A' Design Award and Competition

What A' Design Award and Competition does

A' Design Award and Competition, legally A' Design Award & Competition SRL, is a privately held Italian company headquartered in Como that operates one of the world's largest international design award programs. Founded in 2008, the platform runs an annual blind peer-review competition across 157 creative fields spanning architecture, product design, fashion, communication design, and fine arts, with entries accepted from designers, artists, architects, brands, and design agencies worldwide and supported in 40+ languages. The 2024/2025 edition recognized 1,823 designs from 115 countries, evaluated by a Grand Jury Panel of hundreds of leading design professionals, academics, and industry experts against criteria including innovation, functionality, aesthetics, and social impact.

The company's core technology is an online competition platform with web-based entry submission, a blind peer-review evaluation system, and a digital scoring methodology. A free Preliminary Checks service provides entrants with a confidential Design Score before formal submission, lowering entry friction. Winners receive a bundled A' Design Prize package including the Omega Particle trophy (designed and produced in Italy), certificate, yearbook inclusion, winner logo, PR and publicity services, exhibition at the MOOD Design Museum in Italy (with subsequent traveling exhibitions), and access to international networking via the La Notte Premio A' Gala Night.

The business model is event-driven and self-serve: tiered competition entry fees (structured across multiple entry periods) are the primary revenue stream, classified as a one-time license model, supplemented by a Design Store selling trophies, merchandise, yearbooks, and promotional materials to winners and the public. Marketing is conducted through owned digital channels (website content, press room, multi-platform social media) plus events (Gala Night, MOOD Design Museum exhibitions). Customer segmentation is horizontal, addressing individual creators (designers, artists, architects) and businesses (brands and design agencies) seeking third-party design validation and international publicity, with secondary segments in press members and design buyers.

Name

A' Design Award and Competition

Legal name

A' Design Award & Competition SRL

Website

https://adesignaward.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

A' Design Award and Competition is an Italian SRL operating a global, annual blind peer-reviewed design competition across 157 creative fields, serving individual designers, artists, architects, brands, and design agencies worldwide with entry fees and trophy/merchandise revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Awards & Recognition

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Industrial Design Services (541420), Architectural Services (54131)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA), Event Design, Decor & Styling (HSACAAAB)

Keywords

• Design awards competition
• International design recognition
• Design jury evaluation
• Design prize services
• Design exhibition events

Headquarters

HQ city

Como

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Competition Entry Fees: Designers and companies pay entry fees to submit their work for consideration. The competition has multiple entry periods with different fee structures.
2. Design Store and Merchandise: Sale of award trophies, merchandise, yearbooks and promotional materials to winners and the public

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

A' Design Award and Competition operates an annual international design award program that accepts entries from designers, artists, architects, brands, and design agencies worldwide across 157 creative fields. Submissions are evaluated through a blind peer-review process by a Grand Jury Panel of design professionals, academics, press members, and industry experts. Winners receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the Omega Particle trophy, certificate, yearbook inclusion, winner logo, PR and publicity services, exhibition at MOOD Design Museum in Italy, and invitation to La Notte Premio A' Gala Night.

Product overview

A' Design Award and Competition is a single unified award platform that recognizes and promotes good design globally. The competition covers 157 creative fields including architecture, product design, fashion, communication design, and fine arts. The platform operates through multiple interconnected services: the core award competition with registration and submission systems, the Winners' Showcase for displaying award-winning work, the A' Design Award Exhibition at MOOD Design Museum in Italy, and La Notte Premio A' Gala Night for award ceremonies. Winners receive the A' Design Prize including the Omega Particle trophy, certificates, yearbook inclusion, winner logos, and PR services. The platform also offers Preliminary Checks for free design scoring. A notable specialized offering is the Future Kitchen Design Awards, a featured competition presented by BOTINKIT in collaboration with A' Design Award focusing on AI and robotics in kitchen design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Notte Premio A': The annual Gala Night and Award Ceremony, considered one of the most exclusive events in the design industry and the design industry's premier annual red-carpet event.
• Omega Particle
• A' Design Prize
• MOOD Design Museum

Products and services

• A' Design Award and Competition The core annual international design competition recognizing excellent and original design work across 157 creative fields spanning architecture, product design, fashion, communication design, and fine arts, evaluated via blind peer-review by a Grand Jury Panel.
• A' Design Prize

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BOTINKITfeaturedStrategic or Co-development PartnerBOTINKIT collaborated with A' Design Award to present the Future Kitchen Design Awards, inviting designers worldwide to reimagine cooking and kitchen spaces through AI, robotics, and human-centric design. This featured competition focuses on product design, architecture, digital interfaces, and innovative service models with cash prizes and exhibition opportunities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• iF Design Award: Long-standing German international design award covering product, packaging, communication, interior, architecture, and service design. Operates a similar global submission, jury evaluation, and PR-services model targeting designers and brands worldwide.
• International Design Awards (IDA): International design competition covering architecture, interior, product, graphic, and fashion design. Directly comparable in multi-disciplinary category structure, paid submission model, and global participant base.
• DNA Paris Design Awards: International design competition organized in Paris covering architecture, interior, product, and graphic design. Operates a similar self-serve submission, jury-reviewed evaluation, and award-logo model for winners.
• Core77 Design Awards: Annual international design competition run by Core77 covering product, furniture, transportation, interaction, and design strategy. Comparable as a globally recognized, juried, paid-submission design award targeting professional designers and studios.
• IDEA Award (International Design Excellence Awards): One of the most recognized annual design competitions in North America, focused on industrial, product, and interaction design. Comparable in that it is a juried, internationally recognized design accolade with a defined category structure and a winner-mark strategy.
• D&AD Awards: Long-established international design and advertising awards program, operating a juried, paid-submission model across creative disciplines. Comparable in prestige positioning and the use of a recognized pencil/award mark as a brand-equity signal for winners.
• LICC (London International Creative Competition): International creative competition open to designers, architects, and artists across multiple disciplines. Comparable in that it is a self-serve, paid-entry, jury-evaluated design award with a winner-mark model and global reach.
• Good Design Award (Japan): Japan's premier design award operated with similar objectives of recognizing and promoting good design globally. Comparable in category breadth, jury-driven evaluation, and use of a recognized winner mark to confer prestige on laureates.
• Red Dot Design Award: One of the world's largest and most prestigious international design competitions (Product Design, Brand & Communication Design, Design Concept). Closely comparable in scope, prestige tier, blind jury evaluation, and global participant base, making it A' Design Award's most direct head-to-head competitor.

Emerging players

• Pentawards: Leading global award dedicated specifically to packaging design, with a paid submission, jury-reviewed model. Comparable as a paid international design award platform serving brands and agencies, but narrower in category focus than A' Design Award.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adesignaward
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ADesignAward
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/A-Design-Award-Competition/297170529738
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adesignaward
• Instagraminstagram.com/adesigncompetition
• Pinterestpinterest.it/adesignaward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about A' Design Award and Competition