Design Contest 2025: Results

The results for Round 1 are in.

Contestants produced a tremendous amount of high-quality work. We increased the prize pool by more than 50% to fairly reward all the notable submissions.

Another round for selected winners is live.

Contest for Artists: Submissions

We received 196 submissions for the Telegram Contest for Artists.

Everyone is welcome to view the submissions while the Telegram judges conduct their own checks.

Last Call

The deadline is in less than 6 hours.

Start uploading your work now. A submission is considered successful only after the archive has been fully uploaded.

Do not postpone your submission until the very last moment.

Late submissions will not be accepted.

ContestBot is now ready to accept submissions for the Telegram Contest for Artists.

1. Check Submission Guidelines.

2. Start the bot, choose “Contest for Artists”, answer the bot’s questions, then send:
– A link to either a private or public channel.
– A .zip archive.

Note: Your channel may stay private until the deadline. Make sure you assign it a username after the deadline while not revoking the original private link you will be submitting. There is no need to upload your archive to the channel. We will discard private channels from the evaluation.

Telegram Contest for Artists: Submissions

Your submissions will have two core parts:

1. A Telegram channel – where you post:
– All gift models you created, one by one as separate stickers (please combine them into a single sticker pack with the help of @stickers). Should you be unable to meet the requirements for animation artwork, post a video recording instead.

2. A .zip archive – which must contain:
– Your static models as .png + .ai files
or
– Your animated models as .tgs + .aep files
or both

Note: Your channel may stay private until the deadline. Make sure you assign it a username after the deadline while not revoking the original private link you will be submitting. There is no need to upload archives from step 2 to the channel.

===

We will announce SEPARATELY once @ContestBot will be ready to accept your submissions. In the meantime make sure you will have your channels and archives prepared.

Design Contest 2025: Submissions

We received 192 submissions for the Design Contest.

Everyone is welcome to view the submissions while the Telegram judges conduct their own checks.

ContestBot is now ready to accept submissions for the Design Contest 2025.

1. Check Submission Guidelines.

2. Start the bot, choose “Design Contest 2025”, answer the bot’s questions, then send:
– A link to either a private or public channel.
– A .zip archive.

Note: Your channel may stay private until the deadline. Make sure you assign it a username after the deadline. We will discard private channels from the evaluation.

Design Contest 2025: Submissions

New deadline: 23:59 on December 16 (Dubai time)

We will announce separately once we start accepting your works. We are giving you an extra 24 hours to properly prepare your submissions.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Your submissions will have two core parts:

1. A Telegram channel – which must contain:
– A table of contents – a pinned message with navigation links to the content below. It may also include a Figma project link;
– Static mockups (include both Android and iOS with either theme for each platform) – please upload them as compressed images for better accessibility (use the in-app HD resolution). For readability, you may separate them by sections or blocks;
– Your motion demo uploaded as a playable video – it must be the very last message in the channel.

2. An archive – which must contain:
– All static mockups (both day and night themes for Android and iOS) in .png format, properly structured into folders;
– Your motion video in its original resolution;
Optionally, you may also include the source files for your project (e.g., .aep files).

Note: Your channel may stay private until the deadline. Make sure you assign it a username after the deadline while not revoking the original private link you will be submitting. There is no need to upload any archives to the channel. (You will only upload it to the bot – we will share the details later.)

Telegram Contest for Artists

Total prize pool: Up to $50,000
Deadline: 23:59 @ Dec 31, 2025 (Dubai time)

Telegram announces a new contest for artwork creators.

THE TASK

– create unique vector-based appearances of the following Collectible Gift. To get a better idea of Gift Collections and their different models, you may browse the existing sets in Settings → Send Gift → Collectibles.

Proceed with either:

Option A
Prepare vector artwork and animate it using Adobe After Effects. Submit each gift model as an .aep file. You will find a reference file attached below this message.

Option B
Prepare static vector artwork with Adobe Illustrator. Submit each gift model as an .ai file.

We will reward you with up to $500 for each gift model you create. You may submit as many as you like, provided their quality and visual appeal match or exceed those of our existing gifts.

Submission Guidelines:

You must submit your models as .tgs + .aep files for animated and .png + .ai files for static artwork respectively. You may additionally place your models into a single sticker pack.

Further instructions will be announced closer to the deadline.

Design Contest 2025

Prize fund: $50,000 or more
Deadline: 23:59 Dubai time @ December 15, 2025
Who can participate: Everyone

Telegram announces its most epic Design Contest, where top prize winners will each secure $10,000 and may also get a chance to join the Telegram Design Team.

THE TASK

Design a concept for Telegram Nodes entirely from the ground up, while preserving the familiar components of Telegram’s interfaces. It must feel seamless and aesthetically compelling while remaining clear and intuitive for users.

Nodes act as separate instances within the app that help users organize and streamline their communication flows – from personal to work. Nodes go far beyond simple chat folders or groups with topics enabled.

You may think of them as Discord-like servers or Slack-style workspaces that can contain multiple chat types, including voice and video chats, support in-depth admin management and user roles.

Users who join Telegram Nodes can set a profile picture, bio, and name that differ from their main account. They can then switch between Nodes and their main Telegram inbox – for example, via the left-side menu, which lists all their Nodes alongside any other Telegram accounts they’re logged into.

Your submissions must include:
1. A complete set of mockups for both the Android and iOS versions of the Telegram app.
2. A demo video for either platform in the same manner as the demonstrations from the Telegram Blog.

CORE REQUIREMENTS

• Clarity and usefulness are mandatory – everything must feel immediately understandable to users, leaving no room for confusion.
• Thoughtful feature engineering – the design should reflect an implementation-ready concept.
• All sides must be considered – you must deliver both the user and admin flows.
• A well-thought entry point and clear Nodes management are essential.
• Support for both day and night themes is mandatory.

Submission Format:

1) The layouts can be implemented as static .png files. For the animation demos, use .mp4 format (without sound).
Source files and properly structured Figma projects are also welcome.
2) For included videos, you must also provide several static .png images from each video that serve as a storyboard.
3) If you use complex animated icons, they must be in lottie json or .tgs format.

Further submission instructions will be announced closer to the deadline.

Telegram Contests Update

We are happy to announce three competitions scheduled for the current year. Make sure to enable notifications for @contest so you don’t miss the contest task and further details we will be publishing in the coming days.

01.12 – Contest for Designers
05.12 – Artists Competition
Dec 2025 – iOS Contest

There is one more thing.

Although the winner list cannot be stretched further, we’ve decided to increase the prize fund anyway and award even more submissions with bonuses – each contestant in the list below will receive a bonus of $300. We strongly advise you to keep these bonuses – they may be of a great use for R2.

Large Squirrel – Channel
Hairy Gnat – Channel
Able Spider – Channel
Classy Lion – Channel
Clever Cobra – Channel
Happy Fox – Channel
Giant Dolphin – Channel
Brave Zebra – Channel
Sleek Lynx – Channel
Stout Kangaroo – Channel
Fair Gnat – Channel
Merry Spider – Channel
Eager Unicorn – Channel
Nice Jackal – Channel
Mighty Kitten – Channel
Agile Goose – Channel
Quiet Owl – Channel
Tall Shark – Channel
Magic Starfish – Channel
Happy Jackal – Channel
Bossy Hyena – Channel
Cuddly Eagle – Channel
Mindful Lion – Channel
Busy Phoenix – Channel
Bright Bull – Channel
Witty Crab – Channel
Mad Camel – Channel
Magic Panda – Channel
Sacred Lion – Channel
Little Raven – Channel
Sharp Wombat – Channel
Sexy Hedgehog – Channel
Cuddly Lemur – Channel
Kind Owl – Channel
Gentle Croc – Channel
Sunny Jaguar – Channel
Bright Scorpion – Channel
Smart Crab – Channel
Sunny Hamster – Channel
Humble Mantis – Channel
Tidy Dolphin – Channel
Noble Hamster – Channel
Ace Crow – Channel
Dashing Tapir – Channel
Night Meerkat – Channel
Rich Kangaroo – Channel

Congratulations to the winners and have a nice Friday ahead!

Contest for Content Creators: Results

The first-ever contest for content creators turned out to be a great success.

The submission count speaks for itself – we received 461 entries. After filtering out incomplete and empty submissions, we grabbed some popcorn and dove deep into the colorful kaleidoscope of hundreds of videos you created.

We’d like to thank each and every one of you – for your dedication, time, and boundless creativity. What you did was much more than simply taking part in Telegram’s competition – it was about telling the world the truth. The truth about who truly paves the way of digital innovation.

Since all of your creations are truly unique, we abstained from traditional prize places this time. Instead, we’ve defined several categories, and each video within a category below will receive a winner’s fee of $2,000.

Meet the winners!

ANIMATION

Holy Hamster – Channel | Told a fairytale about Messengerland.
Suave Kangaroo – Channel | Showed which cat is falling behind.
Noble Leopard – Channel | Made it clear: jealousy comes in green.
Caring Fox – Channel | Animated both apps in an unexpected way.
Swift Mule – Channel | Drew a spy-themed pixel cartoon.
Kooky Jackal – Channel | Deleted WA from their phone.
Hairy Whale – Channel | Made great use of a trending meme.
Fancy Jackal – Channel | Showed us the WA user's POV.

CINEMATIC

Big Whale – Channel | Reminded us of classic ads – as if the company were a person.
Sexy Puffin – Channel | Documented the development of messaging civilization.
Tall Sloth – Channel | Imagined what a WA office might look like.
Merry Horse – Channel | Showed what a trivia competiton between messengers could look like.
Humble Peacock – Channel | Showcased city crime stories.
Tactful Antelope – Channel | Made us rewatch Matrix.
Sacred Gecko – Channel | Yet another twist on personification.
Small Goat – Channel | Delivered a slick ad.
Holy Skunk – Channel | Revealed a conversation between two messengers.

MOTION

Quiet Squirrel – Channel | Delivered a sleek one-to-one comparison.
Nimble Tiger – Channel | Presented us who is the source.
Sexy Kiwi – Channel | Derived a formula: innovate – not just update.
Lucky Llama – Channel | Spun up a carousel of features.
Clever Kangaroo – Channel | Outlined a minimalist feature timeline.
Jolly Gnat – Channel | Explained why converting people isn’t always easy.
Stylish Peacock – Channel | Showed the clash between prehistoric tribes and alien technologies.
Sleek Gull – Channel | Told us who is the real innovator.
Tall Dragon – Channel | Left us speechless.

FIELD

Cute Cobra – Channel | Shared a story of two trains.
Agile Sheep – Channel | Portrayed WA R&D department’s daily routine in an utterly surreal way.
Small Wombat – Channel | Leaned into the trending brainrot meme aesthetic.
Quick Gecko – Channel | Sang a song.
Smart Bat – Channel | Revealed which place serves fresh food – and which one doesn’t.
Kind Spider – Channel | Uncovered the untold side of confession.


MOVIES

Sexy Beetle – Channel | Proved nothing beats a good old western.
Wise Bee – Channel | Eliminated Skynet’s servant.

If you do not see your entry among the winners – do not get upset. The competition was tough and intense, and you will definitely make it next time!

We are also expanding the scope of this contest – watch for Round 2 announcement in the next couple weeks.

Contest for Content Creators: Update

We’ve completed our evaluation and decided to further expand the list of nominees to include even more notable submissions.

The final results will be announced by July 10.

In the meantime, feel free to explore other submissions.

ContestBot is now ready to accept submissions for the Contest for Content Creators.

Start the bot, choose “Contest for Content Creators”, answer the bot’s questions, then send:
– A link to either a private or public channel where your video is uploaded. Your video may include an optional description and any additional details in its caption.
– An archive containing your video in its original resolution. You may also include source files if the video was created using specialized software.

You can submit your work until 23:59 Dubai time on May 27 – we’re giving you an extra 24 hours to properly prepare your submission. Please note that late submissions will not be accepted.

You may optionally upload your video to Instagram*, YouTube, TikTok, or X using the hashtag #TelegramYearsAhead after the deadline – and share the link in your submissions channel in a separate post.

Note: Your channel may stay private until the deadline. Make sure you assign it a username after the deadline. We will discard private channels from the evaluation.