Farmani Group

What Farmani Group does

Farmani Group is a privately held, founder-led portfolio company founded in 1985 by Hossein Farmani and headquartered in Los Angeles that curates and promotes photography, design, and architecture through a global network of competitions, awards programs, exhibitions, foundations, and events. The company operates more than 25 distinct programs spanning photography competitions (International Photography Awards since 2001, Lucie Awards at Carnegie Hall since 2003, Paris Photo Prize/Px3, Tokyo Foto Awards, Moscow Foto Awards, Budapest Foto Awards), design awards (International Design Awards, European Product Design Award, DNA Paris, LIT, SIT, LIV, BLT, FIT, C2A, Global Footwear, INT Interior Design), architecture recognition (ArchitectureMasterPrize, Outstanding Property Award London), and supporting platforms such as GrantPad and the Lucie Photo Book Prize. Underlying technology is not publicly disclosed and the company relies primarily on human juries, exhibitions, and event programming rather than software platforms.

The business model is transaction-fee driven: entrants (professionals, students, and emerging talent) pay entry fees to participate in each competition, with additional revenue from exhibitions, galas (notably the Lucie Awards at Carnegie Hall), and historically from publishing (VUE magazine in 1985, FotoFolio in 1986, which is in the Library of Congress permanent collection). The company operates a community-led, event-driven go-to-market through regional offices in Los Angeles, Budapest, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, plus an APDC partnership for Asia Pacific distribution, and channels reach audiences via social media, exhibitions, university lectures, and TEDx-style earned media. Customer segments are individuals and small studios in creative professions, with no enterprise customer base or recurring contracts.

Name

Farmani Group

Legal name

Farmani Group

Website

https://farmanigroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Farmani Group, founded 1985 and headquartered in Los Angeles, curates and promotes photography, design, and architecture globally through 25+ awards programs, competitions, exhibitions, and foundations including the Lucie Awards, International Photography Awards, and ArchitectureMasterPrize.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Competition Entry Fees: Revenue generated from photographers, designers, and architects paying entry fees to participate in various international award programs including IPA, Lucie Awards, IDA, PX3, and numerous other photography and design competitions.
2. Exhibition and Event Revenue: Revenue from organizing and hosting exhibitions, galas (including the annual Lucie Awards at Carnegie Hall), and events that showcase winning work and attract the creative community.
3. Photography and Design Publication: Historical revenue stream from publishing magazines and periodicals including VUE magazine (1985) and FotoFolio (1986), which promoted photographer work and achieved industry recognition.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Farmani Group operates a global portfolio of international photography, design, and architecture award programs and competitions. The company curates and promotes creative talent through annual competitions (IPA, Lucie Awards, IDA, PX3, ArchitectureMasterPrize, and over 20 regional/specialty awards), exhibitions, the Lucie Foundation's community-building programs, and educational initiatives such as Month of Photography Los Angeles (MOPLA) and the Focus On AIDS charity auction.

Product overview

Farmani Group is a portfolio organization curating and promoting photography, design and architecture through competitions, awards, exhibitions, artist communities, networking, and education. The company operates a diverse portfolio of over 25 distinct award programs and organizations spanning photography competitions (International Photography Awards, Lucie Awards, Paris Photo Prize/Px3, Tokyo Foto Awards, Moscow Foto Awards, Budapest Foto Awards), design awards (International Design Awards, European Product Design Award, DNA Paris Design Awards, C2A Creative Communication Award, LIT Design Awards, SIT Furniture Design Award, LIV Hospitality Design Awards, BLT Built Design Awards, FIT Sport Design Awards, Global Footwear Awards, INT Interior Design Awards), architecture awards (ArchitectureMasterPrize, Outstanding Property Award London), and support platforms (GrantPad, Lucie Technical Awards, Lucie Photo Book Prize). The Lucie Foundation serves as the parent organization for photography initiatives, while the group also manages event programs like Month of Photography Los Angeles and Focus On AIDS charity auction.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• International Photography Awards: Annual competition for professional, non-professional, and student photographers on a global scale, one of the most ambitious photography competitions.
• The Lucie Awards
• Lucie Foundation
• International Design Awards
• ArchitectureMasterPrize
• Paris Photography Prize (P×3)
• Month of Photography Los Angeles
• London International Creative Competition
• European Product Design Award
• Moscow International Foto Awards
• Tokyo International Foto Awards
• Budapest International Foto Awards
• DNA Paris Design Awards
• C2A Creative Communication Award
• LIT Design Awards
• SIT Furniture Design Award
• LIV Hospitality Design Awards
• BLT Built Design Awards
• Outstanding Property Award London

Products and services

• International Photography Awards (IPA) Annual global competition for professional, non-professional, and student photographers, saluting achievements and discovering emerging talent; funds the annual programming of the Lucie Foundation including the signature Lucie Awards event.
• The Lucie Awards Premier annual gala event honouring the greatest achievements in photography, held yearly at Carnegie Hall in New York; the signature program of the Lucie Foundation.
• Lucie Foundation Non-profit-style organization honouring master photographers, discovering and cultivating emerging talent, and promoting appreciation of photography worldwide through programs including the Lucie Awards, MOPLA, Snapshot, Freshlook, and Lucie Talks.
• London International Creative Competition (LICC) Annual competition facilitating contact between uniquely talented artists and an international audience; winners represent the world's best creative minds.
• Prix de la Photographie, Paris (Px3) One of Europe's most prestigious photography awards, with over 3,000 work showcases annually; the Paris exhibition follows Arles Photo Festival and introduces photographers to the artistic community of Paris.
• International Design Awards (IDA) Annual design awards recognizing legendary design visionaries and uncovering emerging talent in Architecture, Interior, Product, Graphic, and Fashion Design; one of the leading Design Awards in America.
• Month of Photography Los Angeles (MOPLA) Annual celebration of photography through a variety of events and programs including exhibitions, discussions, and projections designed to inspire and invigorate the photographic community.
• Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA) Annual awards recognizing and promoting talented photographers worldwide; the professional jury selects 40 photographers' work for the annual exhibition and promotes over 300 winners' works in Moscow.
• Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA) Annual awards commending and promoting outstanding photography worldwide; connects photographers with the creative community in Tokyo and promotes winners' works year-round via website, social media, press, and local photography communities.
• European Product Design Award (EPDA) Annual awards recognizing efforts of talented international product designers and sharing innovative and ground-breaking products with the world.
• ArchitectureMasterPrize Annual awards celebrating creativity and innovation in architectural design, landscape architecture, and interior design; advances appreciation and promotion of quality architectural design worldwide.
• Lucie Photo Book Prize Juried competition open to a diversity of submissions from published to prototype to hand-made photo books; offers cash prizes ($3,000 Traditional and $2,000 Independent).
• Budapest International Foto Awards (BIFA) Annual photography awards community nurturing creative expression and supporting photographers with important stories, promoting their work to the artistic community of Budapest.
• Focus On AIDS America's largest and most prestigious fundraiser auction of rare, vintage, and contemporary photographs in support of AIDS research, care and education; volunteer-driven, all net proceeds contributed to HIV/AIDS initiatives globally.
• GrantPad Platform facilitating the process of creating grants, allowing individuals and organizations to offer grants and scholarships to artists, educators, designers, architects, and scholars.
• Lucie Technical Awards Annual awards honoring companies and individuals who have advanced the photographic industry, encompassing cameras, lenses, lighting, accessories, papers, printers, software and more.
• APDC*IDA Design Excellence Awards Joint APDC and International Design Awards program shining the spotlight on ground-breaking designs from around the world, with specific focus on extending IDA's reach into the Asia Pacific region.
• DNA Paris Design Awards Annual design awards honoring the work of international architects and designers who improve daily lives through practical, beautiful and innovative design across architecture, interior, landscape, product, and graphic categories.
• LIV Hospitality Design Awards Annual awards celebrating quality architectural ventures and interior design diversity shaping hospitality worldwide, covering living and eating spaces from co-living to fine dining.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Asia Pacific Design Center (APDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPDC and International Design Awards (IDA) formed a partnership to create APDC*IDA - Design Excellence Awards. This partnership aims to shine the spotlight on ground-breaking designs from around the world, specifically extending the reach of IDA programs into the Asia Pacific region.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• A' Design Award & Competition: A' Design Award is a large international juried design competition recognizing work across architecture, interior, product, graphic, and fashion design. It is the most direct peer to Farmani's IDA, EPDA, and broader design awards portfolio given overlapping verticals, entry-fee model, and global submission funnel.
• World Architecture Festival: World Architecture Festival is a global live-judging architecture awards and conference program. Directly comparable to Farmani's ArchitectureMasterPrize and Outstanding Property Award London as a competing international architecture recognition platform with both award and event components.
• PDN Photo Annual: PDN Photo Annual is a longstanding juried photography competition for professional photographers. Closely comparable to Farmani's International Photography Awards as a similarly scoped photography competition targeting working professional photographers.
• Graphis Awards: Graphis operates international juried competitions across design, photography, advertising, and illustration with publication components. Closely comparable to Farmani's combined design and photography portfolio given the parallel focus on design+photography with publication-driven exposure.

Broad incumbents

• iF Design Award: iF Design Award is a long-established German-headquartered global design competition covering product, packaging, communication, architecture, and interior design. Comparable to Farmani's design portfolio as a broader incumbent with deeper institutional backing and longer brand history.
• Red Dot Design Award: Red Dot is one of the most prestigious international design competitions with a strong brand across product, communication, and design concept categories. Overlaps with Farmani's IDA, EPDA, and C2A awards as a higher-prestige incumbent in the same international design awards space.
• D&AD Awards: D&AD is a UK-based global creative award program honoring excellence in design and advertising across multiple disciplines. Comparable to Farmani's C2A Creative Communication Award and broader creative portfolio as a higher-prestige incumbent in international creative recognition.
• Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity: Cannes Lions is the premier global awards program for the creative communications industry. Comparable to Farmani's C2A and LICC as a much larger incumbent in creative recognition, though operating at a higher prestige and price tier.
• The One Club for Creativity: The One Club is a non-profit organization recognizing creative excellence across advertising, design, and digital through programs including The One Show. Comparable to Farmani's C2A and broader creative awards portfolio as an established creative-industry recognition institution.

Emerging players

• Hasselblad Foundation / Hasselblad Award: The Hasselblad Foundation operates the prestigious Hasselblad Award and related photography recognition programs out of Gothenburg, Sweden. Comparable to Farmani's Lucie Awards and Lucie Foundation as a more narrowly focused photography honors program with strong brand prestige.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries6 records

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 Farmani Group