METU student wins Gold Award at the New York Graphis New Talent Award 2025 competition

Anna Csilla Kiss, a graphic design student at the Budapest Metropolitan University (METU), has received international recognition at the GRAPHIS New Talent Award 2025 competition in New York. At the time of receiving the award, she was a third-year BA student in Graphic Design and is currently continuing her studies in the Graphic Design MA program at METU. The supervisor of the award-winning project was Judit Tóth, lecturer at METU.

Anna Csilla Kiss’s Maran Coffee packaging design received a Gold Award in the prestigious international field, and as an outstanding achievement – being the only entry from Hungary – it was also published in the annual Graphis New Talent book. This recognition highlights not only the exceptional talent of our student but also the high professional standard of teaching within METU’s graphic design program.

“Working with Anna throughout the design process was incredibly inspiring. Her approach to graphic design and packaging is exceptional and exemplary. The conceptual depth and execution of the coffee packaging are of true artistic value,” said Judit Tóth in her assessment of the project.

For Anna, receiving the award still feels “unbelievable,” as she explained that she did not expect her first-ever packaging design to achieve such professional international success. Reflecting on her workflow, she said:

“I started the project as an experiment. I wanted to create a form that is not often seen. Creating the dieline and building the mock-ups by hand was a real challenge, as I had to calculate every angle and dimension manually.”

She added that without the encouragement of Judit Tóth, she would not have submitted her work:

“Judy supported me from the beginning. Based on the mock-ups, she already knew that this packaging needed to be entered into the Graphis competition and that it would yield results. Now I believe it.”

The Graphis New Talent 2025 volume showcases the most outstanding works of emerging designers and the world’s leading visual arts schools. The submissions are evaluated by internationally renowned, multi-award-winning creative professionals, and the annual publication provides a credible insight into the most current and progressive trends in contemporary design. The Platinum and Gold Award-winning works are accompanied by detailed insights into the design process and the conceptual thinking behind each project.

For METU, it is a tremendous honor that our student’s work has been recognized on such a prestigious international platform. This award is an important professional acknowledgment for Anna, the program, and the university’s teaching staff alike.