A’ Design Award Is Welcoming New Entries—Check Out Its Picks From 2024

By Mikelle Leow, 15 Aug 2024

The A’ Design Award & Competition, one of the world’s leading design competitions, shines a spotlight on the best creative minds around the globe. This annual juried competition casts a wide net, inspiring a diverse array of disciplines and backgrounds. No matter your experience level, the competition offers a platform to showcase your work and be well recognized for it. And good news—you can apply now.

For those lucky enough to clinch an A’ Design Award, the rewards are as beneficial as they are prestigious. Winners receive the coveted A’ Design Prize kit consisting of a trophy, an international design excellence certificate framed in metal, and invitations to the gala night in Italy. The prize package also includes online and physical showcase opportunities, a hardcover yearbook featuring the best projects, and extensive coverage across various media channels.

Winners’ creations are translated into over 100 languages, ensuring their brilliance transcends borders. As a badge of honor in the design world, they’re also granted a lifelong license to use the winner’s logo, on top of gaining access to numerous marketing and PR tools.

Besides highlighting outstanding individuals, the award celebrates how exceptional design can make the world a better place. Entries undergo a rigorous peer review process, with an influential panel of design professionals, academics, and press members judging each submission anonymously to level the playing field.

Design hopefuls can register their best work here, with submissions closing on February 28, 2025. The competition is open to designs created within the last decade, ensuring a fresh influx of innovative ideas each year. DesignTAXI will announce the winners on April 15.

While you leaf through your proudest projects, check out some impressive prizewinning works from the past year below. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a budding talent, the A’ Design Award & Competition offers a chance to show off your work on the world stage.

Luyao x National Palace Museum Trendy Toys

Designer Shih Ting Ling teamed up with Taiwan’s National Palace Museum to create a toy line that's equal parts whimsical and thought-provoking. These adorable figurines not only catch your eye but also tug at your heartstrings and stimulate your mind. From the endearing Hedgehogs, which shine a light on autism awareness, to the quirky SU Zombie Alpha tackling our global food waste woes, these aren’t your average shelf-warmers. And let’s not forget the Kakigoori Kuma, a poignant reminder of our melting ice caps. These powerful storytellers are proving that art can bridge the gap between ancient traditions and modern-day challenges.

Luyao x National Palace Museum Trendy Toys by Shih Ting Ling

Nose Bookend

Zeynep and Konstantinos Paradeisopoulos have dreamed up bookends that are almost literally a breath of fresh air. The Nose Bookends turn up their nostrils at hard-edged bookends with their organic bulges and dips. Not just a pretty face, they’re also 3D-printed conversation starters tat prove the best ideas are sometimes right under our noses.

Nose Bookend by Zeynep and Konstantinos Paradeisopoulos

Procedural Flowers

In a perfect segue, it’s time to stop and smell the flowers. You Zhang’s Procedural Flowers digital illustrations sprout into abundance using digital tools like Cinema 4D and Octane Render, conjuring up a limitless parade of breathtakingly beautiful, almost alien-like blooms.

Procedural Flowers Digital Illustration by You Zhang

Hucks Serif

Paul Robb’s Hucks Serif has got a classic feel with its little serif feet, but the letters are big and bold, with lots of open spaces, giving the typeface a modern, stylish look. The mix of thick and thin lines adds a touch of drama without making the font family appear too loud.

Hucks Serif Type Design and Specimen by Paul Robb

Lays Dungeons And Dragons

Lay’s and Dungeons & Dragons rolled a natural 20 for the release of 2023’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves film, transforming the classic chip bags into a treasure chest. All this is a nod to ‘The Potato’, a character in the movie. With the spud also being the hero of Lay’s success, this epic packaging design turns snack time into an adventure.

Lays Dungeons And Dragons Food Packaging by PepsiCo Design and Innovation

Nopales Lamp

Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk have created a seriously cool lamp that’s as fun to build as it is to look at. Inspired by Mexico’s spiky cacti, the Nopales Lamp starts out as a flat sheet that you can bend and snap into a 3D cactus that lights up your room. Not only is it a pretty cool piece of decor, small enough to blend into your plants, but it also lets you be the designer, adding more pieces to your plant kingdom as you please. It’s a lamp, a toy, and a piece of art all rolled into one.

Nopales Lamp by Sebastian Morales and Tiri Kananuruk

A Garden for All

A Garden for All is a blooming example of student creativity. Young designers from Singapore’s School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University were tasked with turning the flora and fauna of Singapore’s gorgeous Botanic Gardens into fonts of inspiration. The fancy letter designs, based on the amazing plants and critters from the tropical paradise, ended up in a real-life book.

A Garden for All Type Design by Danne Ojeda

Chilled Milk Packaging

Kazuo Fukushima and Aya Tanaka have turned milk cartons into mini-masterpieces that’ll make your fridge feel like an art gallery. Charming strawberry drawings, along with flowers and leaves, evoke the sense of sipping on milk straight from a strawberry field.

Chilled Milk Packaging by Kazuo Fukushima and Aya Tanaka

The Wine Bag

Antonia Skaraki turned a regular wine box into a head-turning handbag for Lidl’s Christmas celebrations. The fashionable piece comes complete with a faux-leather finish and a snazzy red strap, perfect for those who want to make a splash at their holiday party.

The Wine Bag Packaging by Antonia Skaraki

Muji Eco Pavilion in Emptiness

Designed to show off MUJI’s love of simple, natural goodness, this pavilion designed by Chenzhu Sun and his team at Atelier Forth Force was made up of 7,524 interlocking wooden parts. Over six days, visitors could take pieces home to turn into storage boxes, transforming the pavilion from a solid structure into an empty space—a tangible example of the beauty of less.

Muji Eco Pavilion in Emptiness Exhibition Space by Chenzhu Sun

Minus Stool

The Minus Stool by Yifan Ding is another prime example of less is more. Starting with a simple cube, the designer carved away chunks to create a smooth, inviting seat. Every dip and curve has a purpose, from the footrest to the comfy back.

Minus Stool by Yifan Ding

Formation 01

Washing its hands of boring faucets, Samuel Ross’s Formation 01 sports Kohler’s signature Haptic Orange and a material called Neolast to give it its weird, wonderful shape. The water even comes out in a cool, flowing sheet instead of just dripping.

Formation 01 Bathroom Faucet by Samuel Ross

Rt9000 Massage Chair

The Rt9000 massage chair by Shanghai Rongtai Health Tech Co., Ltd. is a high-tech relaxation powerhouse. With features like a "spacewalk" function and scissor doors for stretching, it offers a full-body massage experience. Powered by a smart chip and connected to a health management app, the chair adapts to your needs and tracks your wellness. It's designed with ergonomics in mind, promising to melt away your stress.

Rt9000 Massage Chair by Shanghai Rongtai Health Tech Co., Ltd.

New York Play Unit

Cemer Design Center’s New York Play Unit is a kid-sized gym shaped like a big apple (of course). With its rope climbs, rung ladders, and bouncy steps, it’s a fun way for kids to get fit and improve their balance. The designers even thought to let in natural light, making it feel like a little slice of the city.

New York Play Unit by Cemer Design Center

Piccola Play Cafe

Pinar Gorpeoglu’s Piccola Play Cafe brings a fresh twist to family-friendly spaces. This clever design turns a simple cafe into a lively mini-carnival, where kids and parents alike can enjoy a fun day out. Gorpeoglu has sprinkled playful touches throughout, like a ceiling light that looks like a merry-go-round and walls that remind you of a city skyline. The space is practical too. Mirrors add to the fun by creating cool visual effects, making the whole place feel bigger and more exciting.

Piccola Play Cafe by Pinar Gorpeoglu

Point Line Plane

The captivating Point Line Plane art show, dreamed up by Inception Cultural and Creative Ltd Co., is a 270-second spectacle with lights, sounds, and 50 synchronized lifting parts. The show is divided into three parts—point, line, and plane—each telling a piece of its commissioner brand's story and what it sees for the future.

Point Line Plane Immersive Art Exhibition by Inception Cultural and Creative Ltd Co.

Tender Soul of Ocean

WHYIXD’s The Tender Soul of Ocean brings a bit of magic to the Keelung coast in Taiwan. This clever lighting setup uses bendy LED lights to show off what the wind’s doing in real-time at the local harbor. As the usually invisible breeze changes, so do the lights—they dance and flicker just like the waves nearby. Bystanders are encouraged to contemplate their interconnectedness with nature. It’s a great example of how art helps us tune in to what’s going on in the environment around us.

Tender Soul of Ocean Lighting Installation by WHYIXD

Shanghai Qian Mo Fu Restaurant

Hong Liu’s Shanghai Qian Mo Fu Restaurant is a serene escape nestled in the bustling Bund area. Inspired by nature's beauty, the space blends old and new with clever touches. Earthy materials like rammed earth mix with modern metallic accents, creating a calming vibe. The designer's use of classic red and reflective surfaces adds a touch of elegance and tranquility to the restaurant, making it feel both timeless and trendy.

Shanghai Qian Mo Fu Restaurant Interior Design by Hong Liu

One Line Studio

Tim Politis’ One Line Studio Architectural Office in Colorado is a standout. With a rusted steel base and a soaring glass wall, the building has a dramatic look. Tall wooden strips, mirroring the Fibonacci sequence, on the outside mimic the local grasses, tying the building to its surroundings. It’s a bold design that feels right at home in the natural world, a refreshing change from the usual city office.

One Line Studio Architectural Office by Tim Politis

Forest Heart

Yiqing Wu’s Forest Heart Culture Center gives an existing park in Tartu, Estonia, a whole new life. This visionary project turns a green space into a bustling cultural hub. The designer is bringing the forest right into the heart of the city, creating a place where people can connect with nature and each other. With features like a grand staircase and winding paths, the center is designed to be flexible and usable year-round. Plus, the project is helping the environment by planting more trees and adding features like rain gardens to manage water naturally.