Celebrating the 2025 Australian Good Design Award Winners
- Published on: 20 October 2025
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This year, the Australian Good Design Awards invited us to rethink what ‘better’ really means in design. More human-centred. More planet-centred. More inclusive. And ultimately, more impactful.
Design excellence is no longer just about form or function. It’s about ideas with intent, solutions with staying power. It’s about how we care for the planet, how we connect with one another and how we create systems that respond to the world’s biggest challenges.
Last Friday night, against a backdrop of black-tie glamour, we came together to honour the designers, innovators and visionaries shaping the future across various industries.
It was a celebration of creativity with purpose, a night that reminded us that bold ideas, thoughtful processes and collaborative efforts make design a powerful force. A force that shapes how we live, move, build and belong.
We will be sharing the stories behind this year’s Australian Good Design Award Winners over the coming weeks for their extraordinary contribution to Australian and international design.
2025 Australian Good Design Award of the Year
In 2025, the Jury recognised two projects for this top accolade, Deadly Democracy and Hullbot, highlighting the exceptional quality and innovation among this year’s entries.
Hullbot Autonomous Ship Hull Cleaning System
Hullbot is a standout example of better product design. It offers something radically different, a full autonomous in-water system that cleans hulls proactively, safely and without releasing poisons into the sea.
Tackling the global challenge of biofouling, Hullbot’s innovative approach demonstrates how design can solve complex environmental problems while enhancing operational efficiency. Its thoughtful engineering and user-centric design make Hullbot a standout in sustainable technology.
Hullbot – Winner of the 2025 Australian Good Design Award of the Year. Image: Supplied.
Deadly Democracy: Improving Civic Education for Indigenous Youth
A collaboration between YLab and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), Deadly Democracy is redesigning civic education for the better, empowering First Nations young leaders to engage confidently in Australia’s democratic process.
The initiative responds to a political system that has long lacked cultural safety for First Nations people, aiming to turn voting into a form of leadership and self-advocacy.
Through co-designed workshops delivered both in-person and online across regional communities, participants gained practical skills, networks and knowledge to influence change.
Deadly Democracy – Winner of the 2025 Australian Good Design Award of the Year. Image: Supplied
Australian Good Design Award for Sustainability
First Building – Bradfield City Centre
First Building at Bradfield City Centre is a bold vision for the future of sustainable cities. Designed with adaptability, circularity and resilience front of mind, it sets a new benchmark for regenerative urban design that honours Country.
Led by the Bradfield Development Authority (BDA) and NSW Public Works, and realised by Hassell Studio in collaboration with cultural research agency Djinjama, the building blends regenerative design, cultural storytelling and cutting-edge technology, demonstrating how design can transform cities for people and place.
The First Building – Bradfield City Centre – Winner of 2025 Australian Good Design Award for Sustainability. Image: Hassell Studio
Australian Design Prize
Professor Mark Burry AO
Professor Mark Burry is shaping the future of Australian cities.
As Founding Director of Swinburne University’s Smart Cities Research Institute, he’s rethinking urban design to be smarter, more inclusive and truly human-centred.
His visionary work, which bridges architecture, research and city-making, has earned him the Australian Design Prize, recognising a career-long impact on the way Australians live, work and move through their cities.
Professor Burry has been a key figure in completing the Sagrada Familia since joining the project in 1979. As the Senior Architect, he is known for deciphering Antoni Gaudí’s original designs and for introducing digital technologies, such as parametric design and 3D modeling, to the construction. He has dedicated much of his professional career to unraveling the complexities of Gaudí’s vision and applying modern tools to translate his analog designs into reality.
Professor Mark Burry AO – Winner of 2025 Australian Design Prize. Image: Supplied
Australian Good Design Team of the Year
Today
Today is an impact and innovation agency. They’re driven by a purpose to achieve positive social and environmental impact, using design as a lever.
Design is embedded in every aspect of Today. Over eleven years, they’ve built a collaborative, innovative and compassionate culture. Their deeply intentional approach has shaped an award-winning portfolio across the impact sector. Now, they add the 2025 Good Design Team of the Year Award to their decorated mantle.
Today – 2025 Good Design Team of the Year Award. Image: Supplied
Women in Design Award
Sasha Titchkosky
As co-founder and CEO of Koskela, Sasha Titchkosky has long championed the idea that good design can and should make the world better. Her leadership embodies this year’s theme, proving that sustainability and social impact can coexist with commercial success.
Sasha has reimagined what responsible business looks like in Australia’s design landscape. From advancing circular design principles and supporting local manufacturing to building long-term partnerships with First Nations artists and communities, her work shows that design is most powerful when it serves people, place and planet.
Sasha Titchkosky – Winner of 2025 Women in Design Award. Image: Australian House and Garden
Michael Bryce Patron’s Award
First Responder – EMVision
Exemplifying excellence in concept design, the First Responder is a portable neurodiagnostic device designed for ground and air ambulances to rapidly detect strokes and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) at the point of care.
Compact and highly portable, it enables on-site and in-transit diagnosis, minimising critical treatment delays. Engineered for high-pressure emergency environments, its innovative design ensures seamless integration into existing paramedic workflows and swift, reliable operation when every second counts.
First Responder – Winner of 2025 Michael Bryce Patron’s Award. Image: Supplied
Indigenous Design Award + Powerhouse Design Award
Footprints on Gadigal Nura – Mili Mili
Footprints on Gadigal Nura redefined Waterloo Metro Station, earning not one but two prestigious design accolades.
This Aboriginal-led design transforms the station into a culturally grounded public space, guided by Country+Community methodology.
By embedding story, language and connection to Country, it recognises Aboriginal people while inviting the wider community to engage in a shared journey of understanding and belonging.
The project has delivered measurable impact across cultural, social and environmental spheres, showcasing how visionary design can elevate public infrastructure and community wellbeing.
Footprints on Gadigal Nura – Winner of 2025 Indigenous Design Award + Powerhouse Design Award. Image: Supplied
Automotive Design Commendation
The Automotive Design Commendation honours two exceptional vehicles in the Product Design, Automotive and Transport Design Category, showcasing the boldest exteriors and the smartest interiors. From first glance to every detail inside, these cars drive design forward.
Automotive Design Commendation – Best Exterior Design
Hyundai IONIQ 9
The Hyundai IONIQ 9 is a three-row electric SUV that turns heads with its striking exterior, without compromising comfort or premium features.
Its futuristic design maximises space and utility, featuring a flat floor, world-first bi-directional sliding console and optional relaxation seats.
Sleek and commanding, the IONIQ 9 makes a bold visual statement, reinforcing Hyundai’s leadership in sustainable mobility on its journey to become carbon neutral by 2045.
Hyundai IONIQ 9 – Winner of 2025 Automotive Design Commendation – Best Exterior Design. Image: Supplied
Automotive Design Commendation – Best Interior Design
Volvo EX90
Designed for families who value thoughtful design, advanced technology and Volvo’s renowned commitment to safety, the Volvo EX90 ushers in a new era of electrification.
Its interior combines comfort with understated style, reflecting a modern Scandinavian aesthetic. Departing from traditional luxury materials, Volvo has embraced innovative, progressive materials that highlight the brand’s design philosophy while creating a warm and inviting cabin.
Volvo EX90 – Winner of 2025 Automotive Design Commendation – Best Interior Design. Image: Supplied
Robert Pataki Award for Healthcare Design
SCOOT: Open Source Power Assist
The Robert Pataki Award celebrates design that genuinely improves lives.
SCOOT is an open-source power assist for manual wheelchairs, cleverly built from off-the-shelf electric scooter parts to make mobility more affordable and accessible.
Power assist attaches directly to a standard wheelchair, giving users motorised support to move more easily and independently. By extending range and boosting freedom, SCOOT proves that a small device can have a big impact.
Image: SCOOT – Winner of 2025 Robert Pataki Award for Healthcare Design. Image: Supplied
Livio Bonollo Award for Longevity
PB/5 Pedestrian Button – Nielsen Design
The inaugural Livio Bonollo Award for Longevity celebrates designs built to last, showcasing creations that stand the test of time. PB/5 Pedestrian button is exactly that, showcasing longevity through durability, relevance and thoughtful innovation.
A true Australian icon recognised worldwide, the Audio-Tactile Pedestrian Detector is engineered with care and precision. It empowers people with vision, hearing and physical impairments to navigate streets safely and independently, proving how good design can transform everyday life.
Image: PB/5 Pedestrian Button – Winner of the Livio Bonollo Award for Longevity.
Congratulations to all of this year’s Winners across all categories, from the Good Design Award Winners and Gold Award recipients to those celebrated as Best in Class, through to the Good Design Award of the Year.
You can explore all of this year’s Winners on the Good Design Winner’s Index and dive into the complete showcase of outstanding projects and visionary designers recognised this year.
Good Design Australia extends a heartfelt thanks to the design community, every entrant, collaborator and innovator, whose creativity, passion and commitment are shaping a better tomorrow.
These Awards are a testament to what’s possible when design is thoughtful, purposeful and bold.
Stay with us as we continue to share the stories behind this year’s Award Winners and celebrate the innovations defining the future of Australian design.
