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About IDEA​
The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is an annual competition presented by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) that recognizes excellence in design across various disciplines. For 45 years, IDEA has attracted thousands of exciting and innovative entries from professional designers and students from across the globe, making it one of the most prestigious awards in the industry.
Winning an IDEA is a career-defining milestone that elevates a designer’s work onto a global stage to be celebrated alongside some of the most renowned products in history.Â
Categories
These subject areas demonstrate the expansive nature of industrial design and the magnitude of its impact on daily life. Further, the span of categories reflects the extent of modern human need and a designer’s remarkable ability to meet those needs through creative thinking and thoughtful design. Below are details about each category.
Automotive & Transportation
Branding
Children’s Products
Commercial & Industrial
Concepts & Speculative Design
Consumer Technology
Design Strategy
Digital Interaction
Environments
Furniture & Lighting
Home
Lifestyle & Accessories
Medical & Health
Office & Accessories
Outdoor & Gardens
Packaging
Service Design
Social Impact
Sports & Recreation
Student
Professional Category Descriptions
- Automotive & Transportation:Â Automotive & Locomotive Exterior and Interior / Marine & Aircraft Exterior and Interior / Motorcycles / Recreational Vehicles / Bicycles / Scooters
- Branding:Â Identities / Collateral / Additional Logo Applications
- Children’s Products: Children’s Toys & Games / Learning Tools / Children’s Accessories / Children’s Apparel / Children’s Furniture
- Commercial & Industrial Products:Â Building Equipment & Systems / Heavy Machinery / Construction & Industrial Vehicles / Other Equipment or Tools
- Concepts & Speculative Design: Any product, service, or experience that does not yet exist in production. Speculative work that envisions future products, services, or experiences with new technologies or features.
- Consumer Technology (including Entertainment):Â Phones and VOIP / Cell Phones, Smart Phones, PDAs / Navigation Devices / Earpieces & Headsets / Accessories / Desktops / Laptops, Notebooks, Ultra-Mobiles / Tablets / Servers & Housings / Portable Devices / Display Screens, Monitors & Projectors / Input Devices / Peripherals / Stereos, Speakers / TVs, DVD players / Headphones / Cameras & Camcorders / Personal Audio Players / Accessories & Cable Management / Home Theater / Musical Instruments / Multimedia & Gaming Equipment / Multi-Function Devices / Mobile Entertainment
- Design Strategy:Â Design Strategy & Management / Design Thinking / Design Research Projects
- Digital Interaction:Â User Interface / Web & Applications
- Environments:Â Corporate, Public & Private Spaces / Environmental Graphics & Signage Systems / Museum Exhibits & Set Designs / Showrooms & Retail Merchandising / Trade Show Exhibits / Street Lighting and Furniture
- Home (including Kitchen & Bath): Accessories / Flooring / Carpets / Décor / Bedding / Windows / Materials / Bathroom & Sanitary Furnishings / Wellness Rooms and Equipment / Control Elements and Systems / Appliances / Tableware / Utensils / Cookware / Cutlery
- Furniture & Lighting (including Outdoor Furniture):Â Furniture /Â Kitchen Furniture / Lighting / Garden & Outdoor Furniture
- Lifestyle & Accessories (formerly Personal Accessories):Â Apparel / Bags & Cases / Eyeglasses / Footwear / Hats / Watches
- Medical & Health:Â Clinical & Diagnostic Products / Industrial & Scientific Products / Surgical & Therapeutic Products / Home-Care & Self-Care Products
- Office & Accessories:Â Supplies & Organizers / Equipment & Fixtures / Writing Instruments / Office Furniture & Lighting
- Outdoor & Gardens: Camping / Hiking / Climbing / Scuba Diving / Gear / Helmets / Backpacks / Hydration Products / Outdoor Cooking / Pet Accessories / Garden Equipment & Tools/ Garden Lamps & Lighting / Décor / Accessories
- Packaging:Â Packaging Graphics / Packaging Structures
- Service Design:Â Revenue Generating Services / Non-Profit Services / Government Services
- Social Impact Design (Products or Services): Environmental Impact / Sustainability / Design for the Majority / Humanitarian and NGO / Public Spaces / Government
- Sports, Leisure & Recreation:Â Toys & Games / Sporting, Fitness & Camping Gear / Sporting & Fitness Accessories
Student Category Description
Any physical or digital product, service, or experience created during collegiate student coursework.
IDEA Jury
Each year, IDSA convenes a world renown, multidisciplinary jury of  more than 40 design professionals to evaluate entries across five criteria. The same criteria have remained largely unchanged since IDEA’s inception.
Judging Criteria
Design Innovation
- How new is the product or service?
- What critical problem is it solving?
- How clever is the solution?
- Does it advance a product category?
Benefit to User
- How is the user’s life improved through this design?
- Can a user accomplish things not previously possible?
Benefit to Client/Brand
- What is the business impact of this design?
- How has leveraging design proven to be a key market differentiator?
Benefit to Society
- Does the solution consider social and cultural factors?
- Is it designed/manufactured with sustainable methods/materials?
Appropriate Aesthetics
- Does the form of the design adequately relate to its use/function?
- Are the colors/materials/finishes used befitting to its purpose?
Winners
Some of the world’s most successful and popular products are IDEA winners. This further enriches IDEA’s history of only recognizing the very best submissions each year. For many designers, IDEA is the standard for exceptional design and is frequently used as a reference when developing new products.
IDEA Program Partner
The Henry Ford Museum
Through an ongoing partnership with The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, winning IDEA products may be entered into the permanent collection of the museum. The Henry Ford name is synonymous with innovation and the pursuit of excellence. The museum welcomes over 1.7 million visitors per year and is a national historic landmark, with an unparalleled collection of artifacts spanning over 300 years of human ingenuity.
2025 Timeline & Pricing
Regular Entry Period (Round 1) // Jan. 13 thru Feb. 24, 2025
For entries submitted and paid for between January 13, 2025 – February 24, 2025 (11:59 pm EST)
- IDSA Member: Professional – $415
- IDSA Member: Student – $145
- Non-Member: Professional & Student – $655
Late Entry Period (Round 1) // Feb. 25 thru Mar. 10, 2025
For entries submitted and paid for between February 25, 2024 – March 10, 2024 (11:59 pm EST)
- IDSA Member: Professional – $630
- IDSA Member: Student – $290Â
- Non-Member: Professional & Student – $895
Round 2 Entry Period // Apr. 14 thru May 12, 2025
Notification will occur by June 9. Entrants need to complete and pay for their Round Two submission(s) in order to be considered ‘Finalists’ and to be eligible to win an IDEA trophy. Round Two will be open for entry from April 14 to May 12, 2025 (11:59 pm EST).
Entry Rates
- IDSA Member: Professional – $575
- IDSA Member: Student – $150
- Non-Member: Professional & Student – $775
The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) is organized annually by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). Each year, thousands of entries are submitted by designers across the globe in hopes of securing a highly prized IDEA recognition. The competition is open to professional designers (corporate in-house teams, brands, studios, independent consultants, and entrepreneurs) and students.Â
2024 marks the 44th anniversary of IDEA, making it one of the longest running and most prestigious design awards programs in existence. Originally founded to recognize exceptional achievement in industrial design, the program has since grown to highlight design in many connected disciplines, including design strategy, branding, digital interaction, environments, social impact, and so much more.Â
Winning an IDEA is a career defining moment and puts your design on a global platform, gaining it industry recognition alongside some of the most lauded products of all time. Past IDEA winners are some of the most successful and significant products ever created. They change people’s lives, create new industries, and ignite imaginations.
IDEA sets the benchmark for what a design award represents and has endured to become a career-defining catalyst for those talented enough to win.
IDEA 2023 Ceremony
2024 Jury Chair
Donald Burlock is the author of Superhuman by Design, which in its release month hit the Amazon Top 100 for Hot New Releases in the Creativity category. An award-winning designer, Donald has worked with the likes of Amazon, Capital One, IDEO, and Coca-Cola. His work at Dolby Labs on a tech-inspired cinema of the future garnered a Red Dot Design Award.
Through his publishing house, Gold Coast Press, he empowers and highlights the underrepresented voices of BIPOC designers. Presently acting as a founder of a performance apparel company, Donald enjoys the pursuit of golf, traveling, and geeking out over Marvel and DC movies.
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Defining design excellence
IDEA recognizes products and services that encourage, inspire, and push our industry forward. We promote innovation and excellence. We encourage an in-depth and forward-thinking process. Ultimately, we honor great design that brings real benefit to users, clients, and society.
Each year, the jury reviews IDEA entries across 5 criteria. The same criteria have remained largely unchanged during the 40-plus year history of IDEA. We believe this consistency further separates the IDEA program from other awards programs.
Since its inception, the goal of IDEA has always remained to identify and honor the pinnacle of design excellence. IDEA is unweathered by shifting fads or transitory styling. Rather, its winners reveal the tremendous significance of design in business, society and beyond, thus proving that great results are possible when design is leveraged to its fullest potential.
Design Innovation – How new is the product or service? What critical problem is it solving? How clever is the solution? Does it advance a product category?
Benefit to User – How is the user’s life improved through this design? Can they accomplish things not previously possible?
Benefit to Client/Brand – What is the business impact of this design? How has leveraging design proven to be a key market differentiator?
Benefit to Society – Does the solution consider social and cultural factors? Is it designed/manufactured with sustainable methods/materials?
Appropriate Aesthetics – Does the form of the design adequately relate to its use/function? Are the colors/materials/finishes used befitting to its purpose?
IDEA Winners & Their Legacy
Some of the world’s most successful and popular products are IDEA winners. This fact further enriches IDEA’s history of only recognizing the very best submissions each year. For many designers, IDEA sets the standard for examples of exceptional design and is frequently used as a reference when developing new products.
Our Gallery houses over 3,500 award winning products and featured finalists from the past 20 years of the program. The collection holds a wide range of innovations, many of which may have at first seemed like science-fiction, but have now become commonplace.
Automotive & Transportation
Branding
Children’s Products
Commercial & Industrial
Concepts & Speculative Design
Consumer Technology
Design Strategy
Digital Interaction
Environments
Furniture & Lighting
Home
Lifestyle & Accessories
Medical & Health
Office & Accessories
Outdoor & Gardens
Packaging
Service Design
Social Impact
Sports & Recreation
Student