2025 Awards Entries Open

Published on: 24 February 2025

Design is a powerful catalyst for change – it sparks innovation, solves complex challenges, and shapes the way we live. The 2025 Australian Good Design Awards embrace this transformative potential with the theme Rewarding, Defining and Celebrating Better ______.“

This year’s theme invites designers, innovators, architects, engineers and creative thinkers to explore and articulate what “better” means in today’s world.

By leaving the statement open-ended, the theme encourages a broad spectrum of interpretations. From better places, spaces, products, and experiences – to more specific areas like workplaces, buildings, apps, services, branding, and user interfaces – design’s potential for improvement is limitless.

The annual Awards aim to inspire entrants to showcase work that not only solves problems, but also enriches experiences, enhances sustainability, and fosters progress in all aspects of our lives.

Through this theme, the 2025 Awards reinforce their mission to not only recognise the best in design but to inspire a collective movement towards a better and more thoughtfully designed world.

We invite designers to demonstrate how their work creates measurable impact, tackles real-world challenges, and drives meaningful progress.

HOW THIS COMES TO LIFE

The 2025 Australian Good Design Awards will be a journey of discovery, celebrating the many forms of good design, from incremental improvements making our day-to-day experiences smoother, to projects driving sustainability, advancing accessibility and implementing world-first technologies that are shaping new industries.

At the heart of this theme are three powerful words: Rewarding, Defining, and Celebrating.

The Awards seek to Reward those who push boundaries, create impact, and set new benchmarks for excellence. They also play a crucial role in Defining what good design looks like – helping to shape industry standards and influence future design directions. Finally, the Awards Ceremony Celebrates the outstanding achievements of Award Winners, shining a light on projects that exemplify better.

At every phase we aim to highlight how design can improve different areas of life – whether it’s Better Products, Better Places, Better Services, Better Experiences, or Better Systems.

“This dynamic concept embodies the spirit of the Australian Good Design Awards, where design is not just about creating something new or something more, but is actually about creating something better – for people, for the planet, and for the future,” said Rachel Wye, Managing Director of Good Design Australia.

“The 2025 Awards will celebrate this vision, championing design as a force for innovation and improvement, to inspire a better tomorrow,” she added.

NEW FOR 2025: LAUNCHING THE CONCEPT DESIGN DISCIPLINE

For the 2025 Australian Good Design Awards, we’re launching an exciting new design discipline for Concept Design.

The Concept Design discipline celebrates the power of ideas in shaping the future of design and innovation, recognising projects that push boundaries and explore new possibilities in design, technology, materials, and user experiences.

Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it highlights design’s critical role in fostering a more sustainable and equitable future by encouraging innovative solutions with meaningful impact.

Open to early-stage concepts, concept cars, pre-production projects, and forward-thinking designs across all disciplines, the Concept Design discipline welcomes entries from individuals and companies from around the world. There is no age restriction to enter.

“The new Concept Design discipline celebrates the power of good ideas to shape our future. By recognising early-stage innovations that are aligned to the SDGs, we aim to inspire bold solutions that drive meaningful change. We can’t wait to see the creativity this new category will bring.” Rachel shared.

EARLY BIRD ENTRIES NOW OPEN

The Australian Good Design Awards are a global showcase of the best in design and innovation. With a proud history dating back to 1958, this prestigious program celebrates groundbreaking work across business and industry – from architecture and engineering to fashion, social impact, and everyday products and services.

Recognised by the World Design Organization (WDO), the Awards set the international benchmark for exceptional design, highlighting cutting-edge projects that push boundaries and shape the future. Each year, the Awards honour the brilliant people and ideas behind the designs transforming our world.

“We want to hear from designers who are making things ‘better’ through their own interpretation of what “better” means, and how their design contributes to a brighter future,” concluded Ms. Wye.

Early bird entries are now open. Stay tuned to see how this dynamic theme will unfold throughout the year, culminating in the exciting 2025 Australian Good Design Awards.

Key dates: