Categories

DIGITAL ELIGIBILITY AND IMAGES

Award Eligibility
Any work that has been commercially released no later than 1 August 2025 is eligible for entry to the Best Design Awards 2024.

There is no timeline restriction for an entry that is from a prior year.

Where appropriate, you may enter the same work in more than one category or subcategory.

Note Rule 4.3.4: Works will not be eligible if they have been entered by another Entrant or submitted in a previous year, unless the work has been entered previously, but changed or updated, with the re-launch representing a significant design development.

DIA and AGDA Members receive DINZ Member entry rate - email info@bestawards.co.nz before paying as we manually tick you in.

Images
Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented. Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. 

Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that where possible the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on the project images, explanation or supporting material.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best 

Gold - Best entry in category
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

EXPLAINING YOUR WORK
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project. 

Complete each section for each of the following headings. Try to keep the overall text less than 500 words (although not limited to).

ENTRY CRITERIA
To help the judges, please format your descriptions into: 

The Why
Describe the purpose and reason for the project:
Consider: Client objectives, data & research, social or cultural factors, environmental factors, sales, transformational change, awareness, growth, storytelling and messaging, new markets etc.

The Idea
Describe the strategy and concept for the project:
Consider: Depth of thinking, a compelling strategy, a strong idea, context & audience, alignment to ‘The Why’.

The Design
Describe the design expression and execution:
Consider: Alignment to the ‘The Why’ and ‘The Idea’, inventiveness and progression, a new approach, a visually compelling and crafted solution, work of a high technical standard.

What Elevates the Work 
Describe any aspects that further elevate the work:
Consider: What was the impact, tangible value created, market reach, cultural or societal outcomes etc.

The online Entry Process will require you to include a URL to judge the work entered.

Please ensure this link is live during judging week - 3 August to 10 August 2025.

Links, USB or video submissions as additional supporting material

- You can submit a short 60-90 second video as supporting material
- The same rules apply as for other supporting materials - there should be no identifiable reference to the entrant/studio/company
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week

DIGITAL CAMPAIGN SUPPORTING MATERIAL
Entrants to this category should include in their description what measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) were set at the outset of the campaign and how well these KPIs were tracked and achieved throughout the duration of the campaign.

DIGITAL PRODUCT SUPPORTING MATERIAL
Entrants to this category should submit a video walk through of the app experience and provide access to the digital product.

For apps available in the NZ App Store, provide an active account login/password to view the product with user data applied.

For apps not available within NZ, entrants can submit a device with the app pre-loaded and login details provided. 

INSTALLATION AND EXHIBITION SUPPORTING MATERIAL
Entrants to this category should submit a short video with each entry.

The video should detail as much of the experience as possible for judges to understand context, user interactions, spatial considerations, lighting, sound, touch.

It should be made clear which part of the experience the entrant had responsibility for within the project, understanding the project helps the judges to be able to accurately understand the experience.

GRAPHICS ELIGIBILITY AND IMAGES

Award Eligibility
Any work that has been commercially released no later than 1 August 2025 is eligible for entry to the Best Design Awards 2024.

There is no timeline restriction for an entry that is from a prior year.

Where appropriate, you may enter the same work in more than one category or subcategory.

DIA and AGDA Members receive DINZ Member entry rate - email info@bestawards.co.nz before paying as we manually tick you in.

Images
Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented. Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. 

Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that where possible the name of the entrant/studio/tertiary is not visible anywhere on the project images, explanation or supporting material.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best 

Gold - Best entry in category
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

EXPLAINING YOUR WORK
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project.

Complete each section for each of the following headings. Try to keep the overall text less than 500 words (although not limited to).

ENTRY CRITERIA
To help the judges, please format your descriptions into: 

The Why
Describe the purpose and reason for the project:
Consider: Client objectives, data & research, social or cultural factors, environmental factors, sales, transformational change, awareness, growth, storytelling and messaging, new markets etc.

The Idea
Describe the strategy and concept for the project:
Consider: Depth of thinking, a compelling strategy, a strong idea, alignment to ‘The Why’.

The Design 
Describe the design expression and execution:
Consider: Alignment to ‘The Why’ and ‘The Idea’, inventiveness and progression, a new approach, a visually compelling and crafted solution, work of a high technical standard.

What Elevates the Work 
Describe any aspects that further elevate the work:
Consider: How does this project support social, cultural or environmental and economic wellbeing.

Additional supporting material such as a video or samples of work such as a poster or book may be submitted.

The judges highly recommend that you send additional supporting material, as they will take these into consideration during the judging process.

ALL Submitting supporting material
Supporting material must be delivered to the Designers Institute office by 5.30pm Friday 4 July 2025.

- It is the responsibility of the entrant to courier the supporting material.
- Ensure your ENTRY NUMBER sheet is sent with your supporting material. 
- Under entry Details where its says I will be sending supporting materials -  click on the "Print Coversheet'       button.

Address your delivery to:
Designers Institute of New Zealand
Ground Floor, Suite 5
27 Gillies Avenue
Newmarket
Auckland

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on supporting material.

Return of supporting material
During the online entry process, you can choose to pay for supporting material to be returned to you by the Designers Institute following judging.

NOTE: We do not return supporting material to addresses outside of New Zealand.

Video submissions as additional supporting material
- You can submit a short 60-90 second video as supporting material
- Flythroughs, renders and process videos all help to communicate your design process
- The same rules apply to videos as other supporting materials - the videos should not have identifiable
   reference to the entrant/studio/company
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the
   end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week

Award Eligibility
Any work that has been commercially released no later than 1 August 2025 is eligible for entry to the Best Design Awards 2024.

There is no timeline restriction for an entry that is from a prior year.

Where appropriate, you may enter the same work in more than one category or subcategory.

Who Enters the work
The creator enters the work but acknowledges the client/agency.

DIA and AGDA Members receive DINZ Member entry rate - email info@bestawards.co.nz before paying as we manually tick you in.

Images
Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented.

Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. 

Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

Hardward for SOUND & COMPOSITION CATEGORY
Please advise if you require any specific equipment (within reason)

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on the project images, explanation or supporting material.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best 

Gold - Best entry in category
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

EXPLAINING YOUR WORK
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project.

Complete each section for each of the following headings. Try to keep the overall text less than 500 words (although not limted to)

ENTRY CRITERIA
To help the judges, please format your descriptions into: 

The Why
Describe the purpose and reason for the project: 
Consider: Client objectives, data & research, social or cultural factors, environmental factors, sales, transformational change, awareness, growth, storytelling and messaging, new markets etc.

The Idea
Describe the strategy and concept for the project:
Consider: Depth of thinking, a compelling strategy, a strong idea, alignment to ‘The Why’.

The Design
Describe the design expression and execution:
Consider: Alignment to the ‘Why’ and the ‘Idea’, inventiveness and progression, a new approach, a visually compelling and crafted solution, work of a high technical standard.

What Elevates the Work
Describe any aspects that further elevate the work:
Consider: Social, cultural or environmental elements.

The online Entry Process will require you to include a URL to judge the work entered.

Please ensure this link is live during judging week - 3 August to 10 August 2025.

Additional supporting material such as a video, USB, URL or disc may be submitted.
The judges highly recommend that you send additional supporting material as they will take these into consideration during the judging process.

Submitting supporting material
Supporting material must be delivered to the Designers Institute office by 5.30pm Friday 4 July 2025.

It is the responsibility of the entrant to courier the supporting material.
Ensure your ENTRY NUMBER sheet is sent with your supporting material. 
Under entry Details where its says I will be sending supporting materials -  click on the "Print Coversheet' button.

Address your delivery to:

C/O Cathy Veninga, CEO
Designers Institute of New Zealand
Ground Floor, Suite 5
27 Gillies Avenue
Newmarket
Auckland

Keep your work anonymous
It is critical that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on supporting material.

Return of supporting material
During the online entry process, you can choose to pay for supporting material to be returned to you by the Designers Institute following judging. NOTE: We cannot return supporting material to addresses outside of New Zealand.

Links, USB or video submissions as additional supporting material

- The same rules apply as for other supporting materials - there should be no identifiable reference to the entrant/studio/company
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week 4th August to 10th August.

PRODUCT ELIGIBILITY AND IMAGES

Award Eligibility
Any work that has been commercially released no later than 1 August 2025 is eligible for entry to the Best Design Awards 2024..

There is no timeline restriction for an entry that is from a prior year. 

Where appropriate, you may enter the same work in more than one category or subcategory.

DIA and AGDA Members receive DINZ Member entry rate - email info@bestawards.co.nz before paying as we manually tick you in.

Images
Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented.

Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. 

Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

NOTE:
- For all categories except Student and Concept/Experimental, all images MUST be photographic
- Photographic images must be of production product
- Images of rapid prototypes and models are not acceptable (ONLY accepted to support the design process).
- CAD rendered images may be used ONLY to explain operations or details not evident in external photographs of the product

Where possible keep your work anonymous where you can.
It is advisable that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible on the project images, explanation or supporting material.
However there are exceptions that cannot be helped when the company name / brand is part of the product. 

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best 

Gold - Best entry in category
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

EXPLAINING YOUR WORK
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project.

Complete each section for each of the following headings. Try to keep the overall text less than 500 words (although not limted to)

ENTRY CRITERIA
To help the judges, please format your descriptions into: 

The Why
Describe the purpose and reason for the project:
Consider: Client objectives, data & research, social or cultural factors, environmental factors, sales, innovation and transformational change, awareness, growth, storytelling and messaging, new markets etc.

The Idea
Describe the strategy and concept for the project:
Consider: Depth of thinking, a compelling strategy, a strong idea with conceptual development, a new approach, critical reasoning, alignment to 'The Why’.

The Design
Describe the design expression and execution:
Communicate any technical aspects, challenges, opportunities and solutions for them. 
Consider: Alignment to ‘The Why’ and ‘The Idea’, alignment to brand, use of materials in support of the design. How does this project support a visually compelling and crafted solution? Was innovation a driver in the design and to what extent?

Fit for purpose

• Is the design intuitive to use and engage with?
• Is the design ergonomic in operation, user experience and comfort?
• Is the design safe to use and does it comply with appropriate standards if required?

 
Aesthetic/Appearance and style

• Is the design's form, shape, size, proportions, composition, materials, colours and textures appropriate for its intended purpose and context of use?
• Is the overall aesthetic meaningful and desirable?
• Does the design strengthen brand qualities including brand identity and establish differentiation from others of its type?
• Does the physical design incorporate applied or embedded graphic detailing and visual identity elements in a meaningful and attractive manner?
• Does the design strengthen brand qualities including brand identity and create differentiation from others of its type?
• Does the design integrate digital UI interfaces and/or controls appropriately for its intended purpose, creating an intuitive user experience?

Technical resolution and quality

• Is the design made to a high standard of construction, fit and finish?
• Does the design satisfy appropriate performance and quality standards?
• Does the design utilise materials, processes and technologies in innovative, desirable ways?

What Elevates the Work
Describe any aspects that further elevate the work:
Consider: How does the design create positive and meaningful impact for the user and client including social, cultural, environmental and economic.

SUSTAINABILITY PRODUCT DESIGN (SPD) CATEGORY (this is only if you are specifically entering this category)
This award recognises outstanding examples of sustainable product design.

Claims about sustainability performance and compliance must be supported by verifiable evidence.

• Does the design utilise sustainable materials and innovative manufacturing processes?
• Does the design allow for reduced size, weight, material consumption, transportation and packaging?
• Does the design allow for product life extension or end-of-life processes, recycling, reuse, repair or safe disposal?
• Does the design avoid/eliminate waste, toxicity and pollution?
• Does the design carry a recognised certification label or accreditation?

Supporting material such as a video or product samples of work may be submitted.

Video Submissions as additional Supporting Material
- You can submit a short 60-90 second video as supporting material
- Flythroughs, renders and process videos all help to communicate your design process
- The same rules apply to videos as other supporting materials - the videos should not have identifiable reference to the entrant/studio/company
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week 

Physical Samples
The judges highly recommend that you send physical samples as they will take these into consideration during the judging process.

NOTE: product samples for judging MUST be a finished example, not a prototype (unless Concept & Experimental).
Judges WILL look at the quality of how the product is finished.

Students are NOT required to submit product samples.

The ENTRY NUMBER must be attached to the samples when delivered to judging week.
It is your responsibility to have the entry delivered and collected at your own expense.

DELIVERING of PRODUCT SUPPORTING MATERIAL
Product entries supporting material is not required till Judging Week. An email reminder will go out to Product Entrants on the Wednesday 24th July 2024 confirming when and where to send their product samples.

DROP OFF - delivered on Wednesday 6th August 2025.

PICK UP -  Friday 8th August 3pm-5pm 2025.

AUT Rooms WG224 A&B - a map will be provided on the email as to the exact location. 
AUT Campus
Gate 3
Rooms WG224 A&B
55 Wellesley St East

Ensure the freight/courier company knows the ENTRY NUMBER and ITEM they are picking up from the judging venue for the Best team to easily locate.

There is NO STORAGE for samples not collected, plus there is an event that moves in straight after we leave.

IT WILL HAVE TO BE AT YOUR RISK IF THE SAMPLE IS NOT COLLECTED BY 5PM FRIDAY 9th AUGUST.

NOTE: We do not return supporting material to addresses outside of New Zealand.

SOCIAL GOOD ELIGIBILTY AND IMAGES

Award Eligibility
Any work that has been commercially released no later than 1 August 2025 is eligible for entry to the Best Design Awards 2024.
There is no timeline restriction for an entry that is from a prior year.

Where appropriate, you may enter the same work in more than one category or subcategory.

DIA and AGDA Members receive DINZ Member entry rate - email info@bestawards.co.nz before paying as we manually tick you in.

Images
Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented.

Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. 

Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on the project images, explanation or supporting material.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best 

Gold - Best entry in category
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

EXPLAINING YOUR WORK
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project.

Complete each section for each of the following headings. Try to keep the overall text less than 500 words (although not limited to).

ENTRY CRITERIA
To help the judges, please format your descriptions into: 

The Why
Describe the purpose and reason for the project:
Consider: Client objectives, data & research, social or cultural factors, environmental factors, sales, transformational change, awareness, growth, storytelling and messaging, new markets etc.

The Idea
Describe the strategy and concept for the project:
Consider: Depth of thinking, a compelling strategy, a strong idea, alignment to ‘The Why’.

The Design
Describe the design expression and execution: 
Consider: Alignment to ‘The Why’ and ‘The Idea’, inventiveness and progression, a new approach, a visually compelling and crafted solution, work of a high technical standard.

What Elevates the Work
Describe any aspects that further elevate the work or had intended impact or projected impact:
Consider: How was this project working hard for good through social, cultural or environmental elements.

Additional supporting material such as a video or product samples of work may be submitted.

The judges highly recommend that you send additional supporting material as they will take these into consideration during the judging process.

Submitting supporting material
Supporting material must be delivered to the Designers Institute office by 5.30pm Friday 4th July 2025.

It is the responsibility of the entrant to courier the supporting material.

Ensure your ENTRY NUMBER sheet is sent with your supporting material. 
Under entry Details where its says I will be sending supporting materials -  click on the "Print Coversheet' button.

Address your delivery to:

Designers Institute of New Zealand
Ground Floor, Suite 5
27 Gillies Avenue
Newmarket
Auckland

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on supporting material.

Return of supporting material
During the online entry process, you can choose to pay for supporting material to be returned to you by the Designers Institute following judging.

NOTE: We do not return supporting material to addresses outside of New Zealand.

Video submissions as additional supporting material
- You can submit a short 60-90-second video as supporting material
- Flythroughs, renders and process videos all help to communicate your design process
- The same rules apply to videos as other supporting materials - the videos should not have identifiable reference to the entrant/studio/company
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week

SPATIAL ELIGIBILITY AND IMAGES

Award Eligibility
Any work that has been commercially released no later than 1 August 2025 is eligible for entry to the Best Design Awards 2024.

There is no timeline restriction for an entry that is from a prior year.

Where appropriate, you may enter the same work in more than one category or subcategory.

DIA and AGDA Members receive DINZ Member entry rate - email info@bestawards.co.nz before paying as we manually tick you in.

Images
Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented.

Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. 

Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on the project images, explanation or supporting material.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best 

Gold - Best entry in category
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

EXPLAINING YOUR WORK
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project.

Complete each section for each of the following headings. Try to keep the overall text less than 500 words (although not limited to).

ENTRY CRITERIA
To help the judges, please format your descriptions into: 

The Why
Describe the purpose and reason for the project:
Consider: Client objectives, data & research, social or cultural factors, environmental factors, sales, innovation and transformational change, awareness, growth, storytelling and messaging, new markets etc.

The Idea
Describe the strategy and concept for the project:
Consider: Depth of design thinking, a compelling strategy, a strong idea with conceptual development, a new approach, critical reasoning, alignment to ‘The Why’.

The Design
Describe the design expression and execution:
Consider: Alignment to ‘The Why’ and ‘The Idea’, context/location, brand alignment, use of materials in support of the design. How does this project support a visually compelling and crafted solution? Was innovation a driver in the design and to what extent? Communicate any technical aspects, challenges and opportunities and solution for them. How is the design fit for purpose from a user experience point of view?

What Elevates the Work
Describe any aspects that further elevate the work:
Consider: How does this project support regenerative outcomes including social, cultural or environmental and economic wellbeing. How does the design achieve ‘The Why’ (e.g., any commercial outcomes, brand impact etc.)

Important to include PLANS / SECTIONS as additional supporting material as they will take these into consideration during the judging process.

Videos and mood boards may also be submitted.

Submitting supporting material
Supporting material must be delivered to the Designers Institute office by 5.30pm Friday 4th July 2025.

It is the responsibility of the entrant to courier the supporting material.

Ensure your ENTRY NUMBER sheet is sent with your supporting material. 
Under entry Details where its says I will be sending supporting materials -  click on the "Print Coversheet' button.

Address your delivery to:

Designers Institute of New Zealand
Ground Floor, Suite 5
27 Gillies Avenue
Newmarket
Auckland

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on supporting material.

Return of supporting material
During the online entry process, you can choose to pay for supporting material to be returned to you by the Designers Institute following judging.

NOTE: We do not return supporting material to addresses outside of New Zealand.

Video submissions as additional supporting material
- You can submit a short 60-90 second video as supporting material
- Flythroughs, renders and process videos all help to communicate your design process
- The same rules apply to videos as other supporting materials - the videos should not have identifiable reference to the entrant/studio/company
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week 

Eligibility
The Toitanga award is open to any designers, design businesses, design collaborations, or design clients, who believe their project aligns with the Award Kaupapa / Purpose.

Any work that has been commercially released no later than 1 August 2025 is eligible for entry to the Best Design Awards 2024.
There is no timeline restriction for an entry that is from a prior year. 

Where appropriate, you may enter the same work in more than one category or subcategory.

Images
Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented.

Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. 

Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

Explaining your work
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project. What did they see as the challenge, what data, research or insight did they have that brought about the project.

What were your insights that lead to your thinking, the concept and the execution. – refer to the Evaluation Criteria.

This section can be up to 500 words but not limted to.

Also provide:

- Joint submission of entry by both designer and client

- Written and or visual account of the relationship or engagement  

- A suitable referee of standing who can be contacted by the judges

Keep your work anonymous
It is critical that where possible the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on the project images, explanation or supporting material.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best 

Gold - Best entry in category
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

EXPLAINING YOUR WORK
To help the judges understand the context give us the clients backstory - The Why / The Purpose for the project.

Complete each section for each of the following headings. Try to keep the overall text less than 500 words (although not limited to).

ENTRY CRITERIA
To help the judges, please format your descriptions into: 

Kaupapa / Intention
Design that explores and articulates concepts, ideas, stories or meaning that responds to our indigenous culture, heritage and sense of place.

Tikanga / Process
Processes which promote cultural integrity in development of the design response.

Whakawhanaungatanga / Relationships
Evidence of Designers actively seeking and developing meaningful relationships with cultural expertise relevant to the kaupapa.

Tangata ki te tangata / People to people
Evidence of ‘co-design’ process through designers and clients working effectively, exhibiting trust, respect and reciprocity.

Āuahatanga / Creativity 
Creative work that pushes the boundaries and explores the fringes of meaning and identity.

Āhuatanga / Expression
Design that achieves new heights in the expression of Toitanga in a tangible way through style, form and character.

Additional supporting material such as a video or samples of work such as a poster or book may be submitted. The judges highly recommend that you send additional supporting material, as they will take these into consideration during the judging process.

Submitting supporting material
Supporting material must be delivered to the Designers Institute office by 5.30pm Friday 4th July 2025.

It is the responsibility of the entrant to courier the supporting material.

Ensure your ENTRY NUMBER sheet is sent with your supporting material. 
Under entry Details where its says I will be sending supporting materials -  click on the "Print Coversheet' button.

Address your delivery to:

Designers Institute of New Zealand
Ground Floor, Suite 5
27 Gillies Avenue
Newmarket
Auckland

Where possible keep your work anonymous
It is advisable that where possible the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on supporting material.

Return of supporting material.
During the online entry process, you can choose to pay for supporting material to be returned to you by the Designers Institute following judging.

NOTE: We do not return supporting material to addresses outside of New Zealand.Video submissions as additional supporting material

- You can submit a short 60-90 second video as supporting material
- Flythroughs, renders and process videos all help to communicate your design process
- The same rules apply to videos as other supporting materials - the videos should not have identifiable reference to the entrant/studio/company
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week.

Championing the power of good design to create massive impact 

Celebrating the Value of Design 
We need to recognise and celebrate our very best stories of design impact. Stories that demonstrate both the skill of the design activity and the undeniable value it has created.

The Value of Design Award exists to recognise the substantial value that can be created by the skilful and systematic application of design. This category doesn’t judge the aesthetic of design but recognises the organisations that tangibly demonstrate the impact it can create.

To judge these awards we need to see the data and the process in behind the outcomes. We want to factually understand the ‘how’ and the ‘what’ design has enabled you to achieve.

This is probably a step change in sales, process efficiencies or profits, culture or behaviour changes, the opening up of completely new markets and new products. Maybe it is a drastic reduction of the impact you have on the planet or some other environmental or social ROI.

The key is that we see the evidence of this change, The evidence of the improvement, the clear impact and progression in cold, hard facts.

Entries can be for a single product or service, a business initiative or multi year programme – it is the size and nature of the impact created that we are evaluating above all else.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Purple - Best of the Best – a wider social / environmental contribution is an expectation here 

Gold - best entry in category 
Silver - strongly considered for Gold 

Bronze - worthy of award recognition  

Finalist – meritorious

Gold, Silver or Bronze can be awarded for an individual design project where it can be demonstrated that the design thinking drove a step change in value / impact for the company. 

To be considered for a Purple Pin you would need to prove you are using design for maximum positive impact. You would need to demonstrate an environmental / social impact that is leading for your category and ROI as well as project or organisation specific value creation – ie: the value design creates needs to be proven to be bigger than solely for your organisation's benefit.


JUDGING CRITERIA

We are interested in understanding four simple things that are hallmarks of an organisation embracing a strong design ethos:

Process
Evidence of a robust design led process and commitment

Design effect
Well designed, implemented and change clearly effected

Bottom Line impact
What has the design tangibly delivered: commercial and social/environmental ROI, operational efficiencies or anything else you can tangibly prove    

For bottom line impact we are looking for: The communication of the tangible value created, whether: Monetary by way of increased market share, margin, efficiency, revenue or profit. Better cultural and societal outcomes by way of environmental impact and sustainability, circular design advances, community development, health and wellbeing improvements or any other value you care to prove and pitch to us.

The Black Pin Creating substantial and enduring value, typically over a number of years, by consistently and skilfully developing a design ethos across an entire organisation and culture.

ENTRY PROCESS

Explaining your work  Explain your project so that the judges are able to understand the purpose, your process /solution, and most importantly the tangible metrics / results. This section can be up to 500 words in entry process...or submitted as confidential information to Designers Institute of NZ, c/o CEO Cathy Veninga, Suite 5, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket, Auckland

Fields required:
Field One: The tangible metrics / results
Field Two: The purpose / backstory around why and the overarching idea if applicable
Field Three: The process - what were the key steps in the design process, who did each step (internal/agency partner).
Field Four: The final design solution.

The results section is the most critical –
Without compelling evidence of the results we cannot determine the final standings.
We need the hard data to support your entry.

We need you to provide us the tangible evidence that proves the value created:

- Whether monetary/customer centric by way of increased market share / sales growth, margin, or overall profit.
- Business/process efficiency by savings of some sort.
- Product/service development and progression statistics and/or awards.
- Business improvement and impact evolution via sustainability solutions or circular design advances.
- Better cultural and societal outcomes by way of community development, societal health and wellbeing improvement.
- Or any other metric you care to pitch to us that tangibly proves the creation of value via design. Without this data it will be very hard for us to determine where your entry places in the awards.

You need to provide this information to us in a very simple form, a table, a chart, a sentence or three explaining the 3 or 4 key metrics that prove the value created.
For example:

We moved sales from x-y because of…
We grew margin from x-y because of…
We improved efficiency / saved xyz amount of something because of…
We saw our footprint move from x-y because of…

IMAGES Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented. Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image.  Images must be in JPEG or PNG format (RGB mode) in portrait or landscape orientation with minimum dimensions of 2,475 × 1,755 pixels (A3 @ 150dpi).

SUPPORTING MATERIAL
If the above limitations inhibit your ability to communicate your work adequately you may physically submit supporting material, print or digital presentations, samples etc where practical. See next tab for Supporting Material.
Confidential information to Designers Institute of NZ, c/o CEO Cathy Veninga, Suite 5, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket, Auckland.

JUDGING
The Value of Design Awards will be judged by a panel of leading business people and designers with deep experience of design skills, processes and effectiveness.

CONFIDENTIALITY
We understand entry information may be confidential or commercially sensitive so such information is provided in confidence to the Designers Institute, it is not available to the public and is used for judging only.

Confidential information to Designers Institute of NZ, c/o CEO Cathy Veninga, Suite 5, 27 Gillies Avenue, Newmarket, Auckland.

All Judges sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement prior to judging.

Submitting supporting material
Supporting material must be delivered to the Designers Institute office by 5.30pm Friday 4th July 2025.

It is the responsibility of the entrant to courier the supporting material.
Ensure your ENTRY NUMBER sheet is sent with your supporting material. 
Under entry Details where its says I will be sending supporting materials -  click on the "Print Coversheet' button.

Address your delivery to:

Designers Institute of New Zealand
Attn: CEO, Cathy Veninga 
Ground Floor, Suite 5
27 Gillies Avenue
Newmarket
Auckland

Keep your work anonymous.
It is critical that the name of the entrant/studio/company is not visible anywhere on supporting material.

Return of supporting material
During the online entry process, you can choose to pay for supporting material to be returned to you by the Designers Institute following judging.

NOTE: We cannot return supporting material to addresses outside of New Zealand.

Video submissions as additional supporting material

- You can submit a short 60-90 second video as supporting material.
- Flythroughs, renders and process videos all help to communicate your design process
- Simply upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and include the URL as a part of the entry process or at the end of your Description
- Ensure any links are still live for judging week

1. Best Design Awards is a programme of the Designers Institute of New Zealand Inc (“Designers Institute”),

Designers Institute of New Zealand
PO Box 10 9423, Newmarket
Auckland 1149
Email: info@bestawards.co.nz
Phone: 027 473 2399

2. By entering, you acknowledge and accept the following terms and conditions.

3. Eligible Designers

3.1 Entry is open to any individual, group of individuals or company who has designed or commissioned a design,

3.2 Entrants under 18 years must have a parent/legal guardian contact the Designers Institute to confirm they have permission to enter, and agree to these rules.

3.3 Entrants do not need to be members of the Designers Institute, however, by entering, entrants agree that they will be bound and will abide by the Designers Institute Code of Ethics. Entry in the Best Design Awards does not constitute, nor carry the rights and benefits of, Designers Institute membership.

3.4 DINZ Members to receive the Best Design Award discount must be paid up as full Members (this does not include Affiliate or International Members).


4. Eligible Works

4.1 Works entered into the Best Design Awards must have been released before 2nd of July in the year of entry.

4.2 There is no restriction to when the work was created up till 2nd July in the year of entry.

4.3 Entries (including all supporting information) must be received before 6.00pm NZST on the specified closing date published under Key Dates, unless stated otherwise by the Organisers.

4.34 Works will not be eligible if they have been entered by another Entrant or submitted in a previous year, unless the work has been entered previously, but changed or updated, with the re-launch representing a significant design development.

4.5 No more than one entry may be entered for a single Work i.e. a studio or a client or other cannot enter the same Work.

4.6 Works must fit into one of the following classifications:
a) The Work has been produced for, and approved by the client. The following categories may be exempt from this requirement: Product Concept/Experimental, student entries
b) The Work has been produced by an agency or entrant pro-bono i.e without paid comission
c) The Entrant is also the client for the work, which falls into the self-promotion category;
d) Student Works eg Works created by a tertiary student at an accredited government learning institute, and accepted for coursework credit; or
e) The Work does not fit into the above classifications, but the Organisers have granted express written permission for the entry of the Work.

4.7 Works must also fit the criteria of at least one of the Awards Categories.

4.8 Works created solely for the purpose of entering competitions are not eligible. The following categories may be exempt from this requirement: Product Concept/Experimental, student entries

4.9 Submissions to the awards are only valid upon receiving payment in full of the entry free as specified by the Best Design Awards Organisers. Entry fees are not refundable as per dates stated under Refunds.

4.10 Without prejudice to the Organisers’ absolute discretion of entry under Rule 8.3, the Organisers may refuse to admit works which are pornographic, profane, discriminatory, inflammatory, illegal in content or in any other way offensive to a person or the principles of the Best Design Awards, the Designers Institute, or Designers Institute sponsors or members.

5. Awards Categories

5.1 The Best Design Awards categories are at the Organisers’ discretion and may be changed/added/varied without notice at any stage prior to judging.

5.2 The Organisers reserve the right to move any entry into a different category, at any time, without notice, if they deem that category to be most suitable. 

6. Authorship, Contributors, Acknowledgment, Originality and Licensing

6.1 By submitting your entry, you warrant that:
a) that the Work submitted is original;
b) that you are the originator of the Work (or part of a group of originators);
c) that all originators, contributors, clients, and owners of the work consent to the entry and use of the Work in accordance with these Rules and the general requirements of the Best Design Awards;
d) if you have completed a Work as an employee, that you have gained the permission of your employer to enter the Work; and
e) that you have obtained any required licensing and/or permission to use comprising third-party materials (including typefaces, photography, vector images, trade marks, patents, and other licensed and/or copyrighted materials) for the Work to be entered, published, promoted etc. in accordance with these Rules and the general requirements of the competition.

6.2 Where any contributor/ author/ relevant client or employer objects to the entry, the Work may (in the absolute discretion of the Designers Institute and the Best Design Awards Organiser under Rule 8.3) not be accepted for submission to the Awards. The Organisers reserve the right to remove any entry where authorship and/or acknowledgement is disputed.

6.3 All significant contributors must be acknowledged with appropriate entry credits, and their contact details must be provided by the Entrant. The Organisers may contact contributors and Entrants to verify details, including authorship and contribution, and may require this information to be modified. Without prejudice to the Organisers’ absolute discretion of entry under Rule 8.3, entries with inadequate or contested contributor acknowledgment may be disqualified.

6.4 In the event judges query the eligibility of an Entry under this section, you will be required to provide documentary evidence (e.g. correspondence, records, design concepts, applicable patents and/or trademarks) to demonstrate the eligibility.

7. Designers Institute and Best Design Awards use of Works and Related Material

7.1 By entering you warrant that:
a) the Designers Institute has the right to reproduce all materials provided by the entrant(s), in whole or in part without payment of release of licensing or royalty fees to the holder of the publication rights and/or copyright;
b) the Designers Institute and the Organisers have permission to use, publish, broadcast, exhibit and promote the name, image, and the content of the submission, works, and any interviews or other material supplied to the Designers Institute/the Best Design Awards, in any way that the Designers Institute deems appropriate, including for the promotion, marketing and commercial motives of the Designers Institute, the Best Design Awards and their sponsors; and
c) Notwithstanding the above, you accept that the Organisers and the Designers Institute have no obligation to display, promote or publish any Work or Entry in any way.

7.2 By entering you warrant that you will use your best endeavours to comply with the reasonable requirements of the Designers Institute and the Organisers to obtain and use the Work in the manner described in Rule 7.1. You agree that you will provide the Organisers / Designers Institute with the opportunity to use, photograph and display the Work.

7.3 The Designers Institute and Organisers will use all reasonable efforts to acknowledge the Entry/Work originators and contributors in accordance with the information provided by the Entrant(s), wherever possible, in any publications by The Designers Institute and/or Organisers.

8. Absolute Discretion of the Designers Institute and Best Design Awards Judges

8.1 All judges are required to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement binding for ten years.

8.2 The decisions of the judges are final and are made at the sole and absolute discretion of the judges.

8.3 Without prejudice to the absolute discretion under Rule 8.3, if the Designers Institute establishes that an Entrant has broken the Awards Rules, the offending Entry shall be suspended from the Awards.

8.4 The Designers Institute and the Best Design Awards Organisers and judges retain an absolute discretion to, without reason or refund:
a) Disqualify an Entrant/Entry from the Awards;
b) Admit/exclude/remove Entries to the Awards;
c) Require any Entrant to modify their Entry;
d) Bar any Entrant from submitting further Entries (including in future Best Design Awards);
e) Refuse to judge an entry;
f) Change the competition dates, including entry, judgment and ceremony dates;
g) Change/replace the prizes without further notice;
h) Refuse future Designers Institute membership and/or revoke/suspend a Designers Institute membership on the grounds of an Entrant’s conduct with regards to these Awards; and/or
i) Strike off an award where a Work or Entrant is later found to be in breach of these Rules.

8.5 Further correspondence (if any) is at the sole discretion of the Designers Institute CEO.

9. Intellectual Property Rights Reserved

9.1 All rights related to the name “DINZ”, “Designers Institute of New Zealand”, “Best Design Awards” and associated images, branding, trade marks and all intellectual property are exclusively owned by the Designers Institute, and may not be used without the express written permission of the Designers Institute CEO.

10. Privacy and Contact Information

10.1 You hereby warrant that you and each significant contributor has authorised the entry of their personal details for these purposes and consented to participating in the Best Design Awards in accordance with the Entry and Competition Rules.

10.2 All contact details provided may be used from time-to-time by the Organisers and the Designers Institute for communications related to the Best Design Awards and promotion of other Designers Institute news and events.

10.3 All other personal information will be kept confidential and used solely by the Designers Institute for the purposes of the Best Design Awards. You can request access to and correction of your details at any time. You may unsubscribe at any time from our email database.

11. Prizes

11.1 Any prizes offered are non-transferrable, not substitutable with cash, and subject to change without notice.

11.2 Awards Pins and Certificates will not be couriered at organisers cost (DINZ/Best) to international addresses. 

12. Warranties

12.1 The Best Design Awards, Organisers, Designers Institute and its sponsors and members shall not be liable for any loss, injury, liability, expense or damage suffered by the Entrant(s) or any third party whatsoever, whether indirectly or directly, howsoever arising, including that resulting from the negligence of the Organisers and/or Designers Institute, by our cancellations, terminations, disqualifications, modifications, variations, or through the failure or omission on the part of Organisers and/or Designers Institute to comply with obligations under these Rules, or arising by operation of law and whether suffered by the Entrants, contributors and/or a third party for any amount that exceeds any entry fee actually paid by the Entrant to pursuant to these Rules.

12.2 Without prejudice to Rule 12.1, the Best Design Awards, Organisers, Designers Institute and its sponsors and members:
a) do not warrant the safety or protection of your property. Any property is entered and held at the Entrant’s risk;
b) will not be responsible for the content/editorial control for entries and associated information submitted by entrants, including the legality and/or veracity of that information;
c) do not make any claims or warranties as to the ownership of copyright or intellectual property of the designs entered in the Best Design Awards, and will assume no liability on work submitted accused of plagiarism, copyright issues, intellectual property rights issues or contractual disputes related to the entries and works submitted. The Entrants must take sole responsibility and in such case, the Entrant(s) shall indemnify the Designers Institute, the Best Design Awards and sponsors for any loss or damages and his/her/its admission to the competition shall be terminated immediately.

12.3 By entering, you warrant that you have the legal standing and relevant permissions to make the commitments required by these Rules and the general nature of the Best Design Awards, and that you indemnify the Best Design Awards, Organisers, Designers Institute and its sponsors for any loss or damage incurred (directly or indirectly) by you, a contributor or any third party, in relation to your entry in the Best Design Awards.

13. Cancellation of Entry and Tickets

13.1 Entrants may cancel or remove Entries via written request (email us at info@bestawards.co.nz) up until 5pm Wednesday 2nd July 2025 after which point no Entries may be withdrawn.

13.2 Entry refunds, The Designers Institute is under no obligation to refund payments made for any Entries from 5pm Wednesday 2nd July 2025.

13.3 Ticket refunds for the awards evening will not be given after 5pm Friday 12th September 2025, or, as advertised on the eDM's.

13.4 Tickets close Friday 3rd October 2025.

13.5 All online payments incur third party Stripe fees. The refund for entries or tickets will have this fee deducted and reflected in the refund.

14. Interpretation

14.1 Singular words include the plural and vice versa.

14.2 References to any party shall mean and include a reference to that party, its successor, executors or personal representatives (as the case may be), and transferees.

14.3 Any covenant on the Entrant not to do something shall also constitute an obligation not to suffer, permit, cause or assist any other person to do that thing.

14.4 Any reference to any legislation, regulation, or code includes reference to any modification, substitute for, c13.3 onsolidation or re-enactment of it.

14.5 In these Rules, the following definitions shall apply:

“Awards Categories” Means the categories of awards available in the Best Design Awards, as specified from time to time by the Organisers

“Closing Date” Means the final date that entries will be accepted by the Organiser for judgment in the Best Design Awards, as notified by the Organisers

“DINZ” or “Designers Institute” Means the Designers Institute of New Zealand Incorporated

“Entrant” or “You” Means the person submitting the Work for entry in the Best Design Awards

“Entry” or “Entries” Means the Work(s) submitted in the Best Design Awards, together with any other documentation or materials, including the entry form

“Intellectual Property” Means all and any patents, patent applications, trade marks, service marks, trade names, copyrights, know-how, trade secrets, domain names, rights in confidential information, and all and any other intellectual property rights, including all applications and rights to apply for any of the same

“Organisers” Means the Designers Institute of New Zealand and its delegates and sponsors, in their capacity as proprietors/organisers of the Best Design Awards

“Work” or “Works” Means the creative work product which is submitted for judgment in the Best Design Awards

Yes you can edit your entry after you have paid for it. You can go back into your entry and make text, image or acknowledgement changes anytime.

However after you have submitted there will be an edit fee of $79 per entry.

ALL changes will show on the website and can be made at any time though the year.

However after judging week we will export all finalist content to create the certificates and AV for the Awards ceremony. 

Any edits after the after the final export will not make it onto the certificates or AV.

Upload up to 10 images of your work, in the order you want it presented. Drag images to reorder them – the first image is your hero image. Images must be A3, 150dpi and RGB, in JPEG or PNG format.

Entrants may cancel or remove Entries via written request (email us at events@dinz.org.nz) up until 5pm Wednesday 3rd July 2024 after which point no Entries may be withdrawn. The Designers Institute is under no obligation to refund entry fees made for either Student or Studio Entries after 5pm Wednesday 3rd July 2024.

Ticket refunds for the ceremony will not be given after 5pm 13th September 2024, or, as advertised on the eDM's.

Tickets close Friday 4th October 2024.

All online payments incur third party Stripe fees. The refund for entries or tickets will have this fee deducted and reflected in the refund.

DIA and AGDA Members recieve DINZ Member entry fee rate but need to email info@bestawards.co.nz before paying. We will need to manually tick you in for this.

Ensure your ENTRY NUMBER sheet is sent with your supporting material. 

Under entry Details where its says I will be sending supporting materials -  click on the "Print Coversheet' button.

To give you control of your entries post submission, we have a very streamlined process for you to go back in and make as many edits to any entry as you like through the online Unlock to Edit within your account.

But please be mindful that the DINZ team need to export in preparation for Judging Week, and later for the certificates and AV. So there is chance that we may not have exported any late edits you made to an entry.

Therefore, we encourage you to check your submission at the time of entry so there are no embarrassing omissions.

If you are a finalist post Judging Week your changes will always be visible on bestawards.co.nz

Unlock to Edit Fees will apply - $79 per entry.

Entries and Supporting Material

• Online entries are printed by the Designers Institute onto A3.
• Entries are laid out in their categories along with any supporting material.
• There may be URL links or QR codes supplied as supporting material and these must be viewed by each judge.

Briefing

• Head of Judges briefs the judges on the roles of the head of judges, the Convenor and the judges.
• Head of Judges briefs the judges on the overall process.
• The Convenor briefs the judges on the judging criteria.
• Before detailed judging begins, judges will be asked by the Convenor to walk around entries to gain an overview of the category.
• Any questions the judges have during the judging process should be directed to the Convenor or to the Head of Judges (and particularly not DINZ helpers team).

Voting

• Each judge will be given a Category Checklist with the entry number, entry title and URL or QR code (if there is one) for each category.
• If a judge has a conflict of interest submit voting form with words “Non Vote”.

Judging Independently

• Judges will work independently with no discussion.
• Text provided on the entry must be read and considered in the judging process.
• There may be supporting material including a URL or QR code provided along with the A3 printed entries. The supporting material must be considered in the judging process. 
• When a category has been judged by all the judges the scores are averaged by the DINZ team.
• The entries are then laid out according to the rating – highest score to lowest.

Judging Discussion

• The judging panel may at this point, facilitated by the Convenor, and overviewed by the Head of Judges, discuss the rating order and adjust as agreed by the panel.
• The judges reserve the right to relocate an entry from one category to another, or even from one discipline to another, if they deem it necessary.

Selecting the Purple Pin

• When all the categories have been completed the Gold Pin winners from each category are brought together.
• After a discussion and vote the judges, select from among the Gold Pins the Best of Discipline – The Purple Pin.
• One Purple Pin will be awarded except, in exceptional cases, where all the judges in that discipline agree that more than one Purple Pin should be awarded.
• The Purple Pin celebrates an entry identified by all judges as being the best entry of all the entries presented in that year.

We will help.