ASME Awards 2025 finalists announced. Read the press release here.
ASME Awards 2025 winners announced. Read the press release here.

Established in 2019, the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration honor magazines and websites for individual examples of visual excellence. The awards also recognize the unique importance of design, photography and illustration to the practice of magazine journalism and celebrate the visual heritage of magazines and websites.

The ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration now include four categories for print and digital magazine covers. The Best Social Media category has been discontinued; social media may instead be entered in categories 1 to 8. The Best Still Illustrations and Best Animated Illustrations categories have been consolidated into one category.

For the National Magazine Awards for Design and Photography, which honor magazines and websites for overall excellence, visit nationalmagazineawards.org.

WHO CAN ENTER | All consumer and business magazines and websites edited and published in the United States are invited to enter the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration. Other creators and publishers of magazine-like content, including newspapers and newsletters, are also eligible. Marketing and promotional magazines and websites are not eligible. No entry may be submitted without the approval of the editors of the publication in which the work appeared. The administrators of the awards reserve the right to determine if a media organization qualifies for entry.

Entries are subject to the following conditions:

1. Print content must be dated 2025. Entries consisting of one example of work may include content dated December 2025/January 2026 or an equivalent, such as Fall 2025/Winter 2026 (content dated December 2024/January 2025 or an equivalent is not eligible). Entries consisting of two or more examples of work may include one example dated January 2026 or an equivalent, such as Winter 2026.

2. Digital content must have been posted in 2025. Screenshots may be requested to verify publication dates.

3. Any use of artificial intelligence in the creation of an entry must be described in the entry statement accompanying each submission.

4. No entry can duplicate an entry in another category. No example of work may be entered in more than one category except as part of an entry in another category.

5. Content entered in the National Magazine Awards may also be entered in the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration.

6. Entries may include content from special-interest and newsstand-only publications.

7. Excerpts from previously published fiction and nonfiction books are not eligible except as part of an entry.

8. No magazine or website will be nominated more than once in any category except as the partner of another publication.

9. Entries found to be in violation of commonly accepted editorial standards, including the ASME Guidelines for Editors and Publishers, may be disqualified at any time.

10. The administrators of the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration may at their own discretion extend the deadline for entry in any category.

How Finalists and Winners Are Chosen Five finalists, including a winner, are traditionally selected in each category by a panel of judges chosen by the administrators of the awards in consultation with the members of the ASME Board of Directors. For information about the work of the judges and the role of the ASME Board of Directors in the selection of finalists and winners, see the “About” page at asmeawards.org. Awards may be withheld in any category in which the entries fall below the standard of excellence set by the ASME Board of Directors or in which the number of entries is deemed insufficient by the administrators of the awards.

PRINT AND DIGITAL CATEGORIES 1 — 8
Rules and Eligibility: Publications edited by ASME members may submit four entries in each of these categories. Nonmembers may submit two entries in each category. Depending on the category, entries may be print only, digital only or multiplatform, combining print and digital content. For deadlines, fees and instructions, click here.

WHAT TO SUBMIT | For print-only entries: a PDF of each example of work, including complete print issues (photographs and illustrations submitted individually or as part of an editorial package should be shown in context). For digital-only entries: clearly labeled links to each example of work. For multiplatform entries: a PDF of each example of print work, including complete print issues, and clearly labeled links to each example of digital work (photographs and illustrations from print publications should be shown in context).

Judging Criteria: Judges will evaluate entries in categories 1 to 8 based on the achievement of visual excellence as demonstrated by the quality and consistency of the content submitted; the ambition, resourcefulness and skill of art and photography staff and contributors; and the use of design, photography and illustration to fulfill the editorial mission of the publication. Digital-only and multiplatform entries may also be judged based on functional excellence and user accessibility. Special weight will be given to creative and technical innovation.

1 BEST NEWS AND INFORMATION DESIGN
This category honors the art direction of stories or packages, including work created for social-media platforms, covering topics such as politics, business, science, technology, society and culture.

2 BEST ENTERTAINMENT AND CELEBRITY DESIGN
This category honors the art direction of stories or packages, including work created for social-media platforms, covering topics such as popular culture and professional sports as well as entertainment and celebrity news.

3 BEST SERVICE AND LIFESTYLE DESIGN
This category honors the art direction of stories or packages, including work created for social-media platforms, covering topics such as fashion, food, travel, design, health, parenting, personal finance and active sports.

Entries in categories 1 to 3 consist of one or as many as three examples of work. An entry may include an article, a series of as many as three related articles or a series of no more than 10 related social-media posts; a clearly branded editorial package; a website as represented by as many as 10 links; or a complete print issue. A related magazine cover may be submitted in support of an entry.

4 BEST NEWS AND DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
This category honors the visual coverage of topics such as politics, business, science, technology, society and culture as well as news events and news makers.

5 BEST ENTERTAINMENT AND CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHY
This category honors the visual coverage of topics such as popular culture and professional sports, including celebrity portraiture.

6 BEST SERVICE AND LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY
This category honors the visual coverage of topics such as fashion, food, travel, design, health, parenting, personal finance and active sports.

Entries in categories 4 to 6 consist of one or as many as three examples of work. An entry may include one or as many as three photographs or photo illustrations; an article, a series of as many as three related articles or a series of no more than 10 related social-media posts; or a clearly branded editorial package. Entries may include work by more than one photographer. A related magazine cover may be submitted in support of an entry.

7 BEST STILL AND ANIMATED ILLUSTRATIONS
This category honors images published in print or on a digital platform.

8 BEST ILLUSTRATED STORIES
This category honors visual narrative published in print or on a digital platform.

Entries in categories 7 and 8 consist of one or as many as three examples of work. An entry may include one or as many as three related illustrations or articles. Entries may include work by more than one illustrator or writer. A related magazine cover may be submitted in support of an entry.

MAGAZINE COVER CATEGORIES 9 — 12
Rules and Eligibility: Publications edited by ASME members may submit four entries in each of these categories. Nonmembers may submit two entries in each category. Entries may be print only, digital only or multiplatform, combining print and digital content. For deadlines, fees and instructions, click here.

WHAT TO SUBMIT | For print-only entries: a JPEG of the cover (barcodes should be removed). For digital-only entries: a JPEG, GIF or MP4 of the work. For multiplatform entries: a JPEG of the print cover (barcodes should be removed) and a JPEG, GIF or MP4 of the digital work.

Judging Criteria: Judges will evaluate entries in categories 9 to 12 based on the achievement of editorial and visual excellence as demonstrated by the quality of the cover image, editorial copy and art direction as well as the timeliness and relevance of the work. Digital-only and multiplatform entries may also be judged based on functional excellence and user accessibility.

The ASME Award for Best Magazine Covers honors print and digital work, including home pages and landing pages. Print- and digital-only entries consist of one example of work. Multiplatform entries consist of one print and one digital example of work. An entry may consist of a gatefold cover or split covers. Conceptual photographs and illustrated covers may be entered in any category.

The ASME Award for Best Magazine Covers is presented in the following four categories:

9 BEST NEWS AND INFORMATION COVERS
Honors print and digital covers on topics including but not limited to politics, business, science, technology, society and culture

10 BEST ENTERTAINMENT AND CELEBRITY COVERS
Honors print and digital covers on topics including but not limited to popular culture and professional sports

11 BEST SERVICE AND LIFESTYLE COVERS
Honors print and digital covers on topics including but not limited to fashion, food, travel, design, health, parenting, personal finance and active sports

12 BEST INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE COVERS
Honors print and digital covers of publications serving highly defined reader communities, including city and regional titles, as well as the covers of magazines and websites on topics including but not limited to literature, science, politics, media and the arts. Independent magazines and websites may also enter categories 9 to 11.

ASME READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
With the introduction of the ASME Awards for Best Magazine Covers, the ASME Best Cover Contest has been discontinued, but the ASME Readers’ Choice Awards, in which media consumers choose the best covers, will continue to be conducted on social media. Every ASME Award for Best Magazine Covers entry will be posted on Instagram in March 2026. The 10 covers receiving the most likes will be deemed to be the finalists. The cover receiving the most likes will be deemed the winner. Each finalist will receive a certificate of recognition. The winner will receive an award displaying the winning image.

View the 2025 Winners and Finalists Gallery

Download the 2026 Call for Entries

Create an Account | Submit an Entry

For instructions, fees and an explanation of the deadlines, click here