Competitions and live briefs

We have an annual design competition with Tate, as well as competitions to get your designs transferred onto products to be sold in-store.

These provide current students who may not have market-ready products with a chance to get their work retailed. We manage the manufacturing, packaging and marketing and you do not have to be registered as a business to apply.

Have you ever wanted your work sold in Tate stores? Get your creativity flowing and design a poster for our new competition!

For the eighth year, not just a shop is partnering with Tate to provide UAL students with a chance to get their design sold in Tate stores. This year we’d like to invite you to create a poster design to be sold in the Tate’s shops (both in the galleries and online) from September 2026, and in not just a shop from October 2026.

Deadline: 11 May 2026.

What we’re looking for

Designs can be conceptual, illustrative, typographic, photographic, or mixed media. We welcome submissions from all creative disciplines.

Designs should be appealing to the public and represent the spirit of Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the city and its communities. Entries will be judged on their originality and public appeal.

Whilst the final image must be submitted in a digital format for the printed poster, we encourage applications from all disciplines including but not limited to graphic design, communication design, photography, painting, drawing, illustration, sculpture, animation.

Your poster design must be 500 x 700mm in either a landscape or portrait format. This must include a 3mm bleed along the edge of the design.

The winning designs will be produced by Tate's in-house production department, who will need Illustrator, EPS, or Tiff files. Copyright of the design will remain with the creator, but with Tate having an exclusive license to reproduce it for 3 years. This means that the design should not be sold elsewhere through other retailers or your website. We will select up to 3 designs to produce and each designer will receive a cash prize of £250.

The prize

Up to 3 winning designs will be selected

Each selected student will receive:

• A £250 one-off design fee (payable on receipt of final artwork).
• 10 printed copies of the poster.
• Professional photography for your portfolio (from not just a shop).

In addition to this, if Tate decide to reprint your design, you will be offered a 6% royalty payment for each batch printed. Tate will contact you directly for this.

Eligibility

• Open to current students studying at one of UAL's 6 colleges on a BA, MA, PHD or FdA level course.
• We welcome designs from all disciplines, including: graphic design, communication design, photography, painting, drawing, illustration, sculpture, and animation.
• Design must represent the spirit of Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the city and its communities.
• Design for the poster must be 500 x 700mm in either a landscape or portrait format. You must include a 3mm bleed around the edge of the poster.
• Design submitted cannot be used commercially at the time of sale.
• Up to 3 different designs can be submitted by 1 applicant. Please be selective when submitting your work, and ask friends to help edit if needed. Please do not send multiple colourways of one design, we will only put one forward if you do.

Criteria for selection

• Designs presented to a high standard.
• Creativity, uniqueness, and offer a fresh approach to the brief - the spirit of Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the city and its communities.
• Commercial viability, for example, has a wide public appeal.
• Priority will be given to students who have not previously won a Tate competition.

How to apply

Upload your design by 10am on Monday 11 May 2026 via application form adhering to the following design requirements:

• Submission file type: High resolution JPEG (300 dpi) with max size of 1MB. NB: If selected you will need to supply an Illustrator, EPS or Tiff file.
• Image size: Designs must be 500mm x 700mm in either a landscape or portrait format with a 3mm bleed. No key design elements (e.g. text) should be within 30mm from the bottom edge.

not just a shop Tate poster competition one-to-ones

We will be running feedback support one-to-ones on Friday 17 April & Friday 8 May, between 11am – 1pm.

If you need advice on filling out the Tate poster competition application or have questions on how to submit your best design, speak to the not just a shop team in a 20 minute one-to-one. These are booked on a first-come, first-served basis with at least 7 days notice from your requested date.

If you would like to book a one-to-one, please email notjustashop@arts.ac.uk with the following information:

• Name
• Status (student/graduate)
• Student ID
• College
• Graduating year
• Area of support
• Preferred Friday (please give at least 2 options)
• Preferred time slot (please give at least 2 options)

We particularly welcome bookings from those currently underrepresented in not just a shop and more widely in high street retail. This includes students and graduates who are disabled or have a specific learning disability; Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, LGBTQ+, are the first in their family to attend university, or are from a low socio-economic background. We’re committed to better representing the communities we serve.

Areas of support include:

• Checking if the design answers the brief
• Commercial viability
• Avoiding copyright right issues