Better Design Award 2026
Better Design Award 2026 is now open for entries!
Competition Details
Brief Overview
Better Design Award 2026 invites designers, companies, institutions and emerging talents worldwide to submit innovative products, original concepts and strategic design solutions that advance industrial development, turn new ideas into practical applications and improve everyday life.
Competition Details
Better Design Award (BDA) 2026, organised by the Guangdong Better Design Innovation Center, is an international competition recognising design that drives technological innovation, industrial development and better living.
The award comprises two main categories: Product Design, divided into Industrial Foundation (intelligent equipment, sustainable energy, smart cities, transport, public facilities, robotics and automation), Better Life (smart home, consumer electronics, kitchen and bathroom products, appliances, lifestyle, sports and leisure), and Future Design (original concepts), and Design for Industry, dedicated to strategic, systemic and service-based solutions for industrial transformation.
Future Design includes a Professional Concept Group, a Student Concept Group for students and graduates within two years, and an Emerging Team Design Group for start-ups, studios and independent teams established within two years.
Entries undergo preliminary, secondary and final evaluations by expert juries, assessing vision, industrialisation potential and a people-centred approach, including sustainability and practical impact.
Applications close on 12 December 2026, midnight Beijing time (UTC+8), with physical submissions scheduled for mid-December 2026 to early January 2027, secondary evaluation in mid-January, final evaluation in late February and the award ceremony tentatively in late March 2027; the schedule may be adjusted by the organiser.
Submission requirements
Register and submit online through the official application platform, selecting one category per project and providing authentic, complete materials.
Product Design - products launched after September 2024, or not yet launched but capable of mass production before the award ceremony; functional prototypes must be available for secondary evaluation.
Concept Design - original concepts not yet manufactured or commercially sold; physical concepts require prototypes and presentation videos for secondary and final evaluations.
Design for Industry - complete projects demonstrating design-led industrial transformation, supported by evidence of outcomes, communication effectiveness and industrial impact, including economic indicators where applicable.
Applicants must hold the relevant intellectual property rights; entries must be original and free of third-party rights disputes, and previous entries cannot be resubmitted except in Design for Industry.
Entrants cover logistics, insurance, customs clearance and related participation costs.
Eligibility
Open worldwide to individual designers, design teams, companies, institutions, design agencies, universities and research organisations.
Benefits
Total cash prize pool: RMB 4.1 million (approximately €547,700 as stated by the organiser), across 26 cash prizes.
➜ Product Grand Awards - 10 prizes of RMB 200,000 each.
➜ Concept Grand Awards - 6 prizes of RMB 100,000 each.
➜ Design for Industry Awards - 10 prizes of RMB 150,000 each.
Additional recognition includes 200 Product Design Awards and 100 Concept Design Awards.
Shortlisted entrants receive a certificate; Design Award winners receive a trophy and certificate, while Grand Award winners also receive cash prizes.
Benefits include free use of the BDA logo, inclusion in the award yearbook with a complimentary copy, exhibition and networking opportunities, potential media coverage and access to incubation, commercial channels and financing connections; policy support is subject to eligibility.
Entry fees
The competition is free to enter.
