Each year the OU Design Group showcases the work of students from across our design courses in the Annual Show.
You can find all past Annual Shows here: https://www.oudesignshow.org/
Key dates for 2026
Submission deadline: 21 June 2026
Online award ceremony and event launch: 18:00, 14 July 2026
Overview
The Design Group is excited to showcase projects from OU students across all design modules – U101, T190, T217, T218, & T317 – through an annual design show and competition. As a student on these modules, you are invited – and strongly encouraged – to submit a maximum of two entries showcasing designs completed during your study this year. This is an excellent opportunity to share your work with others, show off your project on a public website and refine your design and presentation skills!
Visit https://www.oudesignshow.org for past shows.
A panel of judges will choose winners from each module who will all receive a voucher and have their work promoted on social media. This document provides competition guidelines, recommendations, and submission guidelines.
Competition Guidelines
The submission should include a series of clear images that describe and illustrate your design as well as text that explains the project and provides information about your submission. Your entry will be shown as a webpage.
Images
Include a series of images that showcase and explain your design. This can include sketches, prototypes, or photos taken during the process max. 1MB per image, and jpeg or .png format:
One eye-catching main image of your project that provides a full view of the design.
Up to 3 compelling images that show details or explain the process: this includes storyboards, sketches, prototypes or testing in action (square, landscape, or portrait format).
Text
Descriptions will help others to understand the purpose, values, and, and processes of your project.
A Title to the project
A description of the project including (approx. 200 words):
Project detail: What is your proposed intervention? How does your project work? What is the benefit of your intervention?
Problem Statement: What is the problem you tackled within the project? Who experiences this problem, and how does it impact them?
Your Process: What research did you do? How did you generate your initial ideas? How did you select and refine your idea?
A short description of yourself (25 words), your goals during the module and aspirations after graduation.
Optional: your contact details, including your email or links to your social media profile or personal website
Submission
Email to the Design Group ([email protected]) with the email title DESIGN SHOW SUBMISSION by midday 14 June 2026 including the following compulsory elements:
Images clearly titled:
MAIN IMAGE, DETAIL 1, DETAIL 2, DETAIL 3 in .jpeg or .png format
Text Information in a Word doc or similar:
Your Name
Module: [U101, T190, T217, T218, T317]
Project Title:
Description of Project:
Description of Yourself:
Optional: An email address that we can put on the show website
Optional: Link to your Social Media Profile e.g. Twitter, Instagram or TikTok handle: