World Illustration Awards 2022 – Celebrating Great Illustration!

The World Illustration Awards showcase the great work being made by illustrators all over the world today. In 2022, we will focus on supporting creativity and connecting illustrators to their peers and the industry.
Entries to WIA2022 can be made until 14 February 2022 via the online form

Illustrators (including duos and collectives), commissioners, agents and tutors are invited to submit illustration created since 1 January 2021 into the World Illustration Awards 2022. There is no limit to the medium or format of the illustrations that you can enter, but you do need to select one of the 10 categories for each of your entries. You can enter as many projects as you like! The competition is open to illustrators over 18 years old. Current students and recent graduates are welcome to enter, as well as those without formal training.

Every entry is reviewed by an independent judge, who will use the following criteria to look for great illustration that is:

  • Technically excellent
  • Communicates its Idea or message brilliantly
  • Explores illustration as an artform

When you are thinking about what to enter, as well as considering these judging criteria, think about illustration that really sings – work with the spark that lifts it off the page or screen.

It may be that it has come from a personal passion, or challenged you technically – or been one of those surprise commissions that just works.

There is no right or wrong  – most illustrators will have at least one project that makes them sit up and think ‘Yes! That’s what I want my work to do’.  Usually, those are the projects to enter.

Why Enter

Being part of WIA offers a host of significant benefits and opportunities.

During the call for entries:

  • Selected entries will be featured on WIA and AOI social media platforms. These are chosen to represent the breadth and diversity of illustration entered into the competition.
  • *NEW* Prospective entrants are invited to join us for a free, interactive webinar on how to enter on 25 January 2022 at midday – we will share a recording in due course.
  • All entrants will receive an email with exclusive resources for promoting their entries.

500 projects will be longlisted for the Awards:

  • All 500 longlisted projects will feature on the AOI website. Each project will be displayed on its own page.
  • Longlisted illustrators will receive a digital badge for their website and social media, and a resource for promoting their inclusion in the longlist.
  • *NEW* All longlisted illustrators will be invited to an exclusive AOI self-promotion masterclass focussing on getting the most out of being longlisted for WIA 2022.
  • Selected projects will be showcased across our social media platforms.
  • All longlisted projects will be judged at the shortlisting stage.

200 projects will be shortlisted for the Awards. Shortlisted illustrators will:

  • Be invited to an exclusive webinar on promoting their inclusion in the WIA2022 shortlist.
  • Receive a set of resources on self-promotion and creating content around their participation in WIA2022.
  • See their work featured in a printed full-colour catalogue, which is distributed to commissioners worldwide.
  • See their work featured in an Online Showcase on the AOI website.
  • Be invited to attend the online Awards Announcements in November 2022, a highlight of the illustration industry event calendar.
  • Be invited to attend one of a series of online meet-up events for WIA2022 shortlisted illustrators to give the opportunity to meet and connect.
  • Be offered an exclusive discount on AOI membership for one year.
  • Receive a digital badge for their website and social media.
  • Receive incredible exposure across our digital and real-world networks: the WIA is a well-known platform for illustrators to consolidate and expand their professional networks.

Check out the awards, how to enter, and more information here.

Maria Papaefstathiou

VISUAL DESIGNER since 1996 and blogger since 2010. Living in Athens, Greece. She has been focusing her research on poster design and particularly on social poster design and portrait design. Her main poster project is a series of posters celebrating great personalities of traditional and popular culture in Greece and Jamaica. These include actors, singers, musicians, poets etc. This is an ongoing project. “I believe that design is a powerful tool that we designers can use to spark enthusiasm, change mindsets and bring positive actions to our world and our culture”. FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF GRAPHICART-NEWS.COM BLOG. She carefully curates high-quality designs, illustrations, and art, from all over the world that will teach and provoke other designers. Many consider her blog to be an exceptional educational tool. CO-FOUNDER OF THE INTERNATIONAL REGGAE POSTER CONTEST which was launched on December 2011, partnering, the creative activist Michael Thompson aka Freestylee. (www.reggaepostercontest.com)