Creative Best is the annual awards competition held by the Columbus Society of Communicating Arts. Each year, our organization gathers the outstanding works submitted by professionals and students alike in Central Ohio. Creative Best is open to CSCA members and non-members living within 75 miles of Columbus. Students enrolled in a school or university located in the state of Ohio may enter their student work completed within an accredited arts, design, business, or communication curriculum. Winners will be honored at our annual awards show on November 16th.

Submissions for all categories in the Creative Best 2023 show will begin on August 10th and continue up until 11:59 PM on September 21st. Check out our full 2023 submission guide.

You may also submit work in person on September 20th and 21st at our designated drop-off locations. See cscarts.org/creative-best for more info on submitting in person.

Online submissions will be accepted for all categories except PL. Work in AN, IN, MD, SM, VL, VS, SDMI, STIN, and STV categories will be viewed digitally and should follow digital or video submission guidelines.

• Digital work meant to be viewed digitally (websites, apps, banner ads, etc.) should be submitted as a link to live content when possible. When not possible, please submit as locally running prototypes or PDFs at work’s intended size.
• Submitted videos (or series of 3 or fewer related videos submitted together as a single entry) should total no more than 3 minutes in length. Please submit in .mov or .mp4 format. 
• Other work will be printed at tabloid size for judging and is limited to three total pages for most categories, and five total pages for CA, ID, STC, and STID. If you would like additional pages printed, please specify in the submission form. Submitted work not at tabloid sizes will be scaled to tabloid size and printed centered on page. Online entries are limited to 1gb total size per entry.

Please note: these guidelines are to limit the number of pages CSCA must print from online entries. If you feel your submission would be better presented on more pages, we encourage you to submit it in person.

If you choose to submit in person, please fill out an online form as well, for our records. 

For any questions and more info on accepted formats email info@cscarts.org.