The pinnacle of achievement at the One Show, the Crystal Pencil, is the centrepiece of this year’s branding for the launch of The One Club for Creativity’s global One Show 2026.

The Crystal Pencil was introduced in celebration of The One Show’s 50th anniversary for the 2023 competition. The dazzling award, modelled after the original Pencil designed by industry legend George Lois, is larger than the traditional one, made of crystal surrounding a black metal core for Best of Show, and around a gold metal core for Best of Discipline, and of the Year winners.

This year’s Your Victory, Crystallized branding for The One Show 2026 features animations from a comprehensive visual and motion system created by independent creative house, NotReal, based in Madrid and Buenos Aires, part of a larger campaign to be used at award shows during Creative Week. Adaptations for the 2026 campaign animations were art-directed and designed into final assets by Design Army, based in Washington, DC.

Copy developed by Reed Words, based in New York and London, plays off the award name to describe different aspects of this highest creative achievement.  

Headlines include “Winning speaks louder than words. Your success, Crystallized.”; “Good things come to those who don’t wait. Your determination, Crystallized.”; “At least your mom will understand this. Your pride & joy, Crystallized.”; and “Make your mark, pick up a Pencil. Your victory, Crystallized.”

“The One Show has always set the standard for creative excellence, and this year’s branding uses a modern, clear aesthetic to highlight the Crystal Pencil as the ultimate accolade that’s aspired to by creatives around the world,” stated Pum Lefebure, co-founder, CCO at Design Army, and Board chairperson of the nonprofit One Club.  “The elevated, refined campaign is a reflection of this highest honour in the industry’s most prestigious awards, judged with the utmost integrity by the best in the business.”

“Leading the visual identity for The One Club was an incredible honor,” added Valeria Moreiro, co-founder and ECD, NotReal. “As a design and creative house, we balanced individuality and unity, crafting a cohesive system that let each show shine while staying true to the club’s essence. Built with rigour and vision, it’s a flexible legacy designed to adapt and grow year after year.”

New for The One Show 2026:

• The former, all-encompassing Design discipline is now split into two separate disciplines: Design & Branding, and Design in Advertising
• New Creator Content discipline, in recognition of the tremendous and growing contributions of this new segment in advertising and marketing.  Entries will be judged by The One Show’s Social Media jury, which will consist of a mix of top creators and traditional ad agency creatives;

The One Show has also refined its entry policies for 2026 to make the experience as clear, fair, and accessible as possible. To focus emphasis on the creative work itself, new submission criteria limit the use of case studies as judging material unless critical to the category – however, they may still be included as supporting media. 

Integrity remains central, with entrants having to affirm the accuracy of their statements, footage, and entry materials. 

To the playing field for entry further, the Currency Value Adjustment program has also been expanded to more countries, opening the door for greater participation from across the globe.

Entries to The One Show 2025 can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period. Super-early entry deadline for the greatest savings is October 30, 2025.  Early entry deadline is December 12, 2025, with the regular deadline January 23, 2025. The extended deadline is February 6, 2026, and final deadline February 20, 2026.

The One Show 2025 jury presidents and full juries will be announced shortly, with early judging starting in January 2026 and finalists announced in May 2026. Crystal, Gold, Silver and Bronze Pencil and Merit winners will be announced in May during Creative Week 2026 in New York.

All winning entries are displayed in the archive, and viewable for free for one year. All One Show winners also receive a complimentary one-year membership to The One Club, as well as full access to the complete One Show archive, made up of more than 250,000 award-winning entries from the past 25 years.

Agencies, brands, production companies, and individuals responsible for winning work each year are highlighted in The One Show Creative Rankings, as well as The One Club’s Global Creative Rankings, which combines points won at The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC competition, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) Awards, and ONE Asia Creative Awards.  Winners are ranked globally, regionally, and by country. 

As a nonprofit organisation, The One Club puts revenue generated from The One Show entries back into the industry to fund programming under the nonprofit organisation’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development. 

Find everything you need to know to enter here.

Credits:
Client: The One Club for Creativity
Agency: Design Army, Washington DC
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer: Pum Lefebure
Executive Creative Director: Sucha Becky
Creative Director: Mariela Hsu
Senior Designers: Jason Chae, Momo Jiang
Designer: Chloe Jung
Sound Design & Creative Director: Simon Lister
Sound Design: Cameron Milne
Composer: Jackson Lister
Original visual & motion system: NotReal, Madrid & Buenos Aires
Creative Direction: Valeria Moreiro
Executive Production: Max D’Angelo, Lari Miranda
Reed Words, New York & London
Copywriter: Mike Reed