Chaumont Student Competition 2027: "Borders, Space and Limit"

The Chaumont Student Competition is part of the Biennale internationale de design graphique, the international graphic design biennial held in Chaumont, France. Organised by Le Signe, France's national centre for graphic design, the 28th edition asks graphic design students to respond to the theme "Borders, space and limit". Entry is free, and three winners receive €500 each. Projects must be sent by 9 March 2027, 11:59 p.m., and selected work is exhibited at the Biennial from 29 May 2027.

Chaumont has hosted an international poster festival since 1990, and Le Signe opened there in 2016 as a centre for graphic design.

The Theme: "Borders, Space and Limit"

The brief explores borders as lines that both separate and join: natural boundaries such as ridgelines, coasts and rivers; artificial borders drawn after conflicts; and borders inside the Schengen area that people cross without noticing. It also points to the idea of the "in-between", the space between opposites such as past and future, real and virtual, local and global, or war and peace. Students are invited to occupy that in-between space in a free response.

Formats

Any form of interpretation is accepted: a poster, an animation, a letter or alphabet, a sound, a manifesto, an installation or a performance.

Who Can Enter the Chaumont Student Competition?

Graphic design students at public or private art schools, universities and technical or vocational schools, registered for the 2026–2027 academic year, from any country. They can team up with students from other disciplines and enter as a group. Each student can submit only one proposal, created during the 2026–2027 academic year.

Fees

There is no entry fee. If you send a physical object from outside the EU, mark it "printed matter, no commercial value" so that Le Signe does not have to pay customs duties.

What to Submit

• The object: sent by email if digital, or by post or courier with photos or documentation if physical
• A presentation PDF in English, or in French and English: title, names, a note of intent of up to 2,000 characters, and photos and credits
• Student ID cards for every participant
• The registration form, linked from the competition page

Digital files go by email to the address in the rules, with each attachment named as instructed. Projects are not returned.

Prizes

A professional jury awards three prizes, each a diploma and €500. Selected projects are exhibited during the Biennial.

Ideas for Approaching the Theme

The brief is broad and invites research. You could start from a real border near you, a river, a coastline or a line on a map, and study its history and materials. You could design an alphabet that changes as it crosses a line, a poster series about the space between two languages, or a sound piece recorded on both sides of a frontier. Whatever form you choose, the note of intent should explain your thinking clearly in up to 2,000 characters.

Before You Send

Name every attachment as the rules instruct, send the PDF and student cards by email, and wait for the acknowledgement of receipt within three working days.

Things to Consider

• Free to enter.
• One proposal per student or group.
• Students only, enrolled in 2026–2027.
• Deadline: 9 March 2027.

Enter the Competition

Ready to explore borders and the space in between?

Enter the Chaumont Student Competition

The brief and rules, in French and English, are on the Le Signe website.

Looking for more open calls? Browse all competitions and opportunities on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: November 3, 2026