Designers Australia Awards
Graduates of the Year Awards
Hall of Fame
DIA – Awards
The DIA - Awards are the benchmark for Australian design excellence and the ultimate accolade for design professionals. Underpinned by the core values and purpose of Australia’s peak national design body, the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), the awards champion collaboration, conversation and deep listening. They recognise our collective commitment to Australian designers and their influence on culture and society.
For the Designers Australia Awards and Graduates of the Year Awards the entry process in 2024 is via Nomination (or Self-Nomination). They are accepted in three categories—Place, Use, Interact. The award categories are forward-looking and praised for their exemplary approach that dissolves traditional silos and reflects multidisciplinary problem-solving for the future.
The Awards are generously supported by Cullen Jewellery, Brickworks, Stylecraft, Colorbond and Vetassess.
“The DIA - Awards value considered design. The DIA promotes diversity, equality and design that contributes positively to our social, cultural and environmental needs and issues.”
—DIA President, Gavin Campbell FDIA
Established in 1948, the DIA is the only Australian body that champions the value of all design and the impact of our designers. Its purpose is to enable designers to prosper by providing knowledge, thought leadership, access and inclusivity. The DIA - Awards concept was conceived and is a collaboration of the DIA and Latitude Group.
News
-
Winners of Designers Australia Awards 2024
Highest design accolades in Australia awarded to Monash Design Health Collab, mili mili and Balarinji. Madeline Lester Excellence Award presented to Yuan Maoxin, a graduate from the University of New South Wales.
-
Designers Australia Awards 2024 — Shortlist revealed
The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) released the shortlist for its Designers Australia Awards 2024. An overwhelming shortlist of 63 entries was revealed across the three cross-disciplinary categories—Place, Use, and Interact.
-
Graduates of the Year Awards 2024 winners announced
The Design Institute of Australia announced the winners of its flagship program for emerging designers—the Graduates of the Year Awards (GOTYA) 2024.
-
The DIA welcomes Cullen Jewellery as an awards partner
Cullen Jewellery is proud to support the Designers Australia Awards 2024, celebrating the best of Australian design. As a forward-thinking business, Cullen blends traditional jewellery craftsmanship with modern technology, offering ethically sourced, sustainable fine jewellery.
Important Dates
• Designers Australia Awards
Entries Open
1 July 2024
Entries close
16 August 2024
Awards of Merit announced
14 November 2024
National Category & President’s Prize winner celebrated
14 November 2024
• Graduates of the Year Awards
Nominations Open (educators only)
22 May 2024
Nominations Close (educators only)
14 June 2024
Submissions Close (graduates only)
8 July 2024
Judging - Portfolio and shortlisting finalists
July 2024
Judging - Finalist Online Interviews
August 2024
State and National Category Winners announced @ Stylecraft Showrooms
19 September 2024
Madeline Lester Award winner
14 November 2024
• Hall of Fame
Nominations Open
20 May 2024
Nominations Close
30 June 2024
DIA Hall of Fame Announcement
December 2024
DIA Hall of Fame Ceremony
20 February 2025
DIA Value Statement
Design awards have in recent years become big business with many organisations running them.
• Why enter the DIA's awards?
Benchmarking—Are you making progress? Organised by the DIA; designers for designers, the Designers Australia Awards are the benchmark for Australian design excellence and the ultimate accolade for our designers. All merit recipients receive a DIA certificate and category winners a trophy.
Promotion—Build your profile. The DIA promotes every shortlisted and winning entry. Winning recipients join our Australian design archive; are published on the Institute's awards website, are shared via our national and international communications, and published in the Australian's WISH magazine, bringing significant recognition to successful entrants.
Contribute—Support the design profession. By entering you strengthen our design programs and build commitment to a strong supportive design community.
Profile—Escalate your professional reputation. The awards have unprecedented credibility and are judged by a peer-to-peer panel consisting of 15 leading international and local figures from the design world.
• Why are the DIA's awards different?
The DIA's awards are presented and backed by the DIA—the nation's peak design sector association (and not-for-profit), which is owned by member designers.
Our entry fees are priced to be inclusive of a diversity of applications from a single designer to a large practice.
The judging criteria reflect our commitment to professional design practice and the benefits it can bring to any project no matter how big or small.
We strive to highlight a designer/s ethics, conduct and capabilities as well as their processes. We believe that successful design outcomes embrace the circular economy, diversity and have a positive environmental and social impact.
We value the collaborative process in-group decision-making that promotes trust, thoughtfulness, understanding, competency and responsiveness.
Design is forever evolving! Instead of the traditional categories, we have introduced just three—place, use, interact. This dissolves the silos and reflects a trend to multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving.