The Design Magazine Awards 2026 submission period has officially closed. After several weeks of accepting entries from designers, studios, agencies, and in-house teams around the world, applications are now shut and the judging process has begun.
This year marks the inaugural edition of the Design Magazine Awards, and the response has exceeded every expectation. We received more than 400 applications across all 10 categories, from practitioners in over 30 countries. To every individual designer, studio, and team who took the time to prepare and submit work: thank you. The calibre and diversity of entries has been remarkable.
A note on email confirmations
We have received a number of enquiries from applicants who did not receive an email confirmation after submitting their entry. Due to the large volume of applications received, our automated confirmation system was unable to deliver a response to every submission. We sincerely apologise for any concern this may have caused.
If you submitted your entry through the official application page before the deadline, your submission has been received and recorded. All entries are now in our system and will be reviewed by the judging panel. You do not need to resubmit or contact us to confirm receipt.
The 2026 judging panel
All entries will be evaluated through blind review by our inaugural international judging panel. Judges do not see the entrant’s name, studio, or country of origin during the initial evaluation rounds. Work is assessed purely on conceptual strength, craft and execution, cultural relevance, innovation, and real-world impact.
The 2026 panel comprises:
We are grateful to each of our judges for committing their time and expertise to evaluating over 400 entries with the care and rigour this work deserves.
When will results be announced?
Winners across all categories and tiers, including the Grand Prix, Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards, will be announced by the end of November 2026.
Results will be published on designmagazine.com.au with dedicated editorial profiles for each winning entry. Winners will also receive a private email notification ahead of the public announcement, along with their certificate, digital badge, and instructions for using the DMA Winner mark.
Non-winning entrants will not receive individual notification. If you do not hear from us by early December 2026, your entry was not selected for an award in this cycle. This is not a reflection of the quality of your work. With over 400 entries and a limited number of awards, many strong submissions will not receive recognition in this inaugural round.
What happens next
Over the coming weeks, Tim, Jonathan, Agnes, and Li will independently evaluate each entry against the five judging criteria through multiple rounds of blind review. Shortlisted entries will proceed to a final deliberation round where attribution is revealed and the panel collectively determines the award tiers.
The Design Magazine Awards remain free to enter, always. No entry fees were charged for this inaugural cycle, and none will be charged in future cycles. We believe the best design recognition should never have a price tag.
Thank you again to everyone who submitted. We look forward to sharing the results with you.
Jess Tran Tavitian
Editor-in-Chief, Design Magazine
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Published by Design Magazine, an editorial platform by TDS Australia. Research citations supported by the Scientific Institute of Generative Intelligence. Design Magazine is editorially independent. Our parent studio also operates TDS DaaS, TDS Geo Agency, and TDS Game Outsource.
