To enter Pub Comp, please read the following information carefully, and make sure your submissions are postmarked no later than March 15, 2010. Good luck!

Competition Categories
A. Exhibition catalogues:  Any substantial, nonperiodical publication, in any format, designed to accompany a specific exhibit. (Please note: Pamphlets, brochures, CD-ROM/DVD packaging, etc. should be entered as  “supplementary materials.” See category “N.”)

B. Posters

C. Annual reports

D. Books:  Any nonperiodical publication other than an exhibition catalogue: guides, monographs, histories, scholarly works, etc.

E. Newsletters: Any publication issued at regular intervals, primarily informational in content, published in a newspaper or conventional newsletter format. Submit only one copy.

F. Magazines:  Any publication issued at regular intervals, primarily informational/analytical in content, published in a magazine format. Submit only one copy.

G. Scholarly journals:  Any publication issued at regular intervals that is primarily academic in content. Submit only one issue.

H. Calendars:  Any calendar (e.g., wall, desk, pocket) intended for sale or distribution to the public. (Please note: There is a separate category for calendars of events. See category “L.”)

I. Invitations to events

J. Press kits:  Promotional materials about your institution, created for a specific exhibit/event. Submit a complete kit as it would be given to a member of the press.

K. Fundraising/membership materials:  Created for a fundraising campaign or a membership promotion. Submit a complete package.

L. Calendars of events:  Any regular listing of events: posters, informational brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, etc. (Please note: There is a separate category for calendars. See category “H.”)

M. Educational resources:  Printed materials intended to help educators teach about artifacts on display and/or the topic an exhibit discusses. For example: teaching kits or guides, children’s activity books or kits, material promoting or explaining educational programs.

N. Supplementary materials: Any other materials printed for distribution that inform the public about your institution and/or its exhibits. For example: maps, general information brochures, gift items featuring your collection or an exhibit, CD-ROM/DVD packaging. (Please note: T-shirts, buttons, banners, tote bags, etc. are not eligible.)

O. Marketing/public relations materials:  Newspaper or magazine advertisements, media campaigns, etc. (Please note: This category is for publications only. T-shirts, buttons, banners, billboards, etc. are not eligible.)

Judges will move any inappropriately designated entry to the correct category.

All entries are automatically eligible for the Frances Smyth-Ravenel Prize for Excellence in Publication Design, which recognizes the “best of show.”

About the Competition
For more than 25 years, AAM has recognized and encouraged excellence in the graphic design of museum publications through the Museum Publications Design Competition, the only national, juried competition of its kind. Winners are chosen for their overall design excellence, creativity and ability to express an institution’s personality, mission or special features. The panel of judges includes graphic designers, museum professionals and publishers.

Judges will award the Frances Smyth-Ravenel Prize for Excellence in Publication Design to the best publication in the competition. The judges have sole authority over all decisions, including whether and how to award first and second prizes and awards of merit in each of the 15 categories.
Competing institutions are divided according to budget: museums with annual operating budgets under $750,000 and those with budgets of $750,000 or more.

Eligibility
Any noncommercial cultural institution offering exhibits to the public may participate. Commercial designers, galleries and publishing interests are not eligible. Entrants need not be AAM members. A publication is defined as material reproduced in printed form for distribution to the public. T-shirts, buttons, banners, tote bags and the like are not eligible. Only the finished product is submissible (no mock-ups or proofs). Slides, transparencies and photographs of entries are not eligible. Entries must have been published between Jan.1 and Dec. 31, 2009. 

No exceptions allowed.

Entry Fees
The fee for institutional members of AAM is $50 per entry; the fee for all other entrants is $75 per entry. You must pay a fee for each publication you enter.

You may only submit a series of materials (e.g., a multi-volume set of books) as one entry if each individual component has clear and recognizable graphic similarities to the others and cannot be accurately judged alone. Otherwise, you must either enter just one component of the series or enter multiple components as separate entries. (For example, you cannot enter a book, poster and invitation for the same exhibition as a series. However, you can enter three invitations with the same design but different information as a series.)

If you submit multiple entries, prepare one check for the entire amount.

Please note: Only institutional members of AAM qualify for the discounted rate. Individual members do not qualify for the reduced rate.

Competition Policies
AAM is not responsible for lost or damaged entries. All entries become the property of AAM and will not be returned. Entrants agree to allow AAM to use photographs of winning entries, at no charge, as illustrations in AAM publications. Entrants warrant that they have the right to allow such use by AAM. Institutions will be credited for any published use of winning entries.

For more information on rules and procedures, call 202-289-1818 and ask for Pub Comp information or e-mail your questions to pubcomp@aam-us.org. For your institution’s membership status or number, look at the top of your Museum mailing label or call 202-289-1818.

How to Apply
Please follow these directions carefully.
Improperly prepared entries may be disqualified.

Step 1: Prepare your entries
Either photocopy the forms on the back page or go to the AAM website (www.aam-us.org/pubcomp) and print as many blank entry forms as you require. You will need to affix one completed entry form to each submission.
For each item you enter:
    1. Fill out an entry form.
    2. Remove any cellophane or similar protective wrapping from your entry.
    3. Securely affix the completed entry form to the back of the corresponding entry using either staples or tape. Do not use paper clips.

Step 2: Complete the payment form
The payment form is available on the back page and at www.aam-us.org/pubcomp. Please pay careful attention to instructions regarding membership status. Use a credit card or prepare a check for the total amount of your entry fee(s) made payable to AAM Museum Publications Design Competition.

Step 3: Mail your complete submission
Send the entries with forms attached, your check and completed payment form, postmarked on or before March 15, 2010, to:
    2009 AAM Museum Publications Design Competition
    American Association of Museums
    1575 Eye St. N.W., Suite 400
    Washington, DC 20005

Please note: Incomplete submissions may be disqualified from the competition. A complete submission requires properly prepared entries with affixed entry forms, payment and a completed payment form, sent to the street address.

Awards
Only winners will be notified. A feature about this year’s competition will be printed in the September/October 2009 issue of Museum, and a complete list of winners will appear on www.aam-us.org. Winners will receive by mail two award certificates for each winning entry. First-prize and second-prize winners will be displayed in the MuseumExpo™ at the AAM Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 23–26, 2010.

2009 Winners
 
Budgets below $750,000

Budgets above $750,000

2008 Winners & Judges' Comments

Download the list of 2008 PubComp Winners & Judges' Comments 

2007 Winners

Frances Smyth-Ravenel Prize
Budgets above $750,000
Budgets below $750,000

2006 Winners

Budgets Below $500,000
Budgets Above $500,000

For further information, please contact Susan Breitkopf at sbreitkopf@aam-us.org.