Ákos Polgárdi
Graphic Designer
SUBMACHINE
Founder
Hungarian Book Design Award
Hungary
Ákos Polgárdi (b. 1983) is a graphic designer/ typographer whose professional practice focuses primarily on the design of visual identities, signage & wayfinding, books, and exhibitions/public installations. He has worked independently since 2013, and in 2016 he co-founded the graphic design collective SUBMACHINE with Ági Rubik.
His works have received the Budapest Architectural Excellence Award (ELTE Memorial, with MM Csoport, 2015), the Hungarian Design Award (Reform500 installation, with Levente Szabó, 2017), and the István Molnár Prize (People of Petőfi Streets, 2025).
In 2022 he founded the Hungarian Book Design award, with the aim of annually collecting and showcasing the highest-quality designed and produced publications in Hungarian book publishing. In 2025, he founded the Kővésőörs letter-carving workshop, which is held annually at the Kővágóörs Creative Camp.
He is married and the father of two.
Jean-Michel Géridan
CEO
Le Signe, Centre National du Graphisme
Artistic Director
International Biennale of Graphic Design (Chaumont, France)
France
Born in 1977 in Reims, France, Jean-Michel Géridan is an art critic and a designer. He is the CEO of Le Signe, Centre national du graphisme, and he is the artistic director of the International biennale of graphic design. He is the author, to date, of 3 books dedicated to Open-Source technologies in Art and design, he is the producer of the magazine Le Signe Design.
Julia Kahl
CEO, Publisher, Editor — Graphic Designer
Slanted Publishers — Publishing, Design & Media House
Visiting Professor
Corporate Design and Typography at Mainz University of Applied Sciences
Germany
Julia Kahl is a communication designer, publisher, and editor based in Karlsruhe, Germany.
She is co-founder of Slanted Publishers, an independent design, publishing, and media house established in 2014 together with Lars Harmsen. As publisher, editor, and designer, she is closely involved in every stage of the creative process. Slanted Publishers produces Slanted Magazine, the online platform slanted.de, and a wide range of publications exploring typography, graphic design, and visual culture—distributed internationally and widely recognized within the global design community.
Driven by a passion for typography, editorial design, and print culture, Julia Kahl works with her team to shape projects from the first idea to the finished publication. She regularly lectures, speaks at international conferences, and serves as a juror for design competitions worldwide. She is currently Visiting Professor for Typography and Corporate Design at Mainz University of Applied Sciences.
James Gilchrist
Creative Director & Co-Founder
Warriors Studio, INTL, International Creative Awards
Scotland
James Gilchrist is the co-founder and creative director of Warriors Studio, INTL and International Creative Awards:
At Warriors we build brands, lead campaigns and run social, cultural and commercial projects with ambitious clients and partners. Education is a key part of our practice. We’re interested in both institutional and alternative learning. Offering workshops, creating programmes and giving lectures allows us to continue evolving our teaching practice and questioning how education can adapt as the world changes.
Our passion is also channelled into INTL, an organisation we formed to run events, competitions, workshops and a global awards programme centred around design and visual culture for the creative community.
Forget what you know about awards. After years of viewing awards programmes critically we’ve rewritten the rules. We launched International Creative Awards an awards programme for creatives by creatives which prioritises authenticity, raw ideas and originality. It’s more accessible and turns the ‘competition’ model of other awards programmes - you are not in competition with anybody and there is no gold, silver or bronze.
Marios S. Linakis
Founder / Chairman
Sputnik Design Team and Significa
Co-Founder
DesignMasters
Greece
Marios is a veteran designer, tutor, public speaker and founder of creative agencies Signfica and Sputnik Design Team serving international brands in Europe and the MENA region from offices in Athens, Cairo and Riyadh.
He studied Graphic design at Brighton University under Alan Kitching and Master of Arts at Central St. Martin’s College of Art & Design, UAL under Andrew Haslam and Jon Warwicker of design group, Tomato. In 1998, he and his brother cofounded a small digital design agency pioneering digital design in Greece, which grew into international agencies Signfica and Sputnik Design Team. Since the early 00s Marios has lectured at conferences at home and abroad including at Festival of Eastern European Design, Behance Portfolio reviews, Microsoft Devdays, Design Athens, Digitized, GGDA Lectures and National Athens University Career days. He has served as jury member at Cannes Young Lions, ED Awards, Epica, Greek Communication Awards (ΕΒGΕ) and Ermis Awards, and has taught BA (Hons) graphic design and typography at Athens Design colleges.
He has shown work at EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art, Benaki museum, Étapes magazine, The Greek Foundation, AIGA Eye on Design, and Typo 365 and in 2022 teamed up with publisher Demetrios Fakinos of +Design magazine to cofound Design Masters: a platform offering masterclasses by decorated Greek creatives. Marios is a recipient of D&AD Pencils, European Design Awards, German Design awards, Red Dot awards, Awwwards, and his agencies are members of EDEE (Hellenic Association of Communications Agencies).
Paul Voggenreiter
Graphic Designer
Germany / Bulgaria
Listen to the conversation with the jury, reflecting on the selection process and the questions behind the awards.
