Terms and Conditions – International Excellence Awards 2025 (IEA)

Welcome to the official website of the International Excellence Awards 2025 (hereinafter “IEA”). These Terms and Conditions govern your access to, and use of, the IEA website and all related services. By visiting the site, registering, or submitting a project, you agree to comply fully with these Terms.

1. Registration and Project Submission

1.1 Participants register for the IEA by completing the online registration form and paying the entry fee via Stripe or PayPal (no user account is required).

1.2 After payment, a registration key is emailed to you; this key is required to unlock the project‑submission form.

1.3 If you lose the key, you may restore it with the email address used during registration.

1.4 We collect only the data necessary to administer the competition: full name, email, billing address, company name and tax number (if applicable), project title, project status (built / concept), and selected categories.

1.5 Names and email addresses are never published.

1.6 Each key allows a single project upload. Please ensure that all files and information are final prior to submission.

2. Eligibility

2.1 Projects must not be more than seven years old on the date of registration.

2.2 Projects that competed in previous editions (including winning entries) may enter again.

2.3 Entrants must be 18 years or older, or companies with a valid tax number. Invoices are issued exactly as the details supplied and cannot be changed after submission.

3. Payments and Refunds

3.1 Entry fees are payable at registration and are non‑refundable.

3.2 Payments are processed exclusively through Stripe and PayPal.

3.3 Fees include 23 % VAT for private individuals. Companies providing a valid VAT number are invoiced under the reverse‑charge mechanism (total fee remains unchanged).

4. Entry Deadlines and Fees

*Current fees are displayed on the registration page. Deadlines close at 12:00 PM (UTC +2) the day after each listed date to accommodate all time zones.

Students benefit from a reduced fee; any project registered under a student entry will compete exclusively in the dedicated Student Category.

5. Awards Schedule

• Registration Deadline: 20 June 2025
• Submission Deadline: 23 June 2025
• Winners Announcement: 25 July 2025
• Digital winner kits (certificate, banners, logos) are emailed the same day. If you appear on the winners page but have not received the kit, please check Spam and then contact us.

6. Evaluation & Jury Process

6.1 All entries undergo a technical review for compliance with format and content rules.

6.2 Qualified projects are presented on a secure judging platform.

6.3 Every juror scores each project individually on a 1 – 10 scale against three criteria:

• Innovation & Originality
• Design & Aesthetic Quality
• Functionality & Spatial Integration

6.4 A project’s final score is the arithmetic mean of all juror scores it receives.

6.5 Awards are conferred solely on the basis of that average:

Multiple projects can achieve the same level; there is no first‑place ranking and no limit on the number of winners per category.

6.6 The organisers may split a crowded category or transfer an entry to a more suitable one if it benefits the project and does not affect existing results.

7. Trophy Orders

7.1 Winners may order the signature Golden IEA Trophy within 30 days of the results announcement.

7.2 The current unit price (including worldwide shipping) is displayed on the order page. Production and shipment take 7 – 14 weeks.

7.3 All trophies are produced in one batch; orders placed after the deadline cannot be accommodated.

7.4 Recipients are responsible for customs formalities and duties in their country.

8. Rights and Intellectual Property

8.1 Entrants retain full copyright to their work.

8.2 By submitting, you grant the IEA a perpetual, non‑exclusive licence to publish and promote the material on IEA channels and those of its media partners.

8.3 You confirm that you hold the legal rights required to grant this licence.

9. Submission Guidelines

• Acceptable content: text, drawings, diagrams, photographs, renderings, collages, etc.
• Maximum 8 images, each ≤ 5 MB, minimum 1080 × 1080 px.
• Cover image must be square (1 : 1).
• Do not display names, logos, or other identifiers in imagery or text (unless intrinsic to the design itself, e.g., a branding project).
• Provide a concise English summary (≤ 3 000 characters).
• Entries breaching anonymity or content rules may be edited or disqualified at the organisers’ discretion.
• All material must be in English or accompanied by an accurate English translation.

10. Late‑Submission Policy

The submission form closes at 12:00 PM (UTC +2) on 23 June 2025. Late uploads may be declined. If a project is incomplete, the organisers may supplement it with publicly available materials; winners may later submit improved files.

11. Technical and Behavioural Restrictions

Entrants must not:

• Provide false or misleading information
• Abuse or spam the submission system
• Interfere with site functionality
• Scrape or extract data
• Contact jury members or attempt to influence judging (entries linked to such actions may be disqualified)

12. Jurisdiction and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by Polish law. Disputes will first be addressed amicably; if unresolved, they fall under the jurisdiction of the competent courts in Poland.

13. Modifications

The organisers may amend these Terms at any time. Continued use of the site after amendments constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

14. Contact

Digital Art Group sp. z o.o.
Rybitwy 22/318, 30‑722 Kraków, Poland
VAT ID: PL 677 244 99 38
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://designskill.org/

Thank you for participating in the International Excellence Awards 2025. We look forward to celebrating your creativity and vision on the global stage.