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KURZ Label Design Award 2026
A design competition celebrating creative excellence, craftsmanship, & the power of print finishing
The KURZ Label Design Award invites designers in the U.S. to explore how creativity, material, and finishing come together to create exceptional labels.
This competition is about more than visual appeal. It challenges designers to think beyond the surface - to tell stories through texture, light, and detail, while keeping real-world production in mind.
Whether you are a student shaping your design voice or a professional pushing the boundaries of label design, this award is your platform to showcase ideas that are both inspiring and commercially viable.
Selected designs will be featured across KURZ and partner channels and realized with real-world production expertise, creating industry visibility and a strong, portfolio-ready reference. Winning designs will be produced live at LOUPE 2026, and the winners will receive the finished physical product - a tangible outcome that connects creative vision with technical excellence.
KURZ Rising Star 2026
You're building your portfolio? This is your opportunity to make it real.
The KURZ Rising Star Award invites student designers to take a label concept beyond the screen and see it produced as a finished, physical product using professional print decoration technologies.
This category is designed for emerging designers who want more than a class project. It's a chance to experiment with materials, texture, and storytelling, gain industry visibility, and add a production-ready piece to your portfolio that shows how creative ideas translate into real-world execution.
KURZ Design Excellence 2026
sponsored by UPM Adhesive Materials
You're shaping brands - this is where design excellence meets execution.
The KURZ Design Excellence Award invites professional designers to showcase label designs that combine strong creative vision with a deep understanding of materials, finishing, and production feasibility.
This category recognizes work that goes beyond aesthetics. It's an opportunity to push design quality further, explore advanced embellishment techniques, and gain industry visibility with a realized, production-ready design that demonstrates both creative leadership and technical excellence.
Important dates
How designs are evaluated
Submissions are evaluated for design quality, originality, and how effectively the concept translates into real-world label production. All designs are reviewed by a cross-functional panel combining creative, technical, and production expertise.
How to enter
Download the design briefs to get started. They outline the creative direction, technical guidelines, and everything you need to prepare your submission.
Once your design is ready, simply send your files along with the completed submission form via email as outlined in the brief.
Free to enter and open to both students and professionals.
Our Partners
Submit your design
When your design is ready, send your PDF design file together with the completed submission form to the email address listed below. Please make sure all required information is included so we can review your entry smoothly.
Submission deadline: April 30th, 2026
Free submission. No platform signup required.