The global Art Directors Club, part of The One Club for Creativity, has announced a major update to its esteemed Paul Manship Medal for this year’s 105th ADC Annual Awards.
The Art Directors Club’s highest award accolade when originally founded in 1920 was the gold medallion created by legendary sculptor Paul Manship. Source: Supplied.
The Art Directors Club’s highest award accolade when originally founded in 1920 was the gold medallion created by legendary sculptor Paul Manship, renowned for his Prometheus statue, a lasting symbol of human ambition and imagination located in New York’s Rockefeller Center. The medallion award was replaced in the 1960s with today’s iconic ADC Cube.
Starting with this year’s recently launched ADC 105th Annual Awards, the Paul Manship Medal has been transformed into a new, enterable category to recognise a single designer, art director, writer, director, or other creative leader who best acts as a catalyst for change, demonstrates foresight and innovation, making a significant contribution over the past 12 months to two years.
“Paul Manship’s medal was more than The Art Directors Club first award,” said Brian Collins, Art Directors Club president, and co-founder of Collins, based in San Francisco and New York. “The medal became a statement: that the work we do can be both practical and profound. That commercial creativity, when done with care and conviction, can be the best of our culture, in itself. We’re proud to bring back the Paul Manship Medal to honor those whose work redefines our profession. Work that doesn’t follow the times, but helps set the direction of what’s to come.”
Nominees must submit a biography and portfolio of up to five projects created within the last 12 months to two years. Each project requires project media, a project description and an explanation of the nominee’s role in the creation of the work.
They must also provide a reply for the following:
In what ways has the nominee advanced the field of design or advertising over the past year, demonstrating a compelling vision for its future?
Considering Manship's legacy of excellence and craftsmanship, how does the nominee's body of work or career trajectory exemplify these qualities?
The award – consisting of the famed medallion embedded in an elegant, glass ADC Cube – is open to nominees or to individuals who wish to nominate themselves. It will be presented onstage at the ADC 105th Annual Awards ceremony during Creative Week in May 2026.
About ADC 105th Annual Awards
Entries can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period. Regular deadline is 23 January 2026, with extended deadline of 6 February 2026, and final deadline 20 February 2026. Jury Presidents and full juries will be announced shortly.
In addition to the Paul Manship Medal, other noteworthy changes for 2026 include the separation of Health & Wellness and Pharma into two distinct disciplines, and addition of four new categories for Film & Moving Image, Motion & Graphic Design, Experiential & Interactive, and Digital & Emerging Media within the Artificial Intelligence discipline.
A special tiered pricing structure makes it easier for smaller agencies, studios and freelancers to participate. Larger agencies and brands pay the standard entry fee; smaller shops get a discount on entries (amount varies by discipline), while freelancers and one-person shops are eligible for an even greater reduction in their entry fee.
