Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE), an organisation bringing together professional associations from Europe’s creative industry, has announced the finalists for the 35th edition of the ADCE Awards, a competition in design and advertising. The selected entries include projects by regional agencies 404 and Studio Tumpić/Prenc, both in the Design discipline.
Agency 404 reached the final in the Graphic Communication category with 60th Zagreb Salon of Visual Arts, created for the Croatian Association of Fine Artists (HDLU) and the KUĆĆA curatorial collective. We covered the development of the anniversary Salon’s visual identity in our Behind the Winning Idea series, in the article “The Salon That Left the Gallery and Took Over the City”.
Studio Tumpić/Prenc is a finalist in the Local Insight category with Famìa: House of Local Products for Vero naše, with Etikgraf as the production partner. We also featured this project in the Behind the Winning Idea series, through the story “Olive Oil with an Address in Rovinj by Famia”.
This year’s list comprises 304 finalists from 23 countries, selected from 801 entries submitted from 29 countries. More than 60 international jury members from 25 countries evaluated the work during October. Germany secured the most finalist placements, with 54, followed by Austria with 46, Spain with 30, Georgia with 29 and Slovakia with 23. Portugal and Switzerland have 15 finalists each, while Italy and Lithuania have 14 each.
The eligibility rules were expanded this year. For the first time, all work submitted to participating national competitions could also enter the European competition without having previously won an award at national level. The Client of the Year award has also been introduced and will be presented to the client whose projects achieve the highest overall success in this year’s competition.
Final judging will take place on November 17 and 18 in Barcelona. The jury will decide on the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, special recognitions and the Grand Prix, while the final round will once again be open to the public. Alongside the main awards, the competition presents four special recognitions: European Star for work reflecting European values, Genius Loci for creativity connected to a place’s identity and cultural heritage, Green Star for contributions to sustainability and environmental protection, and Equal Star for work that challenges discrimination and promotes inclusivity.
The awards ceremony on November 20 will conclude ADCE Creative Week, taking place from November 17 to 20 at DHub Barcelona under the theme Relationships before Ideas. The programme includes the Creative Leaders Summit, featuring 16 participants across 13 sessions, including Sir John Hegarty and Juliana Paracencio, as well as the AI Creative Challenge, whose local winner will have the opportunity to compete in the international final in New York.
