Vuoden Huiput

Grafia’s non-profit Vuoden Huiput is Finland’s most significant creative design competition, which was founded by designers themselves in 1980. The annual event aims to raise the quality of design, strengthen creativity and originality and to promote designers' expertise. The competition is organised for the 43rd time this year. The event comprises the competition, a festival, a festive award gala, an exhibition showcasing the awarded works as well as the annual.

The competition consists of 15 series representing different sectors of design. There is also a free series for under 29-year-olds called the Young Creatives. The theme for the Wild Card series is chosen annually by the head of the juries. This year’s theme is Power of Strategy.

Grafia is a non-profit organisation.

Best Finnish creative design

Each series is assessed by five design professionals. The head of the juries supervises the work of the 70-member jury. Each jury chooses one Gold Award and Silver Awards for the best entries in their series.

In the 2022 Vuoden Huiput Competition, the overall best work will receive the Grand Prix Award. The head of the juries chooses the Grand Prix work among the Gold Award winners. The successful works can be entered into the Art Directors Club Europe competition among other best European works.

Goals and Principles

1
The aim of Vuoden Huiput competition is to strengthen the significance of high-quality marketing communications and communications design in the Finnish culture and economy. The purpose of the event is to encourage better design, strengthen creativity and originality and develop professional standards.

2
To ensure that the targets are achieved, Vuoden Huiput competition, covering a broad spectrum of marketing communications and design, has been created. The competition, as well as an exhibition and annual presenting the competition entries are organised annually.

3
The aim of the competition is to bring under joint scrutiny the best works within Finnish marketing communications and design. The purpose of the competition is also to bring together Finnish designers to discuss the outlook within design, to evaluate the competition entries and award them.

4
The aim of the exhibition is to present all the best works from the previous year to designers, design agencies, students in the industry, clients, the media and anyone interested in design.

5
The annual is a documentary of the works the juries have chosen for the exhibition and awarded. The annual also contains data of the designs as well as the opinions of the juries on the standard of the works, the criteria of evaluation as well as the future of design and advertising.

6
The works must be selected to the exhibition and awarded according to carefully premeditated and ethically sound principles and high professional criteria. A jury member is barred from evaluating his/her own works or the works of his/her agency.

7
The purpose of the awards is to select the very best works among all those submitted, which are exceptional in creativity when it comes to content, realisation and design.

8
The juries for the competition must be selected from amongst the most competent, professionally successful designers and creators who are valued within their profession.

9
Vuoden Huiput event is organised in cooperation with the designers. The aim of the event is to promote the cooperation between marketing communications designers, graphic designers, other designers, illustrators, photographers, directors and others operating within the field.

10
In addition to participation fees, the event funding is based on cooperation agreements made with different operators in the industry and the sales of the annual as well as publications fees.

11
Vuoden Huiput event is organised by Grafia Board and other carefully selected elected officials and clerical personnel in accordance with the aims, principles and rules of the event.