidden fees – never at GRANSHAN.
If you have already submitted and paid: thank you – you led the way. If changes are absolutely necessary, please contact us by email. And because you paid the previous fee we are giving you one additional entry free of charge. We will write to you personally in the coming days.
If your entry is still in progress or you have only registered: simply carry on as usual. You will pay the new, lower fee when you complete your submission.
If you are a member of our juries: the Script Groups and their Specialist Juries will begin their individual evaluation in January 2027, followed by moderated discussions in February and the decisions in March; the 50 Best of the Best Jury will make its selection in April. We will announce the results towards the end of the first half of 2027 at the GRANSHAN Conference & Ceremony; place and date will follow.
A word of thanks
None of this would be possible without the members of our Supporting Foundries Club – Cadson Demak, Parachute Typefoundry, TypeTogether, TypeType, Typotheque, U+Type and 29LT. They are not sponsors in the usual sense, but partners who decided, together, to carry a new competition for communication design beyond Latin through its first years. They saw early on what is taking shape here. My thanks also go to our partners and friends who stand by our side in these months, and to the GRANSHAN team, who have rethought plans, platforms and timelines with great flexibility.
What I ask of you
Pass this on. To the young designer in your studio who thinks her poster is not ready for the world. To the colleague whose identity work you admired last year. To your students, your former students, your clients. A competition for communication design beyond Latin can only be as rich as the community that carries it. Everything you need to pass it on – logos, visuals and texts – is ready to download in the public area of our partner platform: portal.granshan.com/kits/public.
Courage is what this moment calls for – not the courage that overlooks the difficulties, but the courage that knows them and sets out anyway. Design is a future-oriented practice: whoever designs is always shaping something that does not yet exist. With Bloom, we want to show the world that the future is worth it – in every script. As in April: “Let's please remain optimistic despite everything.” For me, optimism does not mean waiting for better times. It is our decision to shape them.