FIRST. AIM

1. AMADEUS Festival Vienna’s fifth International Design Contest, AMADEUS Festival International Design Competition 2025/2026 will award the best design of a poster promoting AMADEUS Festival Vienna for the year 2027. We welcome and value a variety of creative approaches and artistic points of view. The theme of this year’s competition is PRISMA.

2. AMADEUS Festival Vienna celebrates music, visual arts, performance, and cultural exchange. Rather than focusing solely on musical symbols, participants are encouraged to interpret the festival through the ideas of creativity, dialogue, summer, culture, movement, and the artistic spirit of arts & culture. The poster should evoke a welcoming and inspiring atmosphere that reflects the festival's international character and encourages audiences of all ages to participate (16+).

3. Submitted work must be original and unpublished. Work that has already been awarded or is pending resolution in other competitions, contests or calls will not be accepted. Participants also guarantee the authorship and originality of the submitted designs presented, as well as the absence of third party rights over them, and are responsible for any claims that may be made in this regard.

SECOND. ELIGIBILITY

1. Participants of any nationality from 16 years old onwards are eligible to enter.

2. Participants with any level of experience, whether it is amateur or professional, are eligible as long as their work abides by the stipulated regulations.

3. Submissions must be individual. Collaborative or collective works are not permitted. Each participant may present a maximum of one (1) design, with their own name connected to their work. Pseudonyms will not be accepted.

   
   

THIRD. REQUIREMENTS

1. To avoid shipping costs, the participants must submit their designs and all other requested information electronically through the following Google form:

https://forms.gle/jiyPvdR2zNWWYd7v5

FOURTH. DESIGN CRITERIA

The application period will officially open on 9th July, 2026 at 00:00 Austrian Time. The deadline will be on 9th October, 2026 until 23:59 Austrian Time. 

Posters must adhere to the following technical guidelines:

• The posters must be in PDF form. 

• The poster design must be adjusted to A1 size. 

• Size resolution: 84.1 x 59.4cm (7016 x 9963 pixels) 300 dpi 

• Color space: (CMYK and RGB) 

• Orientation: Vertical (portrait) only 
  

Visual & Aesthetic Guidelines:

• Colour Palette Direction: Preferred colours (not limited to) include gold, creams, soft blues, greens, terracotta, lavender, and other harmonious palettes that evoke a relaxed European Summer on the lush campus of the AMADEUS International School Vienna. Avoid predominantly black compositions, excessively dark imagery, and highly saturated neon colour schemes.

• Visual Language: Designers are encouraged to explore broader visual interpretations of the festival through themes such as light, movement, artistic expression, international exchange, dialogue between disciplines, community, Vienna's cultural atmosphere, gardens and parks, and summer. The use of generic stock imagery or overly literal symbols (such as isolated musical notes, treble clefs, or keyboards as the primary concept) is not encouraged unless incorporated into a broader original artistic vision.

• Tones: Elegant, refined, poetic, open, vibrant, inclusive, joyful.

The design must include: The date of the 2027 Festival:01-04.07.2027
The festival logo: The festival logo in the version that best suits will be included in the application form or can be found HERE.

Pdf files must be titled with the author's last name, first name and the title of the poster, following the format given below:
(LAST NAME_NAME_POSTERTITLE)

Participants who do not adhere to the guidelines above may be excluded from the competition.

The organization will protect the authorship of the works, guaranteeing the transparency of the deliberation process. If there are any questions about or incidents during the participation process, please reach out to the email address below: info@amadeusfestival.wien

FIFTH. JURY

The contest will have two types of juries:

PROFESSIONAL JURY: Submissions will be evaluated by a jury composed of individuals eminent in the fields of art, culture, music, and graphic design. Its composition will be communicated once the submission deadline closes. The jury will be responsible for interpreting the rules of the competition and selecting a winning design.

To ensure that the winning poster best represents the identity and vision of the festival, designs will be assessed through the panel of the professional jury based on the  following EVALUATION CRITERIA:

• Originality and creativity

• Visual impact

• Alignment with the festival identity

• Clarity of communication

• Suitability across print and digital media

• Technical quality

The Professional Judging Process will follow a three-stage system:

• Stage 1 (Longlist to Shortlist): An initial review will be conducted to ensure submissions fulfill all base criteria and respect core graphic poster design principles (element positioning, space, line, etc.) without focusing heavily on minor details.

• Stage 2 (Shortlist to Individual Selection): Each member of the professional jury will review the remaining shortlist independently and select one preferred design.

• Stage 3 (Collective Discussion): The final winning design will be determined through a collaborative team discussion surrounding the individually selected pieces.

The prize may be declared void if the number of submitted designs is insufficient, or if the jury determines that no designs meet the criteria. The decision of the jury is final.

PUBLIC JURY: After the deadline, the works will be publicly exhibited (with full name and country of origin) in the social networks of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna. The works with more "likes" and "positive" interactions will receive a special mention from the organisation. AMADEUS Festival Vienna is not responsible for the possible censorship of the participating works on social media networks (such as Facebook or Instagram) during the exhibition and public assessment process. Designs that due to their content may be considered to violate current legislation will not be published.

SIXTH. AWARDS

1. According to the evaluation made by the Professional Jury, the best design will be selected, which will be awarded with the amount of 450 euros and diploma. The winning design of the Professional Jury will be used for the promotion of the new edition of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna. The name of the winning person will be mentioned in the printed and digital material in which the original design appears. The winner will also receive a double ticket to attend the Opening Gala of the new edition of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna.

2. The Design that popularly achieves the greatest impact on social networks, will be endowed with 50 euros and diploma, proudly sponsored by La Vienisima. The winner of the Public Jury will receive a double ticket to attend the Opening Gala of the new edition of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna. 

3. In addition, La Vienisima will present a special award of 250 euros to the artwork that best aligns with its core vision and mission: promoting diversity, equality, and activism.

4. The organisation will award three special mentions with a diploma.

5. In no case may the prize be awarded to two ex aequo works, that is to say, there will be no possibility of a draw and to award the prize to two contestants because it is estimated that the two works are of equal quality.

6. The prize amounts will be paid by bank transfer. The diplomas will be sent in digital format. Participants who receive awards will be notified through the email address they provided.

7. Winners must respond to the email to confirm their acceptance of the prize. If no response is received within five calendar days of the email being sent, or if the email address is false or not provided, the prizes will automatically transfer to the next design selected by the juries.

SEVENTH. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. By submitting to this competition, participants  authorize the reproduction, distribution and public communication of the images presented, as well as their adaptation to the necessary support for the purpose of their communication. These designs will become part of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna archive for at least 2 years. With the exception of the winning design selected by  the Professional Jury, for the rest of the designs this authorization does not imply exclusivity towards the AMADEUS Festival Vienna. In the event that the AMADEUS Festival Vienna uses any image in acts of public communication, it will always mention the name of its author.

2. The authors selected according to the previous paragraph authorize and assign to the AMADEUS Festival Vienna the necessary rights to disseminate the images through their social networks and other platforms. The authors will not accrue any financial compensation for this concept.

3. AMADEUS Festival Vienna will exclusively obtain the rights for the use, reproduction, distribution, public communication and adaptation to the necessary supports of the winning design of the Professional Jury.

EIGHTH. JUDGMENT OF THE JURY

1. AMADEUS Festival Vienna will publish the resolution of the awards within a maximum period of 15 calendar days from the end of the participation period. It will be published through its social networks.

2. The awarding of the prize will also be communicated personally to the winners at the email they have designated for this purpose.
   

NINTH. ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS

1. The presentation to this contest does not generate any right to its participants until the prize has been awarded by resolution of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna

2. AMADEUS Festival Vienna reserves the right to declare the prize deserted in any case.

3. Participation in this contest, by sending the documentation to aspire for the awards, implies knowledge and acceptance of the RULES of this competition; the acceptance of the decisions of the AMADEUS Festival Vienna regarding it; the author's commitment to not withdraw the work before the jury's decision is known accept the prize if it was granted, or reintegrate it if the requirements established in the call are not fulfilled, as well as provide  all necessary documents to abide by the regulations.

TENTH. DATA PROTECTION

1. In accordance with the provisions of the European Union regulations on data protection, the AMADEUS Festival Vienna informs the participants, and they give their consent for the personal data they provide, to be incorporated into a file owned by each of them with the following purposes: I) Their participation in the contest in accordance with its terms and conditions; II) The management and delivery of the prize in the event that it was awarded.

2. On the other hand, the participants authorize with their participation in this contest, that the AMADEUS Festival Vienna may publish their name, surname and image on its social networks and in any other medium, for informational purposes

3. Participants will respond, in any case, that the personal data provided to the AMADEUS Festival Vienna on the occasion of this promotion are truthful and they are responsible for communicating to the organization any changes in them.

4. Participants may at any time oppose the processing of their data for sending communications, news and activities of AMADEUS Festival Vienna. They may also record the rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition by contacting AMADEUS Festival through the email: info@amadeusfestival.wien, with the reference "Data protection."
   

ELEVENTH. RIGHT OF EXCLUSION

AMADEUS Festival Vienna reserves the right to discard and exclude any participant from the contest, if any of the following circumstances occur:

When they sign up with fake data. For this purpose, participants may be required to verify their data.

When in any way, fraudulent or artificial, manipulate their participation in the contest.

When the jury considers that the work does not fit the theme convened; contain elements that in any way can be considered contrary to fundamental rights and public liberties; induce, incite or promote hatred, criminal, denigrative, discriminatory, violent actions, in general, contrary to law or public order; are protected by any intellectual or industrial property rights belonging to third parties, without the participant having previously obtained the necessary authorisation from their owners; violate the right to honour, personal and family privacy or the image of people; they may constitute advertising or that incorporate elements that may damage the normal functioning of the network, system or computer equipment.

When these RULES are breached in any way.

TWELFTH. DISCLAIMER

AMADEUS Festival Vienna is exempted, not being responsible for the non-compliance of the participants in the field of intellectual, industrial or image property, as well as any responsibility that could derive from the breach or defective fulfillment by the participants in the contest of the present RULES.