Where Innovation Meets Social Responsibility
Not just another design competition. The San Francisco Design Week Awards is an international design competition seeking to encourage thought leadership by supporting designers whose works can contribute towards a positive future for society. San Francisco Design Week is the premier gathering of the world’s most active design community. Entries for the prestigious San Francisco Design Week Awards will be judged by a jury composed of leading Bay Area design professionals; those selected will be showcased and have a permanent presence on the SF Design Week Awards website. For more than 17 years San Francisco Design Week has provided design professionals with the opportunity to grow their networks, enhance their visibility, find investors for future products that are shaping the future and build their careers. We welcome applicants from across the entire range of design industries.
Submission Deadline:
Submissions are now closed and judging has begun!
Benefits include:
- Entries will be viewed by an array of Community Design Leaders with diverse backgrounds
- Inclusion on the permanent online showcase for honorees
- Use of official San Francisco Design Awards medallion for your marketing materials
- San Francisco Design Week Awards award to display in your studio
- Recognition and attention from the press and media through our press release announcements and social media
- Awards will be announced to the press during SF Design Week 2023
- Fees waived for minority owned businesses or minority led projects
Judges 2023!
- Audrey Liu: Executive Vice President, Head Of Design at Lyft
- Kit Hinrich: Founder and Creative Director at Studio Hinrichs
- Suzanne Tucker: Founder of Suzanne Tucker Home
- Britt Lindberg: FAIA, Technical Director at Gensler and AIA Secretary
- Vincent Braitwaithe: Executive Design Leader & Sr. Program Manager, Design Operations Github
- Shujan Bertrand: Founder of Aplat
Awards Categories
Architecture
A variety of external physical ecosystems that influence, inspire and initiate our growth and behavior within residential, commercial and altruistic or non-profit environments.
BioTech
Developments in how life is expressed and explained both around and within us.
Civic Design
Thoughtful design to ensure interaction between federal or local government and citizens is accessible, easy and effective. Projects can include those that focus on the common good and of benefit to communities or the individuals using the systems and creates confidence in institutions. These projects transform culture within city halls and government orgs benefitting the residents who live in the community. Examples: Election design, official city websites, or community interest projects.
Conversation Design
Sonic breakthroughs that make waves in the sounds we produce and the ways we communicate. Projects can include voice or conversation design, voice user interface design and voice user experience design.
Communication Design
Groundbreaking approaches to visual, 2D design that push the boundaries of the maxim, “the medium is the message.” Projects include graphic design, web design, packaging and branding.
Data
Projects that utilize data to create better experiences for users. Projects can include data visualization, interface or algorithms.
Disaster Response
Projects that respond to natural disasters such as the Pandemic, Wildfires, Earthquakes and Floods.
Future of Foods
Culinary innovations improving the manner in which we grow, consume and dispose of what we eat.
FashTech
Wearables reshaping how we connect with the world and define ourselves.
FinTech
Products that are shifting our definitions of and interactions with money. Systems or apps for Banking, trading, products or services.
Health and Wellness
Products, environments and services for the healthcare industry or individual users that promote a healthy lifestyle.
Industrial Design
Products, hardware or furniture mass produced for consumers and available on the market or in production.
Interior Design
A variety of internal physical ecosystems that influence, inspire and initiate our growth and behavior within residential, office, commercial, restaurant or hospitality environments.
Internet of Things
IOT products and trends that rewire our most entrenched routines.
Social Impact
Design for good that contributes positively to underserved communities or countries.
Student Category
Design projects created while attending an undergraduate or graduate program, or within a year of graduation.
Systems Design
Design systems focused on the human component which can include accessibility, models, behavior and data flow. Architectural, logical or physical.
Travel & Hospitality
Products and services that change the way we explore the world.
Urban Mobility
Innovations that improve how people get around cities faster, happier and more efficiently. Projects can include software or apps, vehicles, transportation and systems.
User Experience
Projects that map out a user’s journey in an app, product, or in-person experience.
VR/AR/XR
Explorations that mine the exciting potential of rapidly evolving AR and VR platforms to transport us to new worlds. Non-immersive, fully immersive, augmented reality, collaborative or web-based experiences.
Wild Card
The unexpected and experimental products that can’t be put into a category.
Criteria
Eligibility
- The San Francisco Design Week Awards are open to all types of design work. This includes, but is not limited to, tech products, architecture, fashion, industrial design, urban planning, gaming, advertising, interior design, service design, UX, visual and graphic design, interactive installations, virtual and augmented reality, and instructional products.
- Each submission will be judged pertaining to the criteria listed above.
- Each submission must clearly identify the design category by which they wish to be judged.
- The entrant or submitted work must demonstrate either an intrinsic connection to the design community or offer a vision that can improve the lives of the people within their community.
For more information, please read our Terms & Conditions.
Questions? Contact Maria Huffine at awards@sfdesignweek.org
Awards identity designed by MUCHO