Who can enter, what qualifies, and what you need to know before submitting work to the Design Magazine Awards.
Entrants
Individual designers — freelancers, independent practitioners, and solo creatives working in any design discipline.
Studios and agencies — design studios, creative agencies, branding firms, and digital agencies of any size, anywhere in the world.
In-house teams — design teams working within organisations, corporations, non-profits, and government bodies.
Students — currently enrolled design students at any level. Student work should be entered in the Emerging Designer of the Year category, though it may also qualify for discipline-specific categories.
Collaborative teams — cross-disciplinary teams including designers working alongside developers, strategists, writers, or other specialists. Credit all contributors in your submission.
Work
Recency. Work must have been completed, published, or launched within the 24 months preceding the submission deadline (1 October 2024 – 30 September 2026 for the 2026 cycle).
Originality. Submitted work must be the original creation of the entrant. Work produced primarily by generative AI tools without substantial human creative direction is not eligible.
Client work and personal projects. Both are eligible. Client work should have appropriate permissions for public display. Personal, speculative, and self-initiated projects are welcomed.
Previously awarded work. Work that has received recognition from other awards programmes is still eligible for the Design Magazine Awards.
Multiple entries. There is no limit on the number of entries per entrant. Each entry should represent a distinct project. The same project may be entered in multiple categories if it spans multiple disciplines.
Submission
A clear, descriptive title for your project.
Choose from 10 categories. Select the one that best represents the primary discipline of the work.
500 words maximum. Cover the brief, your approach, and the outcome. Case study format encouraged.
Up to 10 images (JPG/PNG, max 5MB each) and/or video links (Vimeo, YouTube). Show the work in context.
List all contributors — designers, developers, photographers, strategists, clients. Everyone who made it happen.
For digital, web, or interactive work, include a live link if available.
Exclusions
Work completed before 1 October 2024.
Work generated primarily by AI tools without substantial human creative direction or manual refinement.
Work that infringes on the intellectual property rights of others.
Work submitted without proper authorisation from the client or rights holder.
Stock templates, purchased themes, or unmodified template-based designs.
© 2026 Design Magazine, published by TDS Australia.
