Student Mural Design Competition

Design a Mural for The Macallan
Following on from the Scottish interior design student showcase, we’re pleased to announce a design competition for students from the participating universities.
Novograf will print a mural for an MLA client designed by a student from GSA, ECA, DJCAD, Napier or Heriot Watt. It will be open to interior designers, graphic designers, visual communication students or any related design fields.
The client is The Macallan and the mural is for its spiritual home, the 485 acre The Macallan Estate in Speyside.
The Macallan is renowned worldwide for its extraordinary single-malt whiskies. The outstanding quality and distinctive character of each whisky is influenced by exceptional oak casks seasoned with sherry wine – a commitment to natural colour underpinned by mastery.
The winner will work with Novograf, MLA, and the client to bring their vision to life. They’ll see their design printed at Novograf production facility in East Kilbride and travel to The Macallan near Aberlour for the installation.
About The Macallan
The Macallan is an incomparable symbol of craftsmanship and creativity. They own the finest sherry seasoned oak casks in the world.
Their exceptional oak casks are expertly crafted in their cooperages and seasoned with their sherry wine to deliver aged spirit of the highest quality, today and into the future.
This meticulous stewardship defines the integrity of their signature character and exceptional whiskies.
From the forests and sawmills of Ohio, USA and Northern Spain, through to the cooperages and sherry bodegas of Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, onto the 485-acre Estate in Speyside, Scotland where every drop of The Macallan spirit is distilled and matured, more than 600 quality checks on average go into every dram.
The competition is open until 29th August.
The Competition Brief
It is an incredible story from acorn to glass and we want you to tell it through a mural: capturing forestry and coopering, vineyard and Bodegas, barley field and distillery, maturation and mastery and ultimately, the bar at our brand home, where they serve The Macallan to guests and friends from all over the world, demonstrating an obsession with quality in America, Spain and Scotland.
Guests visiting The Macallan Estate witness a wonderful part of the story and the challenge to you is to bring the whole story to life.
The mural will be 14 metres wide by 2.5 metres high and will be installed in the boardroom. Novograf will work with you to have this print ready and in the correct dimensions.
Submission deadline 29th August 2025.
The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges from MLA and The Macallan with a plan to install in October of this year.
For the full brief, including terms and conditions, please download the Competition Brief
Send your entry, including a paragraph explaining your creative process, to marketing@mlaarchitects.co.uk by 5pm 29th August 2025.