Working Class Awards

A new generation in the design industry’s trade awards

The brand new “Working Class Awards” created by Monsieur Cabinet (Dave) and Tigz, both emerging talents in the field of illustration, aims to be “the people’s people guide to the year in visual communication” which includes, though is not limited to: Advertising, Graphic Design, Digital Media & Illustration.

Unlike the majority of the design trade awards where the entry fee often commands high price tags, typically in the region of £75-£95 per submission, entry into the aptly titled “Working Class Awards” is completely free.

The pair decided to put their Twitter ranting to good use and launch their own awards scheme to promote free entry into competitions within the creative industry, without that invisible yet ominous elitism that often floats around such events:

“The Working Class Awards is a self-acclaimed NAFF-TA for the art industry, with the aim of giving creatives a chance to get themselves seen in the industry without having to pay the ridiculous fees associated to get there. Being young creatives ourselves, we can’t offer you an internship or some other fancy prize although there will be a coveted trophy and, of course, the chance to get your work seen by some of the most well-respected creatives in the industry.” - Monsieur Cabinet & Tigz

Monsieur Cabinet (Dave) and Tigz hope that in creating a new genre of award scheme, it will encourage more designers and illustrators to take part and nominate their work or even that of someone else.

“We can focus on the underdogs of creativity rather than the corporate image” - Tigz

And with the money you didn’t invest in playing with the corporate big boys, you can treat yourself to something that will make a real impact on your daily creativity and subsequently your income… here’s a few examples of what you could buy instead of one standard trade award entry: 1 year’s subscription to your favourite industry magazine, 500 self promotional digital print flyers or an Apple Magic Mouse and membership to your local gallery.

“We had over 1,500 hits on the website within the first 12 hours of going live and have even had people falling over their own feet asking to be judges, which is AWESOME! And we’ve been RT’d by the likes of Creative Review Magazine and Digital Arts Magazine.” - Monsieur Cabinet

Full details for submissions including who, how, what, where and when can all be found over on the Working Class Awards website. Please check it out and show your support for this proactive approach to what can ironically be an archaic and elitist area of the industry, an inspirational act we can all draw from. We salute you!

Closing date for submissions: Wednesday 31st March 2010.