Chris Durham, My Private Brand president, is excited to announce that My Private Brand has partnered with its friend and colleague Phillip Russo and his magazine, Global Retail Brands, to launch the international private brand design competition, the Vertex Awards.

"We chose the name because it exemplifies our vision for the competition and our hope for private brand. Our goal is to push the industry forward and set a new standard for the recognition of superior design and great retailer owned brands," says Durham.

"It is time to stop rewarding mediocrity and encourage greatness."

International design firm Pemberton & Whitefoord (P&W) created the identity for the contest, which lends aspirational tone and sets the standard for the competition, according to Durham.

"The Vertex Awards are the only global competition devoted exclusively to the art of private-brand package design. The competition is open to retail owned brands from every country in the world and all channels of trade. Retailers, agencies, consultants, graphic design firms, manufacturers and brokers are all welcome to submit their private brand entries," says Durham.

Designs must have been introduced in-store between November 2012 and November 2013. The cost is $95 per entry, and submissions close January 15, 2014.

For the inaugural competition, winners across more than 16 categories, as well as Best New Brand Design and Best Redesigned Brand, will be awarded a Gold, Silver or Bronze award. The highest scoring project will receive a one-of-a-kind Best of Show award. A Publisher’s Choice award will be handpicked by Durham and Russo.

Winning work will be honored in March on www.mypbrand.com, the Vertex Awards website, in Global Retail Brands’ March print issue, on the Global Retail Brands‘ website. In addition, all winning entries will appear in a full-color book on Amazon in the summer of 2014.

To enter, visit http://www.vertexawards.org/.