Wallpaper* Design Awards - Designer of the Year
The Wallpaper* Design Awards Designer of the Year distinction is the flagship individual recognition within the annual Wallpaper* Design Awards program, honoring a designer or architect whose work over the preceding year has had the most significant creative impact. Selected by Wallpaper* magazine's editorial team - known globally for their discerning eye and influence over luxury design, architecture, fashion, and lifestyle trends - the award reflects the publication's unique position at the intersection of high design and high culture. The Designer of the Year is chosen based on the breadth, quality, and cultural significance of the designer's output during the year, encompassing product launches, architectural completions, exhibitions, collaborations, and other contributions to the design landscape. Wallpaper* has historically used this award to spotlight designers at pivotal moments in their careers - whether emerging talents making a breakthrough or established figures enjoying a particularly prolific and influential period. The recognition carries significant cachet within the luxury design market and among the international creative elite, where Wallpaper* remains one of the most influential publications shaping tastes and directing attention across the design world.
More Awards
Red Dot Design Award
One of the most prestigious international design competitions in the world, the Red Dot Design Award has recognized outstanding design quality since 1955 when it originated in Essen, Germany. The competition spans three disciplines - Product Design, Brands & Communication Design, and Design Concept - with entries evaluated by an international jury of approximately 40 independent experts across over 50 categories. Submissions from more than 60 countries are judged on four fundamental principles: function, seduction (aesthetic appeal), usability, and responsibility (sustainability). Winners receive the coveted Red Dot quality label for marketing use and are exhibited in dedicated Red Dot Design Museums located in Essen, Singapore, and Xiamen. The top distinction of "Red Dot: Best of the Best" is reserved for groundbreaking work that pushes the boundaries of design, with all winners featured in annual yearbooks and a comprehensive online gallery.
iF Design Award
Founded in 1953 at the Hannover Messe trade fair in Germany, the iF Design Award is one of the oldest and most respected independent design competitions in the world, originally created to promote excellence in German industrial goods. Now attracting nearly 11,000 submissions from over 65 countries annually, the competition spans nine disciplines including Product Design, Packaging, Communication, Architecture, Interior Architecture, UX, UI, Service Design, and Professional Concepts across more than 80 categories. A rigorous two-stage jury process - online preselection followed by in-person final evaluation - is conducted by approximately 130 international design and sustainability experts. The prestigious iF Gold Award represents the pinnacle of recognition, with winners celebrated at the annual iF Design Award Night held at Berlin's Friedrichstadt-Palast. The iF Design Foundation also supports emerging talent through the iF Design Student Award and the iF Social Impact Prize, reinforcing its seven-decade commitment to design's social and cultural significance.
Core77 Design Awards
Launched in 2011 by the influential industrial design publication Core77, the Core77 Design Awards celebrate excellence across approximately 20 distinct categories that reflect the evolving breadth of the design profession. Each category is led by a hand-picked Jury Captain who assembles a diverse panel of design experts to evaluate submissions from both professionals and students on a global scale. The program stands out for including unconventional categories alongside traditional disciplines, embracing areas like Speculative Design, Social Impact, and Emerging Technologies to capture the full scope of contemporary design practice. Winners receive a distinctive trophy designed by New York studio Rich Brilliant Willing, which doubles as a mold so honorees can create copies for their entire team - embodying the collaborative spirit of design. Recognized work is showcased extensively across the Core77 platform, providing significant visibility within one of the design industry's most engaged online communities.
Dezeen Awards
Established by Dezeen, the world's most popular architecture and design magazine, the Dezeen Awards is an annual program recognizing the best architecture, interiors, and design globally. The competition features categories across three main programs - architecture, interiors, and design - with entries judged by a panel of high-profile architects, designers, and industry leaders selected by Dezeen's editorial team. Projects are evaluated on criteria including innovation, contribution to the built environment, and overall design quality, with both emerging and established practices eligible to enter. The awards have quickly gained prestige since their launch due to Dezeen's massive international readership and influence as a tastemaker in the design world. Winners and shortlisted projects receive extensive editorial coverage on Dezeen's platform, reaching an audience of millions of design professionals and enthusiasts worldwide.
Good Design Award
Japan's most comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system, the Good Design Award (G-Mark) was established in 1957 by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry and is now administered by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion. The program evaluates designs across an exceptionally broad scope that extends beyond products to include architecture, software, systems, services, and community initiatives that improve quality of life. Winning entries earn the right to display the iconic "G-Mark" symbol, which has become one of Asia's most recognized seals of design quality and is widely used in marketing across Japanese consumer markets. Over its more than six decades of operation, the award has recognized tens of thousands of designs and is considered a benchmark for good design practice throughout East Asia and increasingly worldwide. The program's emphasis on social relevance and human-centered thinking distinguishes it from purely aesthetics-focused competitions.
IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards)
The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is the premier design competition organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), recognizing outstanding achievement in product design and innovation since 1980. Entries are judged by a multidisciplinary panel of design professionals on criteria including design innovation, user benefit, ecological responsibility, and appropriate aesthetics, with awards given at Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels. The competition encompasses a wide range of categories from consumer products and medical devices to digital interaction, entertainment, and social impact design. IDEA winners have historically included some of the most iconic consumer products ever created, and the award is widely considered one of the top three industrial design prizes globally alongside Red Dot and iF. The program's longstanding partnership with IDSA ensures deep roots in the American industrial design community while maintaining a strong international reputation.