Key Dates

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.

For over 10 years, we’ve kept Best entry fees unchanged - because we know what it takes to submit work, and we’ve always aimed to honour that effort.

This year, with rising delivery costs across the board, we’ve made an adjustment to ensure Best remains viable, inspiring, and of the standard our community expects.

We’ve structured the fees in two phases - rewarding early entries and continuing to offer a lower rate for DINZ Members.

Thank you for standing with us in building a platform that represents the very best of design in Aotearoa.

DINZ Members (paid up Membership fees)
PHASE ONE: $199 per entry 31st March - 31st May
PHASE TWO: $249.00 per entry 1st June
*This does not include Affliate or International Members.

Non Members
PHASE ONE: $299 per entry 31st March - 31st May
PHASE TWO: $349.00 per entry 1st June

Students
We have special rates for students at $99.00 per entry.

DIA and AGDA
DIA and AGDA Members receive DINZ Member entry fee rate by emailing cathy.veninga@dinz.org.nz before paying - we have to manually tick you in.

If you'd like to join the Institute prior to entering, visit designersinstitute.nz

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request (email us at events@dinz.org.nz) up until 5pm Wednesday 2nd July 2025 after which point no Entries may be withdrawn.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

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

Tickets close Friday 3rd October 2025.

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 receive DINZ Member entry fee rate but need to email cathy.veninga@dinz.org.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.