Special Accolades

Good Design Australia presents a number of special awards and accolades within the annual Australian Good Design Awards to recognise, reward and celebrate the expanding role of design in helping shape a better, safer and more prosperous world.

  • Good Design Team of the Year Award
  • Australian Design Prize
  • Women in Design Award
  • Michael Bryce Patron's Award
  • Indigenous Designer Award
  • AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN AWARD
  • MAAS Design Award
  • Design Institute of Australia Award
  • Greener Spaces Better Places Design Award
  • CSIRO Design Innovation Award (Historic)
  • Safe Work Australia Award (Historic)

  • The Good Design Team of the Year Award is a special honour bestowed annually to a design team who consistently performs at the highest level in the annual Australian Good Design Awards and has made a positive and tangible impact in establishing and maintaining a design-led culture within their organisation.

    The Award aims to inspire companies to build and maintain a design-led culture throughout the organisation.

    EVALUATION CRITERIA

    • Evidence that the organisation is design-led from the CEO down and that design forms part of the DNA of the organisation.
    • The Design Team has cultivated a culture of creativity and leadership where everyone in the organisation is inspired and influenced by the power of design.
    • The Design Team is consistently recognised in the annual Australian Good Design Awards and other credible international design award programs.

    Good Design Team of the Year Award Winners

    2020 – Design + Industry
    2019 – Caroma Design Team
    2018 – The Breville Design Team

  • The Australian Design Prize was established to recognise individual designers who are making or have made, a significant impact in Australian design over the course of their career.

    Australian Design Prize Winners

    2020 – Michael J.S. Bryce AM AE KStJ
    2019 – Mark Armstrong
    2018 – Paul Schremmer
    2018 – Carl Nielsen (Awarded Posthumously)

  • The Women in Design Award was established in response to the significant gender imbalance within leadership roles in the design industry.

    This award seeks to recognise and celebrate women who have made significant contributions to the industry and hopes to encourage a more diverse and equal representation within leadership roles and in the design and creative industries in general.

    There is no cost to nominate and nominators can submit more than one nomination.

    ELIGIBILITY

    • Nominees must be Australian citizens or women working and living in Australia.
    • Nominations are also open to Australian women currently working overseas.

    Women in Design Award Winners

    2020 Winner

    Mia Feasey, Founder and CEO of Siren Design.

    2020 Finalists

    • Amy Degenhart, Director of degenhartSHEDD and Founder of Bubbl Up and Urban Pure;
    • Dr Leah Heiss, an award-winning designer, RMIT Researcher and CSIRO Visiting Designer/Scientist;
    • Farnaz Afsharfard, works across UX Design (Research, Information Architecture, Interaction Design);
    • Prof Cara Wrigley, Chair and Director of Design Innovation at the University of Sydney;

    VIEW ALL FINALISTS HERE

    2019 Winner

    Sharon Gauci, Executive Director at General Motors and the first Australian woman to hold this position.

    2019 Finalists

    • Liane Rossler, Founder of Superlocalstudio and Co-Founder of Dinosaur Designs;
    • Judith Glover, RMIT lecturer in Industrial Design and Founder of cult sex toy brand Goldfrau;
    • Vanessa Bird, Architect and Co-Founder of the multi-awarding winning architectural practice Bird de la Coeur Architects;
    • Ros Moriarty, Designer and Managing Director of Balarinji Studio, Australia’s leading indigenous art and design group.

  • The Michael Bryce Patron’s Award is presented annually by the Patron of Good Design Australia.

    The Award recognises and celebrates the best Australian designed product, service or project in the annual Australian Good Design Awards and is awarded to an entry that has the potential to shape the future economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects of our planet.

    The Michael Bryce Patron’s Award honours Good Design Australia’s inaugural Patron, the late Michael J.S. Bryce AM AE KStJ to recognise the enormous contribution he made to Good Design Australia and to the Australian design community over the course of his career. We hope this Award will ensure his legacy continues to be recognised in perpetuity through the annual Australian Good Design Awards.

    Michael Bryce Patron’s Award Winners

    2020 – ellume.lab
    2019 – Sans Forgetica
    2018 – NurseWatch
    2017 – Sofia 2
    2016 – The Safety Compass
    2015 – Transportable Building Collapse Training Simulator  (Joint Winner)
    2015 – High Resolves  (Joint Winner)
    2014 – Community Centred Innovation: co-designing for disaster preparedness
    2013 – Quicklay Fire Attack Pack
    2012 – MineLab F3 Compact Metal Detector

  • The Indigenous Designer Award recognises and celebrates the important contribution that Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander designers make to Australian Design across the spectrum of design disciplines and practice.

    This award welcomes nominations of Indigenous individuals as well as projects where at least one member of the design team identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

    RMIT and Indigenous Community representatives evaluate nominated submissions and select the overall winner for the Award based on specific evaluation criteria.

    Proudly presented by RMIT.

    Indigenous Designer Award Winners

    2020 – Deadly Allstars Healing Garden Co-Design
    2020 – David Unaipon (Awarded Posthumously)
    2019 – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Career Pathways Service
    2018 – Australian Indigenous Design Charter

  • Good Design Australia’s Automotive Design Award is a special accolade within the Automotive and Transport Category to recognise excellence in automotive design and styling.

    Vehicles entered into the Automotive and Transport Category in the annual Good Design Awards will also be considered for the Best Exterior Design Award and Best Interior Design Award as part of the jury process.

    EVALUATION CRITERIA

    Best Exterior Design Award

    • Form
    • Function
    • External visual impact and appeal
    • Design detail
    • All round visibility
    • Pedestrian considerations and safety
    • Ease of driver maintenance and cleaning
    • Predicted durability and material choice

    Best Interior Design Award

    • Form
    • Function
    • Internal visual impact and appeal
    • Design detail
    • Ease of entry and egress
    • Seating and adjustability
    • Control location and ergonomics
    • Control feel and function
    • Predicted durability and material choice
    • Luggage capacity and security

    Automotive Design Award Winners

    2020

    2019

    2018

  • The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Award is chosen from the annual Australian Good Design Awards and the criteria includes good design, innovation and the significance of a design to Australia’s culture. The Award is given to a project that has potential to make a significant improvement to the quality of health, wellbeing or the environment. This Award recognises the important role of design in harnessing the challenges of science and technology to make a positive impact on our lives.

    The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS), has proudly recognised excellence in Australian design as part of the annual Australian Good Design Awards since 1992.

    MAAS Award Winners

    2020 – Rapid Shield
    2019 – RangerBot
    2018 – Fashion Revolution Australia
    2017 – BES Rehab EXOFLEX Hand Therapy and Assessment Device
    2016 – Sydney Park Water Re-Use Project

  • The Design Institute of Australia Award recognises an Australian professional designer, design team or design company who has made a significant impact in the Australian Good Design Awards over the year.

    This Award was established by Good Design Australia and the Design Institute of Australia to recognise the role of professional design in projects submitted to the Australian Good Design Awards program.

    DIA Award Winners

    2020 – Future Friendly
    2019 – Designworks
    2018 – Clandestine Design Group
    2017 – Blackmagic Design
    2016 – Cobalt Niche
    2015 – Catalyst Design Group
    2014 – Design + Industry

  • The Greener Spaces Better Places Design Award recognises excellence in green urban and space design. The Award was established to help raise awareness and to promote excellence in green design.

    The Greener Spaces Better Places Design Award recognises and celebrates the important role of green and living infrastructure design to our urban areas, to cool our cities, and make our neighbourhoods more appealing to work, play and relax.

    About Greener Spaces Better Places (formerly 202020 Vision)

    Greener spaces make better places. They cool our cities and make our neighbourhoods healthier and more appealing to work, play and relax. That’s why government, universities, not-for-profits, business, and industry have come together as a national initiative – Greener Spaces Better Places – to ensure that as our urban areas grow, so do our green spaces. Their mission is to make Australia’s towns and cities the greenest in the world. More Info

    EVALUATION CRITERIA

    Contribution to more and better green space, greater appreciation for plants and trees in the design and development stage of projects, biophilia, air purification, water sensitive urban design, product design and development that progresses green and living infrastructure increases and improvements.

    Greener Spaces Better Places Design Award Winners

    2020 – Lucent
    2019 – Bendigo Hospital Project
    2018 – Sydney Park Water Re-use Project
    2017 – Hassett Park
    2016 – The Goods Line

  • The CSIRO Design Innovation Award recognised the important role of design-led innovation in harnessing the challenges of science and technology to create better products and services that make a positive impact on our lives.

    CSIRO Design Innovation Award Winners

    -Award Discontinued-

    2019 – Sundrop Farms
    2018 – Facett
    2017 – Sofia 2
    2016 – The Seabin Project

  • The Safe Work Australia Award for Good Design was a joint initiative between Safe Work Australia and Good Design Australia from 2016 to 2018 and raised awareness of the role of good design to support work health and safety.

    Safe Work Australia Award for Good Design Winners

    -Award Discontinued-

    2018 – DBCT Remedials – Mobile Swing-Stage Gantry
    2017 – Melbourne LRV E-Class Design Enhancement
    2016 – Makinex Construction Products