Annual 2026

The Process

Submissions

We welcome submissions from all members of the community, both existing and new. All work has to have been released to the public from 1st January 2025 to 28th May 2026. Work is submitted by uploading your work to your profile on Creativepool first (this can be marked as only for the judges view) and then submitting your entry along with further supporting evidence.

Judges

Once the submissions have been collated, Creativepool will produce a shortlist in conjunction with the applicable judging individuals. The shortlist will be passed on to our judging panels who will join together to score the work received (see below).

People's Choice

The Annual is the only creative awards that has a People's Choice element to it. This is completely separate to the judges vote and the voting/scores for one does not influence the other. In the People's Choice portion of the awards entrants are encouraged to get their networks to vote for their submissions. This is not mandatory but is an exciting way for entrants to be able to celebrate that they have been shortlisted for the award and engages people from across the global creative community to come and see the work on offer. People can vote in as many categories as they wish but can vote only once in each category and for each person/company.

Judging Criteria

Each project/case study that is entered into The Annual is scored on it’s own merit. None of the pieces of work “compete” against any other piece of work. The judges look at your entry in isolation and will score this accordingly. Your final score and whether or not you are will receive a Gold, Silver or Bronze is down to your averaged score from each of the judges.

We have 2 judging scales reflecting the different types of work that can be entered into a category.

The scale for judging non-skills based categories is as follows:

• 10. An idea that changes how things are viewed/done forever
• 9. A visionary creative idea that changes behaviour
• 8. An idea and execution that enriches
• 7. An idea that inspires
• 6. An idea that has potential
• 5. I understand what they are looking to do
• 4. No perceivable purpose
• 3. Pointless
• 2. No idea
• 1. Destructive

For “skills” based categories eg. Illustration, Photography, Production and Post Production the scale is as follows:

• 10. Flawless
• 9. Inspiring
• 8. Masterful
• 7. Professionally executed
• 6. Proficient
• 5. Barely passable
• 4. Lacking professional execution
• 3. Poorly executed
• 2. Amateurish
• 1. Awful

Judges Feedback

It has always been an important part of the creative sector that feedback is given to help those in the industry to grow. We have fully embraced this concept and at the end of the process and after the Annual Launch Party we collate all of the comments left by judges and send out individual pieces of constructive feedback to all entrants. It is our way of giving back to those who have taken the time to be a part of our awards.

Individual v Company Entries

Companies can enter into every category on offer except for Art.

Individual entries DO NOT compete with company entries. Awards in this category are given to a specific person and they should be mostly done by an individual.

Individuals can enter into: 3D, Animation, Application, Art, Artificial Intelligence, Authored, Branding, Copywriting, The Cutting Room Floor, Film, Film Craft, Graphic, Illustration, Low Budget, Music, Photography, Print, Product, Rebel, Social, Social Good, Sound Design, Spatial Design, Typography, Wave (Innovation) and Web.

Winners

At the end of the judging process, we award 4 types of winners. With an average score of more than 7 awarded Bronze, 8 and above Silver, 9 and above a Gold. If any piece of work receives a 9.5 or above then the winners will receive the Grand Prix (best in show).

Winner Benefits

All winning work is included in the winners trophy hardback Annuals as well the 5,000 softcover versions that are distributed globally to brands and agencies. All Shortlisted entrants are also listed in each Annual.

A free three-month free Pro Account is given to all shortlisted entrants on Creativepool (this excludes those who have used their Pro Account for a discount or free entries, as well as entrants who have only submitted work in a free category).

Winners receive an exclusive Blue (for our Grand Prix winners) Gold, Silver, Bronze, or this year’s coloured (People’s Choice) edition of The Annual, customised with their name and award category on the cover. A winner’s badge is added to their Creativepool profile, increasing visibility in search results and improving their overall ranking score. Each winning piece of work is also showcased in both the digital and physical versions of The Annual.

Shortlisted entrants also receive a shortlisted badge, are listed as having been shortlisted in The Annual, and appear on the official shortlist page.